Let’s Approach Goal-Setting Differently in 2022
I recently heard a story about the British Cycling team going from bleh to Olympic Gold in only six years. The transformation began when they brought on Sir Dave Brailsford, a former professional cyclist who approached things quite differently than the prior leadership had.
His idea was to break down every single thing they could think of that goes into competing on a bike and make just a 1% improvement in every area, and then improve another 1% and then another, compounding upon each improvement.
I've been thinking about this story ever since I heard it because it can apply to every aspect of our lives. As we've just turned the corner into 2022, I've had the thought that, what if we artists and creative entrepreneurs approached our annual resolutions with this mindset. What if we could make only a 1% improvement in all areas of our lives, what sort of an impact would that have?
This “holistic” approach could also be called a 360 degree or big picture approach. The problem with goals and resolutions is that we have a tendency to get overwhelmed because we are trying to make significant improvements all around! Either that or we are not focusing on the small details that are keeping us from achieving our goals. Well, what if we set our goals so specifically and bite-sized enough that we won’t get overwhelmed?
“Aiming for gold was too daunting.” Says Dave. “It struck me that we should think small, not big. And adopt a philosophy of continuous improvement through aggregation of marginal gains. Forget about perfection; focus on progression, and compound the improvements”. *read the full interview and article here.
The improvements they made went into every aspect of the athletes lives and their equipment. From teaching the athletes how to properly wash their hands to keep them from getting sick to fine tuning equipment to be the most aerodynamic as possible.
For an artist, goals often come out like:
Release 10 songs this year
Try to go viral on TikTok with each song
Put on at least 3 live shows
Etc.
Just like it must have felt overwhelming for a group of cyclists who’s team had not won a gold medal for 76 years, stating “this year, we’re gonna win the gold” is just too big of a leap to make.
So, what if we could look at one small improvement that would lead us to our bigger goal? Instead of "release 10 songs this year", what if you got some professional feedback on the songs you've written to see how you can improve as a songwriter? Releasing 10 songs isn't really the "end goal", right? Is the end goal to build a fanbase of real fans who truly love your music? What if the 10 songs are just...mediocre songs that don't really connect with anyone?
Ok, let's start this way. Let’s break our lives down into categories. Get out a piece of paper, notebook or whatever and write these categories down.
Mental Health
Physical Health
Social Life
Financial
Entrepreneurship
Spirituality
Vocals
Musicianship
Songwriting
Performance
In each category, write down your END GOAL. Not, “release 10 songs this year” but what you want the ultimate result to be. Increase my fanbase. Find the people that love my music.
Now, think about some small yet significant changes in each one of these areas, and then how you can compound upon the improvements as you go. The key is THINK SMALL.
Here are some examples:
Mental Health - I want to be happy and not stressed out.
We all need to make sure we are taking care of ourselves. What that looks like will be different for every human. Here’s a few examples of “small” changes that can make a big difference:
Daily affirmations
Start therapy sessions at least once a month
In bed by 10 p.m.
Set timer for 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes at night for scrolling social media (not business engagement but for personal scrolling)
Go outside for 10 minutes a day
Physical Health - I want to feel healthier
Look at your sleep habits, eating habits, drinking, smoking, etc. What small changes can you make that could make a big difference? Here’s a few examples:
Eat out only once a day
At least 10 minutes of physical activity a day
Hire a nutrition coach
Eat breakfast
Social Life - I want to spend more time with people that bring me up
Making small, positive changes in the social life category will look different for all of us. Some examples could look like;
Only hang out with friends on Fridays and Saturdays
Go to at least every other family gathering
Take one friend to lunch every month
Financial - I want to stop living paycheck to paycheck and invest more in my music business
What is a small, incremental change you could make to greatly improve your financial situation or point you closer to your financial goals? Do you have financial goals? Here are some examples of small things you can do:
Create a budget
Listen to the Dave Ramsey podcast
Eat out only once a week instead of every day
Save 10% of my paycheck automatically
Entrepreneurship - I want to have a thriving music business that brings me satisfaction and pays my bills
As an artist, you are running a business. If you are at the beginning of this journey or a little further along, there is undoubtedly some room for improvement. Here are some ideas:
Read a book about being an entrepreneur or freelancer
Read a book about the music business
Run an ad for each single release
30 minutes on M, W, F’s (use a timer) to comment and engage with followers
Learn how to use an accounting program such as Freshbooks
Hire a graphic designer to create my logos and social graphics, skins, etc.
Create my vision board
Learn how to record my vocals for demos
Spirituality - I want to feel at peace with who I am and my relationship with humanity
This is such a broad area that will mean different things to different people. It could also fall right into the mental health category. Make it work for you! Some ideas might be:
Meditation for 10 minutes every night
Serve someone once a week
Spend some time in nature one day a week
Study scriptures
Read uplifting books
Listen to uplifting podcasts
Vocals - I want to be able to sing live and really entertain my audience without wearing out my voice
No matter what level you are at as a singer, 1% improvement at a time can lead you toward your goal, no matter what it is. Some changes you can make could be:
Start taking lessons with a good technical teacher
Take performance coaching lessons
Perform at an open mic once a month
Musicianship - I want to be able to accompany myself on the piano during my shows
Again, we are all at different spots on this journey. Where do you feel weak? Is it in your live shows? Is it in the studio? Is it with one of your instruments or when trying to create chord progressions? List some weak spots you’d like to work on, choose one and commit to improving in that one area.
Songwriting - I want my songs to be “great” not just “good” so that they move people
Writing great songs is actually very hard. Notice I didn’t say “hit” songs. If your goal is to write a hit song, then start by trying to write great songs. (Not all hit songs are great, but that’s a different story). Some ideas might be:
Read a songwriting book about a specific area I am weak in (lyrics or melodies)
Reach out to some people in songwriting groups to find opportunities to collaborate
Get professional feedback (not friends or my mom) on my songs
Take a songwriting course
Schedule a session with a songwriting coach
Performance - I want to put a great show together and book a small tour
Great shows do not happen by accident. Especially as a solo artist just getting started, you may be surprised by the amount of work and money it takes to put a great show together. If you have never put a show together, I would start with that and not worry about the tour part…yet. That can be the next move after getting a great show off the ground.
Now the goal setting is all up to you! This is still a LOT of stuff to work on, but wouldn’t you agree that breaking it down into bite sized pieces makes it feel more attainable? I’m going to set my 2022 goals this way too so let me know how it goes for you and I’ll do the same.
Happy New Year!
