Issa Rae has a proven, established formula for success, she says.
The 41-year-old writer, actor, producer, and entrepreneur told CNBC Make It that she clearly organizes her goals and ideas in a notebook at the beginning of the year, then revisits it six months later to check on her progress.
Ray is always a busy woman. She co-created, co-wrote and starred in the HBO series “Insecure,” which premiered in 2016 and ended in 2021. She has appeared in several films, produced other films and television shows, and launched several businesses, including production companies Hoorae Media, Viarae Prosecco, hair care brand Sienna Naturals, and California-based coffee shop chain Hilltop Coffee and Kitchen.
New Year’s Day is “a superpower day for me,” Ray says. Ray will also appear in a TurboTax commercial during Super Bowl 60 on Sunday. “That’s when you feel like everything is possible. Everything is done. I look at my (old) notebooks, put together the ideas I’ve written down, decide what’s achievable, what’s achievable, and set those goals.”
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Ray says she writes down her personal and career goals separately, then writes out her resolutions. “I have three or four resolutions that are really general, like ‘read more’ or ‘be better,’ but the career and personal ones are actually very specific.” (Rae declined to share examples of those specific goals.)
When Ray comes up with ideas for goals and resolutions at other times of the year, she writes them down so she doesn’t forget them. “The best ideas come when you’re just relaxing,” she says. “I always have a notebook nearby.”
Ray describes himself as a “long-term thinker” and says that “having a routine and really being intentional about what my goals are” helps him stay disciplined.
The value of writing down your goals
From Daymond John, founder and CEO of FUBU and longtime investment judge on ABC’s “Shark Tank,” to billionaire Richard Branson, some of the biggest names in business have talked about writing down their goals. According to neuroscientists and psychologists, simple exercise can help you reach your goals, help you create a clear plan, and better track your progress.
Instead of a bulleted list of goals, you can also try writing a letter to yourself, neuroscientist and author Erin Clabaugh told CNBC Make It on January 27. She said the practice helps instill motivation and confidence that might otherwise be lacking.
Clabaugh says writing a letter to yourself is generally the most effective way to set big-picture goals in an open-ended manner. A statement like “This year I’m going to try new and exciting experiences” may lead to more flexibility and satisfaction than something rigid and less malleable like “This year I’m going to travel to three countries.”
Then, once you’ve given yourself a direction, “do your best toward that intention every day,” Clabaugh says. “We’re going to move towards it, but sometimes things don’t go the way we want them to.”
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