Last year was full of challenges in several aspects of my life. From crisis communications at work (who could have predicted what the world would be like back then?), to health issues (Diverticulitis, I despise you), to making the best of a quarantined lifestyle (with remote learning for the kiddos), 2020 was rough. As tiresome and long each day felt, I know many others experienced much worse and my heart goes out to them.
2021, on the other hand, has been filled with much more progress and hope. Vaccinations, fewer world problems impacting my work (knocks on wood), and a new additional member of the family. Meet Momo.
We adopted him in April when he was 6 weeks old. He was my secret personal OKR (Objective & Key Result) for 2021 that I dared not write about until my wife gave her blessing to adopt. For those who didn’t know, my wife despised cats based on previous unfortunate experiences. For the past several years, she explicitly said multiple times that we will NEVER get a family cat. Thankfully, prayers were answered and Momo has melted her icy heart towards felines. 🔥 Today, I saw her playing with the little fur ball, talking to him as if he’s an adorable baby (he really is!), and laughing with him. The twins, who have been super responsible in feeding him and cleaning his kitty litter box twice a day, are overjoyed too. The family feels complete… but now I keep telling my wife that Momo’s life would be richer with a sibling. 😆
Of course, the time and energy commitment to raising a kitten has truly disrupted my personal OKRs. So how did I do for for the first half (H1) in 2021? For accountability, I categorized my performance with three colors:
🟢 = Pass
🟠 = So-So / “Meh”
🔴 = At Risk / Fail
🟠 1. Make room for dream projects
🟢 I’ve set clearer work boundaries. I rarely work earlier than 7am and past 5:30pm; and thankfully, even less work on weekends.
🟢 I completed my Drek Happens podcast in March as planned. It’s truly humbling and energizing to know there are fellow nerds out there listening to my stories. 99% of my IRL (in-real-life) loved ones can NOT relate to this podcast whatsoever so I’m really happy how this podcast has reached over 29,000 plays and downloads so far.
🔴 I have NOT restricted myself to 1 hour of social media or gaming. When work is done and Momo is asleep, I find myself sucked into enjoying cat videos and playing games with friends. It’s not a bad thing (I’m loving life) but it’s a big FAIL for OKRs. The original purpose of this OKR was to ensure I focus on dream projects more so. I have room to improve here.
🟢 2. Cherish and be present with family
🟢 I’m on track to finalizing the anticipated JereMaya Year 9 video by end of June/early July. Can’t wait to show the family!
🟢 I’m on track to celebrate the 15th anniversary with the wife in Q3. This may be obvious to many but sadly, we really just never know with certain couples unless you explicitly ask them, “How you are doing?” It’s good to ask and it’s good to share status updates with those you trust and love.
🟢 I continue individual weekly dates with wife and monthly dates with each twin. Lately, wife and I have been binging on “A Million Little Things” – we definitely bond much closer watching and discussing the drama and fascinating problems of each character. Shows like this vividly remind me why it’s so stupid, painful, and wrong to be dishonest with yourself and your family. As with the twins, I’ve hit a new milestone by introducing them to my dusty Xbox 360 console and the games I’ve played before they were born. We’re playing Castle Crashers together and I introduced them to Skyrim. One 30 minute video game session per day is their new summer adventure and they absolutely love playing and talking about gaming with me. This geeky dad is very proud. I balance out the nerdy digital fun with teaching them football plays (all our team plays are based on Star Wars terminology), rollerblading (yes, I bought a new pair for myself after decades of not skating), and teaching them break dancing lessons.
🔴 3. Learn, produce and publish music
🔴 I have not been practicing the piano on a daily basis. At most, I’ve been practicing 2-3 times per week, which isn’t too disappointing. Momo requires much more attention in this season so I don’t feel guilty.
🔴 I have not learned all the essentials in Ableton Live and I won’t be able to do so by Q2. Same reason: Momo.
🟢 This is perhaps my most proud achievement this year – producing my first song by Q1. It’s called Resolve and is a synthwave instrumental soundtrack inspired by my love for video games and TRON. When I created “Resolve” I wanted to convey the feelings of persevering through struggles and dream projects. Nothing happens as planned so there are hints of darkness, melancholy, and ultimately, hope in taking next steps. I gained so much music production knowledge and I have plenty more to learn but am really happy how it turned out. Hope to create another song in H2!
🟢 4. Pursue that 2nd marathon
🟠 I haven’t officially increased my Functional Threshold Power (FTP) this quarter as I haven’t been riding my indoor bike as much. However, with all the increased running and physical training outdoors I have no doubt my FTP has increased.
🟢 I’m on track for becoming marathon ready by the end of the year. I’ve seriously upped my game and focus on running and am really happy to completing an 8 mile run last week without any major concerns for pain or injury. If I continue to keep up this intensity and cadence of runs, I should be in good shape the rest of this year.
🟢 I’m on track for executing 20 pull-ups in a row. I’ve also been training 3-4 times a week with 100 pushups and 100 situps. Sometimes I’m able to complete 200 of each on certain days. All this should contribute to my overall core strengths and ability to execute this OKR by end of the year.
🟠 5. Commit to creative writing
🔴 I have NOT blogged once a month. There is no excuse (but I still blame Momo 😅). I think going forward, quarterly blog posts will be best.
🟢 I have been writing nearly every week with learnings. I often take notes in all my day-to-day meetings with lessons learned, books I’m reading, and Exec Comms coach sessions.
🟢 I share quarterly OKR updates – Yep, that’s what I’m doing now!
🟠 6. Explore the idea of becoming an adjunct professor
🔴 I have not yet followed up with friends in academia by Q1. This is something I plan to do after updating my resume.
🟠 I have started to update my resume but it feels incomplete. Much of my content creation in the past 12 years of being an Internal Comms professional is either confidential or obsolete. This prompted me to seriously consider publishing and building new content later this year. I’ve got some bold ideas that I’m excited to share later.
🟢 I’m on track to making a clear decision by Q3. I’m currently in the conceptual planning stage in potentially publishing internal comms content. Through this process, I’m getting a greater sense of how to organize curriculum to appeal to those interested in the internal comms profession.
So, how do I feel with my personal OKR updates?
There are quite a few red circles. But honestly, I’m on cloud nine. OKRs are not meant to be fully completed or perfectly executed. They’re meant to stretch your boundaries and reach for the stars. On many of them – the most important ones to me right now – I feel like I’ve done that while with others I feel like I’m still going in the right direction. None of these OKR status updates are unhealthy or discouraging. The biggest disruptor to all the personal OKRs was an unexpected gift. Momo has utterly changed our lives and I’m not complaining.