Goals for 2012

Lessons learned from 2011’s Goals: I need to find my doable point before I can stretch beyond that. While I like the yearly plan and will keep it, I’m going to break it down to what I can accomplish in a month. Carrying the metaphor of Big Rocks, the monthly goals are my Boulders, things to finish in a week are the Big Rocks, and daily chores become the Pebbles. I’m also crossing fingers and hoping that the monthly focus will change some things into daily habits.

The big topics this year: Monetary concerns, taking health seriously, spirituality practice, incorporating writing into my life more fully, and getting non-anxious over submissions.

Monetary Concerns

• Specific: Follow the budget set up by the CC Fairy.
• Measurable: Update Quicken every day.
• Action-oriented: Do the exercise assigned by the CC Fairy. Due on January 20th: a spending diary and reports on my spending habits.
• Realistic: Prioritize spending:
  1. Food
  2. Gasoline
  3. Utilities
  4. Mortgage
  5. Chase Student Loan
  6. Family Loans
  7. All other loans
• Trackable: Update NetWorthIQ badge every month.
  • Update the zero-balance budget spreadsheet each month.

Take health seriously

• Specific: Follow Primal guidelines on food and exercise
• Measurable: Weigh every morning
  • Take body measurements once-a-week
• Action-oriented: Exercise every day.
• Realistic: Lose 4 pounds by next check-up with Dr. Miller
• Trackable: Keep a food diary and measurements at FitDay.com
  • Fill out the workout log book every day I exercise and show progress at Joe's Goals

Spirituality Practice

• Specific: Carve out sacred space in my house where I can store the tools and conduct rituals.
• Measurable: Read 365 Goddess.
• Action-oriented: Create a new Book of Shadows
• Realistic: Celebrate the Sabbats.
• Trackable: Journal exercises and Sabbat rituals in the Book of Shadows.

Fiction Writing

• Specific: Finish Stellar Gift of Death
  • Edit “Words of Parting”
  • Edit “Blue Man on the Porch”
  • World building for the steampunk mystery
  • World building for Piper of Shadows universe
  • World building for Zy’s universe
  • Edit Forget the Sun for Mez’s 2012 project.
  • Write 2000 words a week and pick out a new project once Stellar is finished.
• Measurable: Post the weekly total at DUF using the Writertopia progress bar.
• Action-oriented: Dedicate at least 30 minutes on a writing project every day.
• Realistic: Write what I feel like I can’t not write.
• Trackable: Each story has a marathon tracker of its own, and metrics are posted every day at DUF.

Submitting more stories

• Specific: Submit to three markets.
• Measurable: Enter submissions into Sonar 3
• Action-oriented: Look for 12 markets.
• Realistic: Look for email markets.
• Trackable: Note how anxious I am about the submission in Sonar3.

So now to break down to what Boulders I want to do in January.

January Boulders

• Due on January 20th: a spending diary and reports on my spending habits.
• Start reading 365 Goddess
• Research for Imbolc celebrations on Feb. 2
• Self-assessment for exercising.
• Take measurements on Jan. 1st
• Finish Stellar Gift of Death

Changes to make on my Pebbles list:

• Write 15 minutes x 2
• Exercise every day and track what is done
• Update Quicken every day

Read Free!
The BookWorm