I use this exercise twice a year to set myself up for success
She says Issa Rae has a tried-and-true method for setting herself up for success.
The 41-year-old writer, actor, producer and entrepreneur categorically organizes her goals and ideas in a notebook at the beginning of the year and revisits them six months later to check in on her progress, she told CNBC Make It.
Rae is generally a busy woman. He co-created, co-wrote and starred in the HBO series “Insecure,” which premiered in 2016 and concludes in 2021. He has appeared in many films, produced other films and TV shows, and founded several businesses, including production company Hoorae Media, Viarae Prosecco, hair care brand Sienna Naturals, and Hilltop Coffee and Kitchen, a California-based cafe chain.
Rae, who is also gearing up for a role in the new year, says New Year’s Day is “my superpower day.” An advertisement for TurboTax during Super Bowl 60 on Sunday. “That’s when everything feels possible. Everything will be done. [old] “I write in notebooks, I compile the ideas I write down and decide what is achievable and achievable, and I will set those goals.”
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Rae says she notes her personal and career goals separately and then writes down her resolutions. “I keep resolutions to three or four, and they’re really general, like ‘read more,’ ‘get better,’ etc. But the career and personal ones are actually very specific.” (Rae declined to share examples of these specific targets.)
Rae says that if a goal or solution idea comes to her mind at other times of the year, she makes sure to write it down before she forgets it. “The best ideas only come when you’re resting,” he says. “I always have a notebook with me.”
Rae describes herself as “not a good long-term thinker” and says that “having a routine and being really, really intentional about what my goals are” helps her stay disciplined.
The value of writing down your goals
You can even try replacing your bulleted list of goals with writing a letter to yourself, neuroscientist and author Erin Clabough told CNBC Make It on January 27. This exercise, he said, can help instill a sense of motivation and self-belief that you might otherwise lack.
Writing a letter to yourself is often most effective when you set open-ended, big-picture goals, Clabough said. A statement such as “I will have new, exciting experiences this year” can provide more flexibility and satisfaction than a rigid and unadaptable statement such as “I will travel to three countries this year.”
Once you give yourself a direction, “do your best towards that intention every day,” Clabough said. “You will make progress toward that, but sometimes it won’t happen in the way you intended to do it.”
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