2022 Year Mapping + Surprises

and how to set yourself, family and work up for success in the new year

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I can’t believe I am typing this, but, we tested positive to the latest Covid-19 variant - Omicron. First off, we are perfectly fine. 3 out of 6 of us are vaccinated, and the other three are our littles - 4 years and under - a group although unvaccinated reacts less severely to the virus.

We generally test our family weekly, using a home test kit purchased earlier this year. I woke up with a cough on Friday and decided on Sunday when my throat became itchy to test. No one else was showing symptoms. In fact, the kids had a stronger positive test and remain asymptomatic. For that I am grateful. My slight cough is getting better as I sip on my immune-boosting tea. Keep reading for my recipe.

This experience have taught me a few things, no matter what we do, the virus is everywhere. It is completely out of our hands now. We, as a family, took all the precautions - washing groceries, sanitizing supplies, surfaces, doorknobs, handles, etc. That is how seriously we took this virus. The kids haven’t left the house for a full month just so we could avoid this virus. And yet, somehow we caught this stuff. And I know we wouldn’t even know this if we didn’t have a home test kit. This makes me wonder how many of us have this virus but its largely undetected.

For one, I am relieved. I am relieved that I no longer have to wonder what would happen if and when we catch the virus. I am relieved that the kids are asymptomatic for the most part (we will continue to watch for symptoms).

What can we expect early 2022? A little bit of disruption

There is of course still so much to discover about the strain but preliminary evidence shows that it could be more transmissible than previous strains of the virus. Expect disruptions to everything - childcare, work, travel, healthcare and more. Kids may need to go virtual for a few weeks, daycare centers may close, your nanny or babysitter may fall sick, and so on and so forth. And to think that we all somehow thought 2022 might just be the year we go back to “normal”?

My Goal Planning Process

So, what am I doing? Instead of wallowing in self-pity and writing the year 2022 off, I am choosing to do the opposite. Infact, I was able to channel this experience into picking my word for 2022. I had started working on my goals for 2022 and then I developed this cough and general malaise, so I placed it on hold, but after 24hrs with my immune-boosting tea and well wishes on IG from friends and family, I was able to pick the words up again.

Without further ado, here are my steps to mapping out 2022.

What I did was basically draw from my years of experience as an Operational Excellence Consultant where we develop an Individual Performance Plan and map out Key Performance Indicators to measure throughout the year. To make it less stressful, I adopted the OKR process. OKR is a popular goal management framework that helps companies implement and execute strategy. The benefits of the framework includes a better focus on results that matter, increased transparency, and better (strategic) alignment.

An OKR consists of an Objective, which tells you where to go, and several Key Results, which are the results you need to achieve to get to your Objective. Initiatives are all the projects and tasks that will help you achieve your Key Results.

So let me show you how I achieved this in my own personal life and business. Here are the first things I did. I asked myself two key questions:

1. What areas of my life do I want to focus on in 2022. What big goals do I want to achieve, and by when?

2. How will I know if I am on track and what are the task/activities I need to complete to get there?

I chose five focus area and mapped each one out by Objective (OBJ), Key Results 1 (KR1), Key Results 2 (KR2), etc. Below you will find my exact OKR for 2022, and if you pay attention, you should be able to see the exact KPI I’ll be tracking in the days to come.

• F1: MIND & BODY HEALTH

OBJ: develop physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual strength and capacities

KR1: three weight training per week, three cycling (peloton) per week, one rest day

KR2: build a night-time ritual, meditate on the Bible, pray, and journal - Bed time 10:00pm - 4:45am

KR3: sustainable meal plan: eat two boiled eggs, fresh fruits and coffee for breakfast, low carb lunch, join Bisi on no-carbs dinner. Snack on nuts and boiled eggs.

• F2: HOUSEHOLD / FAMILY

Obj: Ensure my children thrive physically, mentally, academically

KR1: Lesson teacher to help: (1) Dekanmi and Derin read, write and solve simple mathematical concepts (2) Tayo stay focused on her classes, homework, and projects

KR2: Enroll each child in one extra curricular activities to improve their physical, mental, and emotional well-being. One outdoor activity per day.

