Tuesday, January 5, 2010

New Year "Resolutions"

So, I'm not very invested in resolutions. They tend to disappear by February. So this year, the start of a whole new decade, I'm going to set some goals to be accomplished in about 2.75 years instead (stealing one of my friend's new years meme).

The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as new year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organizing and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

Start date: January 5th 2010
End Date: November 1st 2012

Travel
1. Visit the Aquarium in NC
2. Visit the Discovery Place in Charlotte
3. Plan a week long road trip with Landon and ch-puppy
  • 4. EITHER go to the Grand Canyon (and other western-ish stuff on the way)
  • 5. OR travel up the Shenandoah Valley
6. Take a weekend trip up the east coast to see lighthouses and stay in a B&B
7. Ride the Great Smokey Mountains Railroad

Personal
8. Get a job
9. Sans job, stay busy on relevant tasks
10. Continue learning about web design/building
11. Update my personal sites at least monthly
12. Read 300 books (since Christmas: 10.5)
13. Complete at least one piece of art a month (Jan: 1.25 done)
14. Get in the habit of sketching and note taking again
15. Taking up my dream journal again
16. Finish some of my "short stories"
17. Update the Scotsgrove site weekly and redesign update quarterly (so far so good!)
18. Maintain weekly riding lessons as weather permits
19. Compete at Scotsgrove schooling shows
20. Go to Hickory Top in the Fall
21. *Give blood (I like this, I want to do this! I will try, last time I did - I puked. I'm O+, I think, so it would be good to do.)
22. *Learn to change my oil!
23. *Get the wedding pictures printed
24. *Attempt to grow an herb garden
25. Maintain our recycling
26. Have my people over for dinner
27. Have Landon's people over for dinner
28. Reach out to friends more
29. Market myself better for jobs
30. Open an Etsy shop
31. Finish a longer art project to be made into calendars/postcards/etc.
  • 32. either the celestial beings
  • 33. or the mushroom dancers
34. Actually buy clothes for myself (at least have more to choose from, right now Landon has more clothes than me!)
35. Look into the local art community
36. Submit art to some local art shows
37. Not argue so much with my mom and dad (over different issues)
38. Work out a children's book with my mom
39. *Volunteer either with children or with animals or both
40. Work on creating/designing characters

Health
41. Tone up
42. Ease into a more organic lifestyle
43. Eat more fruits(easy!) and veggies(hard.)
44. Become more flexible
45. Drink more water
46. Have one week with no eating out
47. Try different recipes
48. Take ch-puppy on an "outdoor adventure" weather permitting everyday (we don't do walks)
49. Lessen my chocolate consumption

Financial
50. Become better aware of what is in my personal account
51. Stay on track with paying off students loans (and once there's a job- start paying off more than the minimum)
52. Build my credit
53. Maintain being cheap :D
54. At the same time- learn to live a little (have a monthly "me" spree)
55. Learn brand-name does not equal better, but you do get what you pay for

Relationships
56. Maintain our monthly anniversary
57. Say "I love you" more
58. Initiate "yes" more ~.^
59. Listen to everyone more, instead of being bossy
60. Call my sister more, just to say "hi!"
61. Maintain my weekly visits to my parents
62. See Landon's side more often
63. Be a better friend than I have been...

House
64. Decorate living room & upstairs in general
65. Paint upstairs, bathrooms & touch up dings in neutral walls
66. Get pictures on the walls
67. Create larger pictures to hang on walls
68. Work on the back porch (stain, awning, garden)
69. Get bedroom furniture
70. Get a corner cupboard for dining room
71. Organize downstairs closet and extra bedroom
72. Finish stripping, sanding, painting the old desk I got for Landon 2 years ago
73. Create my own work space
74. Get lots of shelves
75. Figure out what is wrong with our fireplace (either fix or replace it)

*stolen from my friend. Hey- they are good goals!

Can't think of any more and I'm tired. :P Pretty big list though. I'll add more if I really need to.

No comments: