It is time to tally up the score and see how I am doing in the month of January based on the targets I have set at the beginning of the year. I know, some friends of mine are a bit concerned over how well this tool is going to help me in reaching my goals. One friend of mine feels that it is not the scorecard but because I have more will power this year to accomplish what I set out to do. Whilst it is true that I need the will power to get things done, having a easy-to-remember scorecard helps me to stay focus day after day.
Scorecard results are often visually presented by the “traffic light system” (green is good, yellow is average, and red is bad). There are thousands and one ways to compute and present scores. I am a simple man. If I miss the target, I get a zero. If I hit the target, I get a 5 (hence nothing in between 0 and 5). If I reach the stretched target and beyond, I get a 10. Anything in between the target and stretched target I proportionate the score. As for the “traffic light system”, I use the 5-band descriptors and 3-colour coding system (click here to see). This is commonly used in places such as Metacritic.com.
I have made some minor revision to the original scorecard. Since I am not pursuing a career at present, I drop that measurement. In time to come, I believe “net revenue generated” may be a better replacement. Also, based on my current financial situation, I revised down the traveling budget. As for the “home cooked food” measurement, getting a percentage is tedious as at times we do cook lunch during weekends (original measurement was targeted at dinner time). So I opt for a number instead. Besides, it is a lot easier to count this way. I have also revised down my “return on total saving” target because in reality, it is pretty hard to hit that 5% to 8% given how unsound my financial management is.
Lesson learnt from the operation perspective is that data collection at times can be a challenge. Sometimes I forgot if I have already registered the progress. One easy way to solve it is that each time I write down a piece of information, put a simple descriptor to it. For instance, I may have … +1 pasta, +1 pork, +1 fish, +1 beef … for my “home cooked food” measurement. And I may have … +0.5 jog, +0.75 swim, +0.5 dumbbells … for my “exercise hours”. It saves me a lot of time that way.
In the month of January, I have missed my “exercise hour” by 2 hours. I don’t think it is a big issue. And all thanks to the New Year celebration or otherwise, I would have zero hangover. “Gaming hour” is a surprise to me because I really did not think I can achieve that stretched target … given the fact that I did buy World Of Warcraft’s Expansion. Pretty amazing will power there.
Looking ahead, I have a Melbourne trip planned for this Chinese New Year so my half-yearly “traveling budget” target is settled. I have planned out something “extraordinary” to do in Q2 (2nd quarter) and Q4. Now I need to scrach my head to think of what to do in Q1. Chucked half of my saving into a 2.65% fixed deposit. It is a far cry from the yearly “return on saving” target. Time to do some readings and talk to my friends who are good at managing their money. As for the quarterly “public performance” target, I have more or less memorised 5 of my songs. One of which has reached the “gold” standard (consistently able to perform with minor not-too-noticeable mistakes) while the rest are at “silver standard (noticeable mistakes at times). Once they reach the “platinum” standard, I am ready to perform. Hopefully that will be before end of March (Cynthia keeps asking me to book the venue and Jason keeps offering to jam with me on stage!). Last but not the least, I still do wish to publish a book or two. Somehow, the two books that are supposed to be collaborated with two of my friends kind of slowed down a bit. However, I have already drawn out the character map for a story that I wish to write on my own. Now I need to plan out the events. I have 3 so far and target to have at least 12.
Category | Measurement | Frequency | Target | Stretched Target | Result | Score |
Life | Traveling Budget Utilised | Half-yearly | S$2,000 | S$3,000 | n/a | n/a |
Life | No. of Extraordinary Projects | Quarterly | 1 | 2 | n/a | n/a |
Health | Exercise Hours | Monthly | 8 | 10 | 6 | 0 |
Health | No. of Home Cooked Dinner | Monthly | 15 | 20 | 16 | 6 |
Money | Return of Total Savings | Quarterly | 3% p.a. | 5% p.a. | n/a | n/a |
Hobby | No. of Public Performance | Quarterly | 1 | 2 | n/a | n/a |
Hobby | No. of Books Published | Yearly | 1 | 2 | n/a | n/a |
Habit | No. of Hangover | Monthly | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7.5 |
Habit | No. of Gaming Hours | Monthly | 40 | 30 | 28.5 | 10 |
2 replies on “My Scorecard Results for Jan 2007”
…… ermm….. as a layman, this kind of personal scorecard seems a bit difficult for me to comprehend….. 😛
despite all these complicated calculations, have you found your life goal then? the clock is ticking and time always runs fast, it’s good for you to have something to keep you stay focused day after day but we also need to set our targets fast!
sometimes, i find that we need to run faster than time to catch up. but of course, this is very tiring and would cause a lot of stress… i also hope that i can be out of this kind of life soon…. sometimes i found myself caught in dilemma: on the one hand, i find myself achieved a lot when i run doubly fast; on the other hand, when i stop one day, i start querying myself whether i have moved too far… it’s always difficult to find the balance and to differentiate what is truly right and what is truly wrong….
hmm… just leave my worries to God and let Him arrange for me la….
Oh … the entire scorecard exercise, in my case, is simply to keep track on how I am doing with the resolutions I said I will do in new year. Set a target on that and keep the monitoring going.
And like some friends of mine have highlighted, all these targets may have to point to a larger goal in mind. I wish that finding a goal is that simple but it is not. So meanwhile while our souls are still searching for goals, how can we live a productive life? I think that is where I am trying to get at.
Perhaps a periodic self-reflection will help to align all that we do to all that we wish to be.