Goals Journal Update

Well over half way through the year and I've completed eight goals with another eight in progress. I'm pretty sure I'll get through them all by the end of the year!

This was a fun goal to mark complete. We visited three new countries in May: Malaysia, Belgium and Greece. Plus a couple of bonus countries: Wales and Vatican City.

I wrapped this up a few months ago, and at the moment I'm working on improving my proofreading and editing skills. I like having another self-employment option for the future.

My aim was to get my weight back within the healthy BMI range, which I was getting closer to after a few months at the gym. It wasn't until after we got back from our trip that I got down to my goal - mainly due to pregnancy food aversions!

I'm not sure if anyone had guessed what the "secret mission" was referring to, but now you know!

Goals Journal Update

Four goals down, so things are pretty much on track! I like having a central place to keep track of everything and creating something visual of the goals I'm completing is pretty motivating. Plus I'm enjoying doing some basic scrap booking, my favourite element is these Complete! stickers (if you want some for yourself click here to download and print them on a sheet of label paper).

Even though the vanilla essence won't be mature til August, I've already used a little. It smells more like vanilla than vodka which is a good sign!

You may have noticed that February was quite a productive month on the blogging front! It's been a little quiet lately and since I enjoyed posting every day I'd like to get back to a more regular schedule again.

I'd been ignoring an every-growing pile of papers for months and it was such a relief to finally get them sorted! So far my new and improved filing system is working well, I just need to stay on top of things.




I'm so glad to cross Mt Fyffe off my list - it's been something I've been wanting to do for ages. The sore muscles were worth it!


And the other goals I'm working on at the moment:

• Finish the proofreading and editing course (I'm waiting for my final results)
• Buy more indoor plants (two so far)
• Update photo albums (I'm making progress on one travel photo book)
• Try new recipes (eight so far)
• Read five books from my list (one finished and one more almost finished)

Stay tuned for more updates!

Mt Fyffe

I've been hobbling around all day today after climbing a mountain on the weekend! On Saturday I walked to the top of Mt Fyffe, along with my mama and my pup. The weather was perfect and I was happy to cross another goal off my list.

It took us most of the day and we agreed that going up was fine, but coming back down the steep road was torture! I now think that stairs are a terrible invention (Owen said I remind him of a crab since I've been walking down them sideways at the moment!) although I hope everything'll be back to normal by the end of the week when my legs have recovered.

My Goals Journal

I always find setting lots of goals is fun. I love dreaming and thinking of possibilities and adventures. What's even more fun is making progress on goals, although sometimes it can be a bit hard to keep track of the many things I've decided I want to do.

This year I wanted a new system to record my progress and work out what to focus on next, so I've started a goals journal. It combines a little bit of scrap booking, a few check boxes, and a lot of lists!

My sister gave me a couple of notebooks for Xmas so I'm using one of them. It's a nice compact size but with enough space for a bit of writing and pictures.

I started with a title page using some images and text I'd gleaned from a magazine a while ago.

The next pages are dedicated to my word of the year (I first heard about this practice here) and this year I decided to pick one I thought would challenge me a little!

Next I made a list of all my goals for the year with boxes to check them off when they're complete. I've also got room to add a couple more goals if I feel like it...

My first goal is to visit three new countries, which should be happening in May and June. I've left some spaces to write down which countries we get to (our plan is Malaysia, Belgium and Greece) and also space to stick in a photo I've taken in each country.

I've left six page for my next goal since I'm planning to stick in tickets, photos etc from our date nights (those are movie tickets from Girl With the Dragon Tattoo).

This is the list of the tutorials and assignments I have to finish to complete the proofreading and editing course I started last year. I love being able to tick each one off as I finish them!

The first goal I've completed! Here are the full instructions for making vanilla essence. I'm going to take a photo of how it's looking at the start of the process, and then another once it's ready to use.

Inspired by this method, I started checking off my almost daily exercise in November last year. For the new year I decided to keep going with the same page, and I'm planning to stick it into my goals journal once I've crossed out every day. And then start on the next page!

To keep track of the new recipes I'm trying, I've decided to record the name, the book it's from, and I'm also giving it a star rating (out of five) to see whether it's worth making again.

