Unlock Success With a Personal Dashboard

Have you ever been on a boat, sailing carefree, with the sun shining and the distant shore in sight, only to have it suddenly obscured by a thick unexpected fog rolling in? Having the right instruments to help you out of an emergency can save your life. That’s one reason I believe it’s important to equip yourself with a personal dashboard. A simple set of instruments that help ease your nerves and keep you on course.

A personal dashboard is a tool for effectively guiding and managing one’s life. It provides a structured framework for organizing and visualizing important elements such as goals, upcoming events, key performance indicators, and personal development areas.

Here’s a straightforward way to build a quick dashboard of your own. Take a sheet of paper and divide it into four equal sections.

Label the upper left square “Vision.” This section represents your picture of success and encompasses your current state and where you want to be in the next few months. It’s important to clearly understand your goals and aspirations to plan your journey effectively. In this section, build context by showing where you’ve been and where you want to go in the next few months because if you don’t know where you are or where you’re headed, how do you hope to get there? Make it simple on yourself, draw a picture, make a list; it doesn’t matter, just as long as it’s clear for you.

Label the lower left box, under your vision, “Forecast of Significant Events.” List and/or predict upcoming events or milestones likely to occur in the next 30–60 days. These events can either aid or hinder your progress toward your vision. By anticipating them, you can better prepare and adjust your plans accordingly. This is where you reasonably predict what’s coming in the near future. In sales, it’s called a pipeline; for meteorologists’, it’s the weather forecast. Consult your calendar or whatever resources you have to list the events likely to happen in the next 30–60 days and determine if they could aid or hinder your vision.

In the upper right box, write “Key Performance Indicators.” This section focuses on identifying and tracking two important motivating measures for you, represented as graphs.

1. Think about your vision and what you want to achieve. Think about the thing you can do to cause the result you want. This is called your process measure or leading indicator. That’s your first graph. The leading measure represents the process or actions you must take to achieve your desired outcome.
2. The second graph is more common. It’s the easy one, the result, or the lagging measure. While a leading measure might be the number of lollipops you ate, and the lagging measure is the number of cavities you got. This second graph represents the actual results or outcomes you want to achieve.

Sometimes people freak out over metrics. Don’t. Metrics are neutral, so relax. In both graphs, the horizontal line represents time, preferably days or weeks. The vertical line represents units or amounts (e.g., pounds lost, dollars gained, cups of coffee drank, books read.)

In the lower right square, write “Personal Development.” This section captures areas you want to improve, whether hard skills (technical abilities) or soft skills (personal qualities and traits). Personal development is essential for growth and progress toward your vision. There are things you need to improve, be they hard or soft skills.

By regularly consulting your dashboard, you gain a visual overview of your goals, upcoming events, progress indicators, and areas of personal development. This helps you stay focused, track your progress, and make informed decisions to navigate your life efficiently toward your desired outcomes.

Struggling with Vision?

1. Reflect on your current situation and where you want to be in the next few months. Ask yourself questions like: What are my goals? What does success look like to me? What do I want to achieve in my career, relationships, health, personal growth, etc.?
2. Visualize your ideal future state. You can use various techniques, such as drawing a picture, creating a mind map, or making a list. Choose a method that resonates with you and helps you express your vision clearly.
3. Be specific and concrete when describing your vision. Instead of vague statements, include measurable and achievable goals. For example, rather than saying, “I want to be healthier,” say, “I want to exercise four times a week and maintain a balanced diet to lose 10 pounds in the next three months.”
4. Keep your vision visible and review it regularly. Display it in a prominent place or save it digitally to access and reflect upon it easily.

The Vision section of your dashboard represents your desired outcomes and provides a clear direction. It must inspire and motivate you to take action toward achieving your goals.

