The Impossible Dream: my goals for 2006

[mistraltoes]

Don't feel you have to read this; it's here mostly for my own benefit. The only reason it's unlocked is because (1) I need the accountability of knowing someone might read it, and (2) a couple of the people who might conceivably be genuinely interested refuse to get LiveJournals ::sticks out tongue at said folk::

Anyway. Mistral's 2006 Goals

Why this post? Most people who make annual goals do it in January, or perhaps on their birthday. I usually do it February 1st, myself. But this year, I wanted to do something different with my goals, so I spent January trying things out. Then I spent February tweaking my system. Then I thought, why post it now? I'll just do it. Well, it mostly worked, but since I hadn't told anybody what I was doing, there was no accountability, and I found myself skipping certain things, mostly things that involved communicating with other people (such as posting regularly to Bayban's journal, or reviewing fic for Gen_Fic_Crit). Hence, this post. I hope just having drawn my line in the sand will keep me more or less on track.

Why the new method? Last year, when I had a long spell of illness during the summer, I failed to make my monthly progress posts. When I finally felt better, I never got back to making them. So, even though I was very pleased with last year's accomplishments, I wasn't pleased with the lack of consistency. In fact, it bugged me SO MUCH that I started paying attention to what else wasn't getting done. And you know what? Lots of stuff wasn't getting done.

Not that this was any surprise, mind you. I have the fairly common INTP/creative habit of looking at something new and different, going, "Ooh! Shiny!", and heading off after it, leaving kajillions of unfinished projects littered in my wake. But this was different. I watched in horror as, when I went to make a grocery list, my hand passed by the notepad with two pages left on it, and went for the notepad that was still half full. I'd clean the shelves of the fridge, but leave the door untouched. Several months ago, I collected together a basket of needlework projects that required perhaps an hour or two of easy work on each to be completely finished and out of my hair. To my great annoyance, it's still sitting there full. The conclusion is clear: at some point, I've developed an actual aversion to finishing things. Even things I want to finish, like my stories, are suffering for it.

And I mean for this to stop. My life is not getting any longer. I am going to learn to finish things.

The Method in my Madness. So, I started making my goal list. I had intended to have fewer goals this year than last: one central goal, to finish something every day, even if it was only to solve one logic problem, or to clean out one drawer; and a handful of specific projects that I wanted to accomplish, like writing x number of words, or finishing a, b, and c sewing projects. But I soon realized that if I concentrated on finishing something every day, all the long-term projects would be ignored. To combat this, I started designating a Main Writing Project (MWP), Main Needlework Project (MNP), and a Main Other Project (MOP). Once designated, they can't be changed until they're finished, but work on one of them counts towards my daily progress just the same as finishing something.

I also discovered that having just a handful of goals wasn't going to work; I knew from my experiments amd past experiences that if it wasn't written down, it wouldn't get done. So I wrote down everything I'd really like to do this year, from finishing Baldur's Gate to learning to machine quilt to finishing my unfinished fanfics. It came to over 120 items (and I'm still thinking of things to add). Then I divided it into A, B, and C priorities. Still pretty long, and I knew the easy things would crowd out the things that required extended effort. So I divided the ABC's into long-, medium-, and short-term projects.

It's just too much to list here; I'd look like I'm insane (okay, I am, but still . . .) So I'm listing only the things that I'm currently working on, or have finished during the month for which I'm reporting. That should keep it manageable. The numbers at the top of each section will report total year-to-date progress. I've been working on the long-term A's, and a few of the long-term B's, but today is my official start date for any long-term B's I've been ignoring.

So now, the list.

Long-term A goals: [0/5]

• #1: Finish something every day.
  
• Write 36,500 words of raw fanfiction, 25,000 words finished. [Currently 1875/1875.]
  
• Finish one carton of logic puzzles. [To get them out of the LR, and sharpen my mind. Currently on target.]
  
• Clean office to 50% of optimum. [Currently at 10%.]
  
• Get out of debt.

Medium-term A goals: [0/9]

• Research and implement name change.

Short-term A goals: [0/16]

• Find and load DVD-playing software. [Grr. This is giving me fits! Nothing seems to work.]
  
• Make and keep dental appointment; any necessary follow-up. [Three of five visits done.]

Long-term B goals: [0/10]

• Clean living room to 80% of optimum. [Currently 45%.]
  
• Update Web site 6x, for a total of 36 pages, 6 pictures or graphics, and 12 links. [1x: 12, 0 2]
  
• Complete at least four of seven sections of correspondence writing course.
  
• Read 13 published works of fiction that I have not previously read.
  
  • 1. The Rule of Four --Ian Caldwell & Dustin Thomason
    
  • 2. The Well of Lost Plots --Jasper Fforde
• Read 13 published works of non-fiction that I have not previously read.
  
  • 1. It's Hard to Make a Difference when You Can't Find Your Keys --Marilyn Paul
• Post something of substance (not whining or quizspam, though memes are okay) to LiveJournal at least once per week.
  
• Post something relevant to bayban's LiveJournal at least twice per month.
  
• Post something relevant to Gen_Fic_Crit at least once per month.
  
• Post something relevant to Lysator at least once per month.
  
• Make and carry out a plan to keep up correspondence with family and friends.

Medium-term B goals: [0/24]

• Watch the Ninth Doctor when it airs here; read and comment on kerravonsen's Ninth Doctor stories. [Have seen two episodes. Will watch third today.]

Short-term B goals: [0/14]

• Connect and test Dad's DVR. [The main testing is done. It's fried, as far as off-air recording goes. May still copy tapes to DVDs, but I'll check that later.]

Medium-term C goals: [0/34]

Short-term C goals: [0/9]

So that's the list, at least as far as what I'm working on right now. I shall attempt to post progress reports at the end of each month. A lot of the B's and C's that turn up will be frivolous, like 'Rewatch Red Dwarf', or 'Play Spyro Orange all the way to the end', but they're things I've been wanting to do, and I'm going to do them while I can. Life needs some fun, too.

But for now, I think I'd better go finish something.

(ETA: Hey, no, I don't expect to finish all 120+ items on my list. I expect to stay on the list, though, and not stray far from it. What I hope to finish is all of the A's, several B's, and maybe a fun C or two.)