KR3: No TV/screens on weekdays. TV/screens on weekends during downtime

KR4: Nightly prayer time at 6:45pm to deepen connection with family values and God.

• F3: MOTHER HONESTLY

Obj: develop and build Mother Honestly core product and launch by end of Q2 2022

KR1: Fully hire and onboard core employees and set them up for success

KR2: Launch two key features of the new MH platforms and test with market ahead of Q3 launch.

KR3: Reach 1MM+ mothers and convert 5% to paying customers by Q4 2022. Generate $1MM+ in revenue

• F4: ADVENTURE

OBJ: elevate my connection to myself, Bisi, and the children

KR1: plan one personal time per month alone away from home for at least 4-6hrs to pause, reflect, and re-connect with self.

KR2: Date night or fun activity with Bisi sans kids

KR3: plan one family oriented activity (picnic, beach, etc.) per week to connect with kids

KR4: one international vacation for the family

• F5: FRIENDS & COMMUNITY

OBJ: continue to build intentional relationships with friends, my community, and people I admire.

KR1: 1-2 brunch meetings per week with friends and community

KR2: Share my knowledge via newsletter weekly, 1 IG Live per week and connect 1:1 via household strategy sessions

KR3: Plan one international vacation with friends (a stretch goal)

You may choose to map out additional initiatives for each KR, I chose to postpone that step for now. The last step is setting your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) which is simply another word for measurement, tracking, and accountability. I tend to do this quick and dirty by placing markers in my calendar for when I need these things to be achieved. So if you have KRs planned for Q1 and Q2, key this into your calendar. Daily behaviors or tasks that needs to be tracked can be keyed into your calendar as well. For example, writing this weekly newsletter (KR), that rolls into 52 newsletters per year (KPI) is keyed into my calendar as a recurring task.

My word for 2022: Embrace

It surprised me. Because typically, I gravitated towards jaw-dropping words that would stop you in your track, and in a year where I plan to achieve big hairy audacious goals (BHAG), God kept me humble, nudging my heart to this word: embrace. So simple, yet so powerful.

Embrace originated from Old French embracer, based on Latin in- ‘in’ + bracchium ‘arm’. It means to surround, encircle, hold, clasp, grip, clinch enthusiastically. For me, it signals a new beginning for my now complete family, to embrace them all completely, nurturing and nourishing them. It also sets the stage for whats to come at Mother Honestly in a year where mothers will be tested once more, and will require a safe cocoon, a warm hug, a cup of warm tea, an affectionate friend - and that will be Mother Honestly, embracing women of all backgrounds, providing them with tools, resources, and support in the coming months.

If you are looking for a more methodical way to pick your word of the year, these steps would be very helpful to you.

My Signature Immune-boosting Recipe

You didn’t think I would leave you without sharing my signature tea recipe, did you? With the cold, flu, and covid making its rounds across the world, you certainly need this immune boosting tea to get rid of cough, general malaise, and lift your spirit.

Ingredients: 1 whole orange, 1 whole lime, 1 whole lemon, 2 whole grapefruits, 2 Tazo Wild Orange tea, 2 Yogi Ginger tea, 2 ginger roots, Honey (to taste)

Direction: Wash your fruits thoroughly, and slice into 4-6 parts. Squeeze the juices into a clean pot, and toss into the pot. Add the tea bags or fresh tea leave. Add chopped ginger roots. Boil for 30 minutes. Leave contents in the pot the rest of the day and sip throughout the day. Add honey to taste.

Thanks for reading the Unlearn newsletter! I will try hard to make it a newsletter you look forward to each week, so if you have something you would like to unlearn, or something you recently unlearned, I will like to hear from you.

Let’s unlearn to achieve!

✌🏻 Blessing

You can also learn more about what I am building for women and families at Mother Honestly or a little more about me on my Website, Twitter or LinkedIn and follow along my daily routine on Instagram.

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