I have often described forums as individual states within a larger union. By that, I mean there are some core overriding principles that should guide all forums; however, once we get past those principles, then each forum is going to adjust the agenda to match the goals of their group.
One particular way in which forums can easily play with the agenda is by changing up the monthly update.
The standard, traditional monthly update covers career, highs, and lows; personal, highs and lows; and family, highs and lows.
Here is an alternative monthly update worth trying to see if it matches better with the ethos of your forum.
This monthly update has four sections. For each section, you would rank yourself on a scale of 1 to 10 and then reflect on why you gave yourself that score, both the high points and the low points that happened over the past 30 days.
Health – How do you feel about your health? Are you working out? Are you eating well? How was your energy? Have you been sick lately? These are some of the questions that you might answer within the section.
Wealth – When you look at your career and your financial situation, how are you feeling? What’s happening within your career? Have you made any investments lately? Do you have debt? These are some of the questions you might answer within this section.
Love – How are the relationships with your significant others going? This might include your relationship with your spouse, family, kids, or someone you were dating.
Happiness – Overall how is your happiness? Are you on the right track in life? Are you doing things that bring you joy? Are you at peace? Do you have a lot of stress that is weighing heavy on you? These are some of the topics in my cover in this section.
One aspect I like about this monthly update is that it flows nicely into the wheel of life that some forms fill out every year because the language is similar for each section.
To implement this monthly update, you can either present it to the group and have the group take a vote as to if they want to use it, or you could just suggest that we’re going to try it out for one month, and afterward you can get a sense as to if the group liked it or not.
I encourage forums to experiment with smaller details, such as the monthly update, to find the perfect agenda that works for your group.