How to Forecast Significant Events

1. Consider the events or milestones likely to occur over the next 30–60 days. These events can be related to various aspects of your life, such as work, personal life, relationships, projects, or any other significant commitments.
2. List the events that can either support or challenge your progress. For example, a project deadline, an important meeting or presentation, a planned vacation, or a social event may impact your schedule or energy levels.
3. Assess how each event can aid or hinder your progress toward your vision. For events that can support your goals, think about how you could leverage them to make progress. For events that might pose challenges or distractions, consider how to mitigate their impact or adjust your plans to stay on track.
4. If possible, estimate the time and effort required to prepare for or handle each event. This will help you allocate your resources effectively and avoid surprises or last-minute rushes.
5. Regularly review and update this section as new events or changes occur. Stay flexible and adapt your plans as needed to accommodate unforeseen circumstances.

By forecasting and listing significant events in the next 30–60 days, you can proactively prepare and adjust your plans to ensure they align with your vision. Anticipating potential obstacles or opportunities lets you stay focused, make informed decisions, and help you progress toward your desired outcomes more effectively.

Simplify Key Performance Indicators

Create two graphs, one for leading and one for lagging measures.

1. The first graph represents a leading indicator, focusing on the process or actions needed to achieve your desired outcome. This indicator helps you track and measure the activities that directly contribute to your goals.
2. Pick one specific action or behavior essential for progressing toward your vision.
3. Decide on a suitable unit of measurement for your leading indicator. It could be the number of tasks completed, hours spent on a specific activity, pages written, or any other relevant metric.
4. Create a graph that visually represents the progress of your leading measure over time. The horizontal axis represents time, preferably days or weeks, and the vertical axis represents the units or amounts of the chosen metric.
5. The second graph represents the lagging measures, the results or outcomes you want to achieve. This indicator provides a measurement of the result you’re striving for.
6. Pick one specific outcome or result that is aligned with your vision.
7. Determine a suitable unit of measurement for your lagging indicator. It could be revenue generated, pounds lost, projects completed or any other relevant metric that quantifies your desired outcome.
8. Create a graph that visually represents the progress of your lagging measure over time. Again, use the horizontal axis to represent time and the vertical axis to represent the units or amounts of the chosen metric.
9. Regularly update your graphs to track progress and measure the alignment between your leading and lagging indicators.

By visually representing a leading and lagging indicator as graphs, you can monitor your progress, identify trends, and adjust your actions as necessary. These KPIs provide a clear and measurable way to evaluate your performance and ensure that you’re moving in the right direction toward your desired outcomes.

What about Personal Development?

Your goal is to improve something.

1. Reflect on your current strengths and weaknesses. Consider areas where you feel you could benefit from further growth or development.
2. Identify specific hard skills that are relevant to your goals and vision. These skills could be technical abilities related to your profession, hobbies, or areas of interest. E.g., learning A.I., improving your presentation skills, or enhancing your knowledge in a specific field.
3. Similarly, identify soft skills that would contribute to your personal and professional growth. These skills are often related to interpersonal communication, leadership, emotional intelligence, time management, and adaptability. E.g., improving your listening skills, becoming a better team player, or enhancing your ability to manage stress.
4. Pick 3–4 areas of personal development based on their importance and relevance to your goals and vision.
5. Determine specific actions or steps to improve in each identified area. E.g., enrolling in courses or workshops, reading books or articles, seeking mentorship or guidance, practicing specific techniques, or engaging in experiential learning opportunities.
6. Set specific goals or milestones for each area of personal development to help you track your progress and ensure you’re making tangible improvements.
7. Review and update your personal development plan as you progress and evolve to assess your growth and identify new areas for improvement continuously.

Continuously investing in personal development can enhance your abilities, expand your knowledge, and help you become well-rounded.

Creating a personal dashboard brings clarity and focus to your vision and goals. It allows you to identify and anticipate significant events or milestones that might impact your progress. Tracking key performance indicators helps you measure your progress and make necessary adjustments. Additionally, acknowledging areas for personal development enables continuous growth and improvement.

Download a Free Template

Achieve your goals with the Personal Dashboard Worksheet from Karl Bimshas Consulting. This powerful tool eases nerves and keeps busy professionals on track.

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About Karl Bimshas

Karl Bimshas is a Boston-bred, California-chilled Leadership Consultant and Writer. As the founder of Karl Bimshas Consulting, he provides customized leadership development resources and accountability partnering to busy professionals who want to manage better and lead well.

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