Setting Goals

Eat healthier.
Exercise more.
Get a handle on finances.
Be more organized.
Get rid of "stuff".

Everyone's big goals. When worded that way, there's no way to fail. Of course, there's also no way to succeed. Nothing to measure. No box for that little gold star.

Making a list of specifics is tough. It can be scary, too. As soon as you write it down, you're accountable.

I've been guilty of the vague goals for years. Not just in that New Year's Resolution sort of way, either. I'm not good with daily checklists. I make a mental list, and get much of it done each day. The kids get to school with packed lunches, I make progress on my mapping projects, and everyone has clean laundry to put away each evening after a home cooked supper. [Almost] Daily practice for weekly music lessons is done. (Drums, guitar and piano, all at once. Each from their own corner of the little house.) We make it to dentist and doctor appointments. My clients get their proofs on time... mostly.

Sounds okay, but it's stressful. I'm always reviewing that mental list, trying to remember if I'm thinking about the right day, and wondering what I forgot. And I do forget things. There are many nights I'm up until midnight, doing that last load of laundry so the red uniform shirt is clean for spirit day. Baking oatmeal muffins for breakfast because I failed to notice the batch of waffles I made over the weekend has run out. Or scrambling to put together the last few layers for a map due the next morning.

I read so much about the difference a list makes, yet I never quite get around to trying it myself. I know specific goals work. It is easier to get myself out the door on foot or bike knowing I have the Spring-5k / Summer-10k/Thanksgiving-half marathon goal. (Yes, I did run/walk a 5k in March. Am signing up for May's Race for the Cure, so I'll have two under my belt.)

I'm going to try expanding the goal setting into my daily routines. Thanks to a few blogging ladies, I don't have to do it alone. I'm going to be reading these three for a bit of inspiration over the rest of April and May:
Gala's iCing Transformation Challenge (April 21-May 18th)
Steph's Two Tiny Changes, a weekly series at Back in Skinny Jeans
Daily Deliberate Changes from Tia at Living Deliberately

I came up with my personal goals for the transformation challenge and my two tiny changes this past weekend. Started on my written checklist yesterday. One of the things I'm working on is prioritizing. As such, it's time for me to start on two weeks' worth of paperwork, filing and invoicing.

Will post my goals and weekly changes this evening.