Definition of Done
In SCRUM project management methodology, there is something known as the Definition of Done (DOD). The purpose is to align the entire team and the stakeholders with their vision of success. Without the DOD it is all too easy for one person to think they have reached the end, when others think there is still work to be done. When you have budgets, timelines, and resources to work with, this can have drastic impacts to a project. Defining done makes it clear what success looks like. In our lives we might not always have a specific goal or project that ever reaches a done state, but we do have expectations for ourselves on what success looks like. Recently, I realized that my definition had been drastically off.
Back in August when I quit my full-time job to start my own business, I needed a frame of reference for success and the best I could do at the time was to compare what my business earned, with what I would have received if I had stayed working full time. As money came in and went out of my business account each week, I would look at that balance and if I was making more (or at least the same) as before, I viewed it as success. In hindsight I’m surprised I chose to do this because money was not the reason I quit - not at all.
I started my own business to have autonomy over my work. I didn’t want to be tied to one consulting job but be able to also explore my other interests like writing and speaking. I was sick of being to be too tired to spend time with friends and family because I was burnt out from work. I wanted to be able to travel again and decide where and when I would go. I wanted to be able to work anytime, anywhere, with people and companies that were doing something good in the world. Yes, I need to make money - because bills and all that - but choosing it as my key metric for success was a mistake.
This week, I deleted the row in my Excel document that was tracking this comparison. I deleted it because I don’t need to compare then and now; I am already doing everything I had hoped I would be doing. I have gotten to travel. I have gotten to choose the projects I want. I have gotten to write and speak and spend more time promoting my book. I have had more lunches with my family, visits with my friends, and time working on myself then I ever have had before. While I know the business never ends, it will ebb and flow and change over time, but by all the important metrics I am in line with my DOD. The only thing that tracking that number was doing was keeping me tied to the past.
If you ever set up metrics for yourself, make sure they reflect what is most important to you. Track efforts that don't keep you focused on who you were, but that propel you forward to the person you want to be. And remember that the person you want to be changes as life evolves, so if you ever feel like you're steering in the wrong direction, you may just need a new definition of success to put you back on track.