I have a list of books I want to read as part of my Life List, but I've also written the list of what I want to get through this year so I can tick them off once I'm done. I'm reading Jane Eyre at the moment (along with a couple of other books not on my list).


The rest of the pages don't have anything to share at the moment (I'm not sure what I'm going to do with some of them!) but I'm planning a review of my goals journal at the end of the year to see how effective it's been.

Plans for 2012

Click here for all my 2012 goals (I got a little carried away!)

My Life List

I first realised the power of list-making when I was twenty two. I was cleaning out some papers and found a list I'd made a year or so earlier with a few short term, mid term and long term goals scribbled down. I can't remember everything on the list, just two of my long term goals, two things I thought wouldn't happen for years:

• Live by the sea
• Have my own company

Of course, the reason I remember them is that they had already come true, just a few months after I'd written them down. Owen and I were living in our first home together which was literally across the road from the beach, and after a couple of months being a self-employed event organiser I'd incorporated my own company. Since then I've become a little obsessed with lists...

When I first started this blog I wrote a 101 in 1001 list and for the first year or so I was quite diligent about crossing goals off. My interest waned in the second half of the project, but by the time the 1001 days were up I still managed to cross off 64 goals. When I took another look at the list a few days ago I realised that without even thinking about it another 8 goals were also complete. It would seem that lists work even when you don't pay attention to them!

Now I get excited whenever I sit down to write a list of things I want to have/be/do because just the act of putting them down makes me feel that it's only a matter of time before they come true. I've recently been revising my Life List and getting excited about the possibilities, I'm always thinking about new things to add!

Projects to Achieve Goals

Photo Credit

I love finding new concepts for setting and achieving goals! Here are some different projects which can help to accomplish those goals that never seem to be a priority, or the ones you just need a little push to start.

101 in 1001
Michael from Triplux came up with the challenge to complete 101 tasks in 1001 days. There are hundreds of people around the world taking part (here’s my list)! One year just isn’t long enough to complete certain types of goals, so 1001 days (2.75 years) gives you a few seasons to achieve more long term ambitions. And 101 tasks means that it is certainly a challenge!

30 Day Trial
I first heard about the concept of the 30 Day Trial from Steve Pavlina. Instead of making a commitment to change your behaviour or adopt a new routine forever, which obviously can be very intimidating, decide to follow your goal for only 30 days instead.

By the end of 30 days you should have developed a habit, which is then easier to continue if that’s what you decide to do. Or you might have realised that what had seemed like a great goal at the time is actually not!

52 Resolutions
If you find that setting really long term goals just doesn’t work, then maybe making goals for each week would be a better plan. Andrea from A Cat of Impossible Colour came up with the idea of making 52 small resolutions and writing one on each card from a pack of standard playing cards. Every week just pick a card (without looking!) and complete the goal. At the end of the pack one very productive year will have passed!

Links
How to Set Goals You Will Actually Achieve by Steve Pavlina
The Art of Doing at Yes and Yes
A Simple Guide to Setting and Achieving Your Life Goals at Zen Habits
How to Achieve Anything at Think Simple Now
Making Your Dreams Come True: A Sure Fire Strategy at Charade

101 in 1001

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

End Date
By a huge coincidence the date of completion for my 101 in 1001 list is my birthday!
Friday 28 May 2010

Progress
64 tasks completed within 1001 days
18 tasks completed since then

Fun

1. Climb three trees (complete)

2. Try surfing at least five times
3. Bake at least thirty different cupcake recipes
4. Go skiing somewhere in Europe

5. Perform at a dance festival or event (complete)
6. Go camping five times with Owen (complete)
7. Go on at least ten picnics (complete)

