Nearing the end of a calendar year always makes me think of all the goals I want to accomplish in the next 12 months. I strongly dislike the term “New Year’s Resolutions,” but “New Year’s goal setting” just doesn’t have the same ring to it.
I set a goal while I was in college to visit all 50 states before I turned 30. In 2017, I made it with about six months to spare after a road trip from Indiana to Maine checked the final northeastern states off my list. Maine reminded me a lot of my home state of Washington, and I can’t wait to visit again sometime. The coastline and all the trees were refreshing and visiting lighthouses was fun, too. I also enjoyed that there were significantly fewer people in Portland, Maine, than in the Seattle area. While I officially set this goal in my late teens, it first became an idea during a family vacation to Alaska when I was much younger.
Alaska was one of the first states I visited when I was 6 or 7 years old and was one of my family’s go-to vacation spots. We made several trips over the years to Anchorage, Fairbanks and other places in Alaska, including one to attend the ceremonial start of the Iditarod in 2000. There wasn’t much snow on the ground in Anchorage at the time, and they had to bring it in for the dogsled race that year. I appreciate this experience more now than I did at the time and remember thinking how cold it was, but then again, it was winter in Alaska so I’m not sure what I was expecting.
In this issue, I interviewed Scott Plagerman from Alaska Range Dairy, which is Alaska’s last remaining Grade A dairy farm near Fairbanks, about what it takes to run a dairy farm in Alaska when temperatures stay below zero degrees Fahrenheit for most of the year. Flip to page 46 to learn more about how they designed their buildings to withstand the cold, how they manage their feeding program without constantly running equipment in and out of the barns, and how they prepare for winter on the farm.
It's hard to believe it’s already December and the new year is quickly approaching. Have you started thinking about your goals for 2023?
I consider myself to be a planner, and I put a lot of thought into my overall goal-setting process each year. While everyone plans differently, I’ve learned that approaching it with a strategic mindset works well for me. Several industry friends have recently asked for tips on planning their year to accomplish some big goals. Maybe one of these ideas will help you with your planning as well.
I start by brainstorming all the things I want to accomplish in the coming year personally and professionally. No idea is too big or too small. When all the ideas are on paper, I think through which ones are the most important and then break down the timeline by quarter. This makes accomplishing these goals much easier and less mentally daunting, especially with the big goals.
Within each quarter, I determine ideal outcomes and benchmarks for each month and then I determine what needs to be done each week to accomplish my goals. I only focus on the current quarter when planning monthly and weekly tasks, since some benchmarks for later in the year are hard to determine in these early planning stages and some will need to be adjusted later. I’ve learned how important it is to stay flexible in these plans, especially with projected timelines. Sometimes, life happens and plans need to change.
The goal here is forward momentum. It’s easy to plan and not as easy to actually bring these goals and dreams to fruition. There is also something to be said about writing your goals down, being intentional and having a positive attitude.
Cheers to a productive and fun 2023!
