take the Spring Goal Challenge

Although I didn’t finish my entire top 10, I knocked off the most important 80% and finished a number of other goals unexpectedly (some big, long-term ones – like 43 loans through Kiva or going to our first drive-in).

I’m feeling as if a newfound dedication to exercise & accountable eating is helping a lot physically while a new family budget is improving our financial life. Socially/creatively things are swimming along too, so there seems to be a good balance of progress across all areas.

I’m hoping to make even more headway over the Summer.

I’ll call this a success. I didn’t get a ton done, but with a new baby just getting through the day is a major success! Overall, it was a great Spring, and I’m ready to move on and enjoy a wonderful Summer.

Take the Spring Goal Challenge – Print goals, write up plans, print for book. (check)

Be a good mother – look into local toddler group, keep up with library, walks, parks, etc.

Find at least one thing each day that makes me happy and record it every day for a year – Keep up with daily entries

Go out on “date nights” with my spouse on a regular basis – Anniversary (check), get out alone more

Keep in better touch with friends and family – Entry. Plan BBQ, another clothing swap, bowling, etc. Keep making plans for visits

Clean/Declutter (Maintain gumption) – Come up with a daily plan to get ahead

Deal with this – Plan something for anniversary of death, do something on list, open coroner’s report, start sorting boxes, contemplate spot for ashes

Do my taxes – DONE!

Hone my curves – Keep up with morning workouts, walks, yoga, family sports, curb the sweets

Relax – Entry re. exercise, mindset, walks, yoga

Read a book a month in 2008 – update with recent/current reading

Write Haiku on Fridays – Keep up with weekly entries

Fund 43 loans through Kiva.com – goal: Finish 43 by anniversary on site

Donate platelets – Make appointment for June

10,000,000 / Free rice team – Aim for 10,000 weekly

Control my temper – entry, goalpost?

Fix my camera – Find paperwork (check), call (check), take in to shop

Post more pictures to flickr – Upload at least 3 days per month, update to current month

Display my photos in a public place – Look into printing, framing, matting, old laptop into digital display? Ask M about borrowing mat cutter again.

Self publish on lulu.com – Make plans for photo/haiku book, meet with S about potential art grant

Potty train my son – Make up a new chart/plans for more regular use, ask more?

Practice Yoga – Keep up yoga at least 2-3x weekly

Take my cat to the vet – appointment & ride

See the Cure live – Double check with Norm about babysitting

See a movie in a drive-in – Maybe this week?

Go to the aquarium – Go!

Fingerpaint – Do it!

Go bowling – Go!

Knit a Dr. Who scarf – A winter project

Get a picture published by Jones Soda – Heard from staff, write back to see if they received photo release

Watch VHS tapes and get rid of them – Set aside a day to pull them all out, start sorting again, toss 10 min

Help Sister Golden Hair’s Journal travel the world – (waiting for journal)

Catch a West Coast train – (waiting for plans to gel)

Get a laptop – DONE!

Get my driver’s license – on hold

Marry the love of my life – start looking at ring design, plans

Buy a house – pick up buyer’s guide from brother

$ – work on budget, apt with financial adviser?

Progress on The Spring Ten:

• Spring clean – DONE!

• Write a letter – DONE!

• Do my taxes

• Donate blood – DONE!

• Sort baby clothes – DONE!

• Knit – DONE!

• Fly a kite – DONE!

• Get an external hard drive – DONE!

• Post more pictures to flickr

• Take my cat to the vet
  
  

Since my last post I managed to knock three more off my ten (and a few other random things), but I feel like I’ve been treading water with a big clock tied around my neck lately. I want to somehow free up the goal flow and jump into it wholeheartedly.

Today I printed out my entire list (I love that feature) on bright green paper and stuck it in a new journal that I’m going to use as a butterfly net for my various goals. I’m working on a progress plan for each goal that I’ll print & add (and post here) as well.

