I do several things around this time of the year; one is to think about my ideal self and my current self. One of the actions I do every year is a gap analysis, and I do this to see how well I am doing to attain my longer, yearly, mid-term goals (generally a few years) and 5-year goals. From the gap analysis, I update my product logs. Then, I try to do sprint projects for a specific product log. It is easy for me to lose the direction of leading myself if I do not compare them with my visions or longer-term goals. Therefore, gap analysis is a great tool.
A gap analysis reveals the size and types of issues we have by identifying the gaps between “as is” and “to be.” This analysis is commonly used in the business world. And I like to use these tools to analyze myself to build my strategies to narrow the gaps.
I like to do this analysis in the early morning because I generate more ideas early in the day. Take a letter-size (A4) page, and write them down. My process is as follows:
(1) Write down the list of ideal states.
You can write down anything you wish to be. Don’t worry about whether you can attain the ideal states or not. Yes, it is generally a good idea to avoid setting unattainable goals, and you want to be as open as possible. If it is not attainable, you should compromise by breaking them down into smaller goals before generating strategies to complete them. Never limit yourself from the start!
(2) Write down the list of current states.
Write down the list of current states relevant to your ideal states listed in the first process. It is crucial to be as honest as possible, and this process can be painful if you have not done gap analysis before. If you cannot see yourself objectively, you can ask your family members, loved ones, or friends.
(3) Identify Actions to attain the ideal states.
Now identify actions to attain the ideal states. If you want to lose weight, you must develop strategies to lose. The easiest way to achieve this goal is to create calories deficiencies by exercising or eating less. The more challenging the goal is, the more milestones you want to make to attain the goal. For example, if you’re going to lose 100lb, you should break down bigger goals into smaller goals such as six lb. per month.
Finally, I list the goals identified in processes one to three above. There are multiple ways to present your GAPs analysis; I prefer the format shown below:
Gap Analysis
Benefits of GAPs Analysis
The primary goal of GAPs analysis is to identify your ideal states and how far you are from these ideal states. Many people wish to reach certain conditions; however, they do not know precisely how to achieve their wishes. Therefore, A GAPs analysis is an excellent tool to create your action plans to achieve the goals.
Attainable Goals
People cannot achieve goals if they are unattainable. So, you will want to break down your goals into attainable pieces. Once you complete a GAPs analysis, go back to your ideal states. Some ideal states may take multiple years. For example, if you want to become an accountant but are still a freshman in a university, you have several years to accomplish the goals. You will need at least 150 credits in most states before completing CPA exams and one or two years of experience. Then, you may want to focus on achieving your university courses earning as good grades as possible. If you are an international student taking courses in a second language, you want to take classes in a specific order to sustain good grades. You can interview some CPAs from a nearby firm if you want to know anything more. If you need to lose many pounds, you must consider breaking it down into multiple milestones.
This year, I did this analysis on December 30th to plan my next year.
Ideal States
Family: Spend more time with my family
Health: Lose 15 lb.
Professional Skills: Learn more about Digital Transformation
Soft Skills: Better Listening skill & Negotiation (I recently did a DISC styles assessment, and I identified some of my problems)
Piano: Add Partita 2, Beethoven Sonata Ops 13. as my repertories
Painting: Improve my skills in drawing and watercolor painting
Blogs: Improve blogs, Fix bugs in my website
Current States
Family: Not able to spend as much time with my family members due to my busy schedule.
Health: I need to lose 15 lb. more to reach my ideal state
Professional Skills: gain more knowledge of digital transformation by taking courses, reading books, journals, and blogs. Learn application programming as I want to learn more about mobile technologies.
Soft Skills: I can read books, take courses, and reach out to executive consultants. I need to find specific strategies to improve my listening skills as I am unsure.
Actions
Family: Summer camp with my family members. Schedule my vacation dates ahead of time—better time management and delegating my tasks to take a vacation.
Health: Create calories deficit by exercising and calorie restrictions (approximately four months to achieve)
Professional Goals:
– Periodically read Open AI blogs
– Learn more about RPA courses offered online
– Take Coursera and Udemy courses on mobile programming
Soft Skills (listening skills): I can read books and courses and reach out to executive consultants. I need to find out the specific strategies to improve my listening skills as I am unsure.
Piano: Learn to play Partita 2, Beethoven Sonata Ops 13.
Painting: Improve my skills in drawing and watercolor painting by continuing 30 minutes per day drawing sessions and making at least one full-color painting per month
Blogs: Fix some blog websites (Contact form, Theme updates)
Once you have some idea of your action plans for the year, you need to make more specific goals. You want to make your particular goals are measurable so that you can monitor the results.
Gap analysis helps me identify my ideal states and how far I am from the ideal. I like to do gap analyses because then I know what I want to do the following year. With my action plan identified from this analysis, I will update my product logs and create sprint lists (projects) in my Notion software. This is how I spend my time around my new year, and this process helps me navigate my actions plan so that I am not all over the place.