I love getting to this holiday season, looking back in time and being amazed at what people search for on the internet throughout the year.
Google Trends search trends document me to get this reflective article out and on a personal and professional level, organize my next year.
I always say I’m surprised by the results of trends, but I think I’m lying to myself.
That there is a preponderance of weather searches, sports, gambling and television programs of questionable quality is not a reflection of humanity. It is simply a statistic that I don’t think it is fair to define us.
I see this year as a story of optimism and overcoming.
Although analyzing the data it’s hard for me to see it clearly… but I’m trying, I promise ¯ (ツ)_/¯
This is my resolution for the year: Let’s look at the positive side of things and start the year 2022 with good spirits, good energy, which we need.
These last two years have meant a rupture of paradigms, of relationships, of health, of jobs.
Those of us in the digital sector are privileged and, in general, we have seen an exponential growth of our projects.
But there are sectors that are much more “touched”, there are people who have seen how their living conditions have been profoundly altered and let’s be honest, change costs, it requires work.
The when, how and why reminds me of the song by siniestro total.
What better way to start the year dancing a little with Siniestro. And as the lyrics say:
Who are we, where do we come from?
Total Loss
Where are we going?
Are we alone in the galaxy or in company?
What if there is an afterlife?
What if there is reincarnation?
So let’s start with the when, the time limits we need to place ourselves and look for what we long for.
When
What we look for most in the when:
- When Spain plays
- When is Black Friday
- When is it my turn to be vaccinated?
- When Madrid plays
- When is Easter Week
- When WhatsApp returns
- When Barcelona plays
- When the Olympics begin
- When is carnival
- When Fifa 22 is released
It can’t all be bad if the most searched things on Google are “when does Spain play” and “when is Black Friday”.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the search engines knew “when it’s my turn to get vaccinated” before I did. We are sure to find the answer in the search engine results, rather than in the fantastic public websites of the Health Office we are dealing with.
Nevertheless, a bit worrying that Google knows before you do. Sorry for the self-promotion, but you should still read the post: Alternative search engines to Google.
As always the predominance of sport. But what surprised me this year without a doubt is: “When is WhatsApp coming back”.
I want to be positive, I try my hardest, but when faced with that question my head explodes 🤯.
We are becoming technologically dependent, but hey, these failures can help us to be anti-fragile (in Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s terms) and stop worrying about meaningless things.
That, and there are much better messaging applications. But we won’t go into that garden any better. Remember, I’m in a positive mood, and I’m making a big effort.
How?
The list of how leaves deep philosophical reflections:
- What is the name of Thor’s hammer?
- How to know if I am delinquent
- How Madrid is doing
- How Spain is doing
- What is the name of the acacia flower
- How the elections are going in Madrid
- How to obtain the COVID passport
- How a giraffe sleeps
- What is the name of the olive tree flower?
- How to make bread
From Thor’s hammer to knowing if I am a defaulter is a long way. It’s funny how we let Google know better about our debts than we do ourselves.
How Madrid and Spain are doing, I understand that it deals with sports issues. About the acacia flower, it escapes me what happened to cause this sudden interest in botany.
I am not surprised by the COVID passport consultation. There has been such a barrage of conflicting information that it’s a miracle you didn’t end up getting it at the Lottery office. By the way, the easiest way to have it is to get vaccinated 😉
I was delighted that in this ranking, this year the society showed other interests to sport; such as the example of the acacia, the sleeping of giraffes and the olive blossom. They sleep standing up, in case you didn’t know.
The bread (and yeast) issue has been a constant since the pandemic. Boredom? greater awareness of the quality of the bread we eat? Be that as it may it is a very fun and rich hobby, I fell into it too.
Why?
- Why a volcano erupts
- Why electricity is going up
- Why Messi is leaving
- Why Melendi is not in La Voz
- Why does the arm hurt with the vaccine?
- Why Cat was crazy in Victorious
- Why Women’s Day is celebrated
- Why do I get application closures?
- Why cats purr
- Why there are so many earthquakes in Grenada
The list that awakens our creativity. It is born from the need to know more about something, its origin, motives and reasons.
It is the engine of humanity, what gives meaning to our lives to keep fighting and in second place is: “why does the light go up?”.
Is there anyone who has NOT wondered?
It is normal that the volcano of La Palma has attracted so much attention. I was very amused by the “why are my applications closing on me”.
What the hell is this for?
After all these years doing this review I ask myself: Does it do me any good? (Here are all the articles in the series: 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020).
It’s funny but they are a “look back” at a period of time. The celebration of the end of the year allows me to reflect on what has been achieved during this period and enables us to look forward to the future with some hope.
I get very excited about what is coming, what I want to achieve. On a personal and professional level, I set my OKRs every quarter.
If you haven’t heard the term comes from Objectives – Key – Results. Objectives and key results.
It was an organizational methodology, originally from Intel, popularized by Google itself and explained in John Doerr‘s book: “Measure what matters“.
It is a very simple but powerful methodology to achieve your objectives.
The goal is what you want to achieve and:
” Key results are a benchmark and monitor how we get to that goal.”
John Doerr
I have been practicing this methodology for a couple of years now and it has really helped me to focus. As he points out the method helps to be more productive, as the quarterly targets are challenging.
I define them on a quarterly basis, but this annual review is one of the most important.
The one I dedicate more time to because it has that halo of mysticism that is mixed with the Christmas holidays, which can awaken a certain nostalgia.
Maybe later I will publish an article with examples. If you want to know more, in the Argentine podcast: La fábrica del tiempo, they have a spectacular episode about it.
As self-employed companies, organization and productivity should be a key objective. Let me know if you made it.
I work in that area every day of my life. I am generally organized, but customer management in services is deeply demanding, which causes us to lose our way more often than I would like to admit.
My OKRs I pose them in mind maps. Just like the keyword studies allow me to visualize everything in a roadmap, which I separate into three areas: (1) finances, (2) objectives and (3) knowledge.
As the methodology points out, missing targets some quarters is a good thing. It means you’re not setting the bar too low.
What you must learn is to be flexible, to set objectives and key results that do not generate stress, but motivation, and also allow you to be more productive.
I think the last two years have been very complex. That many people have suffered (physically and mentally) and that part of society does not evaluate its context and reality by itself.
It does so through the eyes of the media (and social networks) that bet on the easy headline, on the generation of fear, repetition ad nauseam that conditions our perceptions.
Mistrust and fear of the “other” have prevailed and political and health management has been carried out in the way it could be done: imperfectly in the face of unprecedented circumstances.
I am convinced that all the protagonists have tried to play their role in the best possible way, even if this sometimes triggered confusion and fears.
The contradictions in the measures do not cease and society itself (and the individual) is blamed, generating absurd situations. I highly recommend this report by Ángel Martín:
You are NOT guilty of anything. I very much agree with Angel and his reflection, hats off to him for saying things so clearly. Bravo!
So I hope you can sit back and enjoy New Year’s Eve with your family and friends. May you enjoy yourself without fear and above all, look forward to the coming year with hope.
May you start the year with good energy and may 2022 be a fantastic year for you and all your projects. See you next year.
Live long and prosper!