At least that’s the current plan…

This month, I want to finish the following goals:

• Renovate Our Lawn . We have been working on this for the last month or so. We really need to finish up the re-seeding process this month before the weather gets too hot. We are on track with this. Now we just need to keep our fingers crossed that the weather stays reasonably cool through June!

• Enter Our Checking Account Into Quicken . I am working on getting February 2008 transactions into Quicken now. My goal is to get the Quicken entried up-to-date by the end of the month.

• Learn Fair Isle Knitting . I love the look of Fair Isle sweaters, bags, all kinds of things! But I am intimidated by the process of using several yarns at the same time. I joined an online dishcloth knitting group, and this month they offered a dishcloth pattern to learn Fair Isle Knitting. This looks like the perfect project to learn this technique!

Goals to Make progress on:

• Lose 25 Pounds My original goal was to lose 25 pounds by September 30. So far I have lost four pounds. 21 pounds to go in five months. Goal is to lost a total of ten pounds by the end of May.

• Read 50 Books in 2008. On track with this goal so far….want to read at least four more books in May.

• Collect the Fifty American State Quarters . Doing good here. I need to find just two quarters which are currently in circulation, which are New Mexico and Ohio.

As I’m late, I’m listing only those I actually want to finish in the next month and a half.

• Have an Amazing Garden
• Re-learn how to Ride a Bike
• Go through all my classroom books & gear and deal with it
• Have GA’s chair reupholstered
• Plan GG’s 40th birthday

How Did I Do THis Month?

Goals to Finish:
Knit a Sweater Finish the sweater I am knitting for Dylan. Finshed This one
What’s in Your Bag? . I want to finish this one this month. Gave Up for Now

Goals to Make Progress On:

Lose 25 Pounds. Goal is to lose at least 5 pounds by 4/30/2008. Only Lost 4 pounds
Read 50 Books in 2008 . So far I have read 13 books, and I hope to read at least four more during April. On Target Here, I read four books
Do a 23 Fling Boogie At Least Once Per Week . I’m going to keep on working on this, and perhaps by the end of Spring I will have the junk I am tackling out of the way! Success Here too, did this every week
Weight Train Three Times a Week.
I feel this is essential to help with losing the 25 pounds. Didn’t Make it THree TImes a week, but did start Body Pump Classes
Be Part of a Team That Donates 10,000,000 Grains of Rice through freerice.com. My Goal for April is to donate at least 15,000 new grains of rice. Played some, but didn’t get time to do 15,000 grains
Collect the Fifty American State Quarters . There are now 46 of the 50 state quarters in circulation, and New Mexico is scheduled to be issued in April. The ones I need to get are: Ohio, Missouri, and New Mexico. (I can’t really control when I find these, since I don’t want to buy the quarters, just wanted to note my status !)I found Missouri quarter

Things I want to finish by the middle of June:

1. Finish editing my CD
2. Clean out all of my email
3. Document LAST SUMMER’S trip
4. Do my physical therapy every day for 43 days
5. Convert my dissertation to pdf
6. Take kayaking classes
7. Start my bibliography
8. Spend a day with my legs up the wall
9. Deposit my oral history tapes in the Southern Folklife Collection
10. Read The Waning of the Middle Ages
11. Call Simon
12. Do the hardest step in the goal: reconcile
13. Clean my office
14. Develop a five-year career plan
15. Don’t eat sweets for 43 days
16. Teach the cat to use the kitty door

The others will be ongoing, I guess.

What do you want to accomplish between May 1 and June 13?

Make a list of the goals you are plan to actively work on in May and the first half of June by April 30th.

Forty-three days later, everyone taking the challenge will self assess their efforts by answering the following questions.

Did you accomplish your short range goals?
Did you make progress toward your long-term goals?
Did you comply with your ongoing goals?
How hard did you work on your goals?
Are you satisfied with your effort?
The team will decide who was top performer. The winner gets much praise and wonderful prizes yet to be determined…and a lot done.

I realize I can’t really compete with other members of the team this way, but it at least gives me the same amount of time, and it really isn’t about competition anyway :).

but I appreciate Abi Saafir posting the original challenge. It gives me something concrete to shoot for.