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.