I’ve had this post sitting in my draft folder since I first started writing it on January 2nd.  Some posts are like that. They sit, because I’m not sure what to say, or I don’t make time to write them, or I forget they’re there.  About two-thirds of them stop feeling relevant after a bit, and end up in the trash. This post has stuck with me, nagging me quietly to go ahead and finish it already.

This isn’t a list of resolutions. It’s a list of goals I want to achieve, with milestones I can track. There’s an important difference between the two. A resolution is something you promise to do. A goal is a measurable, trackable, specific achievement. A resolution is nebulous; a goal is focused.

I’m posting these publicly to help keep me honest.  My plan is to do a recap post once a month showing my progress in meeting them for that month, with a final post at the end of the year. If I’m feeling ambitious, I might even figure out how to put this information into Excel to spit out some pretty charts.

Apply Ass to Chair

1. Write for at least 5 hours each week.

January: 8.68 hours over 8 days.

2. Finish Bronwyn’s story and shop draft to agents.

January: On Chapter 5 of draft 2.0

3. Continue writing the Monday blogs.

January: 4 blog posts total; 2 of 4 Monday Review posts

Reading

4. Finish 2 books and 1 audio book each month.

January: Finished two books and 1 audio book.

5. Read 2 non-fiction books this year.

January: None.

6. Read 2 books that I wouldn’t normally consider reading, and 6 books written by someone who is fundamentally different than me this year.

January: None.

Get Moving

7. Get moving for 5 hours a week.

January: Not quite. According to the Up app on my phone, I walked 21.1 miles but was only active for 3 hours and 17 minutes.  I don’t think the active time is entirely right – I need to get better at logging activities – but it definitely wasn’t 5 hours/week.

8. Get to Yoga once a month.

January: Didn’t happen.

9. Go hiking once a month.

January: Didn’t happen.

See the World

11. Go to one country and one state I haven’t been to yet.

January: None; I’ve been to Mexico once before.

12. Go on two camping trip, with toddler.

January: None. California may be warmer than the East coast, but not that much warmer!

Get a Life

13. Go on one date a month with the hubby.

January: We went on two dates, one to see the new Star Wars movie and one to a 60’s mod costume party. We even dressed up for the second!

14. Go on three photo shoots or other adult type activities this year.

January: None.

And there you have it. Considering how January went down, I think 2 out of 14 – especially since 5 of the 14 are year goals rather than month goals.  Things are looking a little better for February – but you’ll have to wait until the end of month post to see how much.