8. Read one poem by Rumi everyday for two months
9. Take a jazz dancing class for ten weeks

10. Go on an adventure once a month (complete)

11. Learn two new card games (complete)

12. Eat at five new restaurants in Christchurch (complete)
13. Go to a live music concert (complete)

14. Attend a play (complete)

15. Go to three fireworks displays (complete)

People

16. Send really nice Christmas cards to friends and family (complete)

17. Get updated addresses of all my friends (complete)

18. Invite friends round for an old fashioned tea party (complete)

19. Buy flowers for someone I love (complete)

20. Write a group email at least once a month

21. Visit friends in Auckland (complete)

22. Make a list of the birthdays of people I know and send a card/email/text on time (complete)

23. Smile at one random person each day (complete)

24. Write a letter to my Grandpa (complete)

25. Take my parents out for dinner (complete)

Travel

26. Get a new passport (complete)

27. Take a tour around Europe (complete)

28. Spend at least a week in Paris (complete)

29. Go to the Louvre (complete)

30. Order in French at a French restaurant (complete)

31. Ride in a gondola in Venice
32. Go to Rome (complete)
33. Visit the Acropolis in Greece (complete)
34. See the pyramids in Egypt
35. Order a Guinness in Ireland

36. Visit Stonehenge (complete)

37. Go to a market in Morocco
38. Take part in the tomato festival in Spain
39. Go to Turkey

40. Visit Amsterdam (complete)

41. Visit a concentration camp (complete)

42. See the midnight sun in Scandinavia

43. Go to Thailand (complete)

44. Spend one day just lazing on a beach (complete)

45. Go on a train ride (complete)

Creative

46. Fill at least three Moleskine/CIAK journals (complete)

47. Write three short stories
48. Take at least ten photos a day for six months

49. Do at least two posts a week on my blog (complete)

50. Customise the appearance of my blog (complete)

51. Learn three new pieces on the piano (complete)

52. Paint a picture (complete)

53. Buy a piece of art that I love (complete)

54. Put all my photos in a photo album (complete)

55. Scan all my favourite photos from the last eight years (complete)

56. Knit a scarf (complete)

Career

57. Write an in-depth career plan (complete)

58. Get rid of all my extra flash drives and only have two (complete)

59. Sort out all my paperwork and either file or discard (complete)

60. Complete the Graduate Diploma in Career Development

61. Have some volunteer work experience as a career adviser (complete)

62. Write a business plan for my company

63. Find five new event related contracts for my company (complete)

64. Get a working visa for the UK (complete)

65. Work in the UK for three months (complete)

Financial

66. Save $12,000 to travel round Europe by 27 April 2008 (complete)

67. Pay off the remaining money owing on the lounge suite (complete)

68. Donate $500 to charity

69. Save for a deposit on a house (complete)

Health & Vanity
70. Keep a food/exercise log for at least three months

71. Do 20 press ups in a row (complete)

72. Go running once a day for at least a month (complete)

73. Lose five kilograms (complete)
74. Go on at least three hikes

75. Learn how to do a basketball layup (complete)

76. Join a sports team and go to at least 90% of games (complete)

77. Take a multi-vitamin every day for at least three months (complete)

78. Develop a skin care routine (complete)

79. Have a pedicure (complete)

80. Grow my hair until it reaches the level of my bellybutton (complete)

81. Eat at least one serving of vegetables for every dinner (complete)

82. Get up before 7.00am every day for at least two weeks (complete)
83. Be a vegetarian for one month (complete)

Random

84. Take part in BookCrossing (complete)

85. Buy a dishwasher (complete)

86. Write a list of guidelines to live by (complete)

87. Buy a laptop (complete)

88. Bake a loaf of bread from scratch (complete)

89. Make crème brulee

90. Learn how to make twenty new dishes (complete)

91. Go to the dentist (complete)

92. Go for a walk in the moonlight (complete)

93. Buy ten pieces of clothing that are suitable for work (complete)

94. Own fifteen good pairs of shoes

95. Buy a waterproof watch (complete)
96. Sell my car before travelling (complete)

97. Sell my piano before travelling

98. Grow a herb garden (complete)

99. Donate blood

100. Make a snowman (complete)

101. Write a new 101 in 1001 list

Alternative 11

1. Complete the Graduate Certificate in Career Development (complete)

2. Sell my computer before travelling (complete)

3. Be a WWOOFer

4. Buy a bicycle (complete)

5. Learn to drive a manual
6. Take a photography class

7. Read five “classic” novels (complete)

8. Write a letter to someone I admire but have never met (complete)

9. Get a PO Box
10. Get business cards for my company
11. Climb to the top of Mount Fyffe (complete)