January 2007 Recap
One month of goal planning down, a bazillion more to go. Fun times. January was a decent month for achieving my short term goals. I managed to play guitar every single day for at least 30 minutes, and I kept a journal about what I practiced. I bought a distortion pedal and inquired about voice lessons (opting against, for the time being). I added 11 new friends to myspace. Financially, I began using Quicken to keep track of all my data, and I imported all my 2006 data into Quicken as well. Physically, I bought a scale and added both OstioBiFlex and Listerine to my daily routine. I met 100% of my Personal Development, Social, and Recreational goals as well. All in all, I more or less accomplished what I set out to do this month.
Obviously, there are exceptions. I didn't end up writing a page a lyrics every day (I'm probably around 60%), but near the end I gave up, since I wasn't allotting time to review what I had written. I felt like I was writing just to implement a process instead of writing to express ideas/make new music. Physically, I didn't run 3 times every week. I went once a week for the first 3 weeks, and then 3 times the last week. My lack there was a result of just not having enough time. Also, it was very, very cold. I only succeeded the last week because I started going to the YMCA, which is indoors.
My biggest hole was in the "Music - Back of House" category. I didn't update my website, and I didn't call/email the 6 new coffeeshops I planned to. The only place I did call, Alfalfa's, has yet to review my material. As such, I only have 2 shows booked for February. My initial thought was that I need to determine exactly why I'm booking shows. Booking several out of town venues doesn't make much sense in the context of my current life situation. Obviously, I need to change my current life situation, but I'm not sure that many out of town shows will fit into the context of my new life situation. We'll see.
I will say, though, that goal setting has been much more helpful with decision making this time around. For example, earlier this month, I had an hour's worth of time. I could either run or change my guitar strings for the show that night. Looking at my goals and yearly focus, I decided that getting ready for my show was more important, so I did that. Similarly, I had to choose between a big Magic tournament in March and booking a show. Looking at my goals, it was clear I should book the show. There's a sense of mental peace in knowing what you want to do and then doing it.
Finally, here's a list of books I completed in January:
Eckhart Tolle - The Power of Now
Barack Obama - The Audacity of Hope
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
David Allen - Getting Things Done
Obviously, there are exceptions. I didn't end up writing a page a lyrics every day (I'm probably around 60%), but near the end I gave up, since I wasn't allotting time to review what I had written. I felt like I was writing just to implement a process instead of writing to express ideas/make new music. Physically, I didn't run 3 times every week. I went once a week for the first 3 weeks, and then 3 times the last week. My lack there was a result of just not having enough time. Also, it was very, very cold. I only succeeded the last week because I started going to the YMCA, which is indoors.
My biggest hole was in the "Music - Back of House" category. I didn't update my website, and I didn't call/email the 6 new coffeeshops I planned to. The only place I did call, Alfalfa's, has yet to review my material. As such, I only have 2 shows booked for February. My initial thought was that I need to determine exactly why I'm booking shows. Booking several out of town venues doesn't make much sense in the context of my current life situation. Obviously, I need to change my current life situation, but I'm not sure that many out of town shows will fit into the context of my new life situation. We'll see.
I will say, though, that goal setting has been much more helpful with decision making this time around. For example, earlier this month, I had an hour's worth of time. I could either run or change my guitar strings for the show that night. Looking at my goals and yearly focus, I decided that getting ready for my show was more important, so I did that. Similarly, I had to choose between a big Magic tournament in March and booking a show. Looking at my goals, it was clear I should book the show. There's a sense of mental peace in knowing what you want to do and then doing it.
Finally, here's a list of books I completed in January:
Eckhart Tolle - The Power of Now
Barack Obama - The Audacity of Hope
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
David Allen - Getting Things Done