Super-Size Clearly Defined Short Term Goals, Part 2

36. Develop an environmental stewardship program at St. Oswald's. See #7.
Redefined goal #36 - Deleted.

37. Have all-local meals. This could probably be integrated with #11, but that would make it too wordy.
Redefined goal #37 - Have one meal per week where all major ingredients are from within 200 miles (spices can be an exception).

38. Spend a weekend in silence. I think this is probably something that comes out of my "practice meditation" goal, so I'm going to amend #13 to include this.
Redefined goal #38 - Deleted.

39. Do the Master Cleanse. I've tried this twice and never managed; the first time I planned quite poorly just before a move and decided it was a bad idea and the second time I got quite sick on the second day and had to bail again. I'd like to give it one more go.
Redefined goal #39 - Do the Master Cleanse, for 10 days.

40. Eat everything in my freezer. Often when I make a big recipe I freeze at least half of it and I've accumulated quite a bit in there that I've sort of forgotten about. I don't mean things that you keep in there normally like peas and perogies, I mean frozen leftovers.
Redefined goal #40 - Unchanged.

41. Drink 8 glasses of water a day. Whoops, how did this end up in here? See micro-goal #17.
Redefined goal #41 - Deleted.

42. Decrease yarn stash. Oh, that lovely mess in my closet. As knitters go, I'm actually pretty good with the stash. I don't buy 20 balls of yarn because it's on sale without even having a project in mind. But there is a lot of yarn in my closet and just the other day I saw a MOTH in there. Oh, when I said "eat everything in my freezer" I also didn't mean yarn, because that's where my yarn is now. Damn winged insects. Anyway...
Redefined goal #42 - Use stash yarn for at least every other project I start, and do not buy new yarn unless I'm ready to cast on right then.

43. Increase net worth. mmmmmm money. I've never done an "increasing net worth" exercise before, so I don't even know WHAT kind of percentage to shoot for. Paying off my student loan will put me in the black of course. What percentage increase is going from -4000 to 0, anyway? Well. I'll avoid the question and direct this goal towards 2008 then. If I start out with nothing I should have no trouble doubling it. haha! That was a joke.
Redefined goal #43 - Increase net worth by 100% in 2008.

44. Eat out less. I already don't eat out very much compared to some of my friends, but I do want to keep it as low as I can.
Redefined goal #44 - Limit dining out to 15% of my food spending.

45. Make laundry detergent. Google it, there are plenty of recipes. I've already made my own tub & tile abrasive and all-purpose spray cleaner; there are a few more I'd like to try.
Redefined goal #45 - Make laundry detergent, glass cleaner, and shampoo.

46. Make less trash. This necessarily falls under #73.
Redefined goal #46 - Deleted.

47. Compile a cookbook. This can include family recipes (veganized of course), ones that I've come up with on my own, stuff I've picked up from friends, etc.
Redefined goal #47 - Unchanged.

48. Take up yoga. This one's a no-brainer! Reduce stress and improve strength and flexibility.
Redefined goal #48 - Register for a yoga class at a gym or community centre.

49. Vote in every election I'm eligible to. This involves alerting the US government to my presence actually, I haven't lived there since I was 8 and I guess as far as they're concerned I don't exist? We'll see how that goes, anyway. Canadian federal, provincial, and municipal ones are all easy.
Redefined goal #49 - Unchanged.

50. Develop an investment portfolio. This will happen after my loan is paid off. I'm looking at several options - RRSP, GIC, S&P, RBI, VCR... I get so confused. But not for much longer!
Redefined goal #50 - Unchanged.

51. Keep a monthly budget. I'm using PearBudget right now actually, and it's working quite nicely. At the end of the month it should show me some nice charts.
Redefined goal #51 - Unchanged.

52. Clear Nicole's trail at Burnaby Mountain. Ah, my old nemesis. This is an advanced one, and my first time mountain biking I got lost and ended up on this trail. I shit you not, I sat down to cry. I'm going to do it without putting a foot down. Stunts are optional though where a bypass is available.
Redefined goal #52 - Unchanged.

53. Do a collaborative painting with James. We found a nice canvas on sale, it's still blank, and that's a shame.
Redefined goal #53 - Unchanged.

54. Get a bike-related tattoo. Gotta have street cred. And yarn store cred while I'm at it, they can be the same goal. Not necessarily the same tattoo though.
Redefined goal #54 - Get a bike-related and a knitting-related tattoo.

55. Get a knitting-related tattoo. See above
Redefined goal #55 - Deleted.

56. Attend knitting group regularly. It's on Monday nights, and the other one is every other Friday. I like them both but don't go as often as I'd like to, and so I don't get as much done as I'd like to.
Redefined goal #56 - Go to knitting group four times a month, minimum.

57. Learn to do nose wheelie pivots. It's where you grab your front brake and your rear wheel comes up, then you swing the rear end around 180 degrees, and take off in the opposite direction. It looks rad.
Redefined goal #57 - Unchanged.

58. Get up by 7 every morning. This is really quite necessary if I'm ever going to accomplish #59.
Redefined goal #58 - Deleted.

59. Change working hours to 8-4 instead of 9-5. Simple. If I can drag my ass out of bed.
Redefined goal #59 - Unchanged.

60. Get insurance settlement taken care of. I was hit by a car while riding my bike a couple months ago. I expect that I should have the case settled within six months. Don't want to rush that, though.
Redefined goal #60 - Unchanged.

61. Renew passports. I have a US and a Canadian passport to get renewed. The process for the latter is about to get easier, and I am so happy about that.
Redefined goal #61 - Unchanged.

62. Get a driver's license. ACHTUNG ACHTUNG I am doing this under duress. I don't drive and don't really want to, honestly there's no need and I am getting along swimmingly without it. But I suppose it's useful anyway...
Redefined goal #62 - Unchanged.

63. Do an outdoor suspension. I loved my first one, it was an incredible experience even though it was in a small dark garage. I think doing one outside in the summer would be amazing.
Redefined goal #63 - Do an outdoor suspension this summer.

64. Tithe 10%. Church or charity of my choice.
Redefined goal #64 - Unchanged.

65. Have morning devotions. You know, this kinda goes along with my "practice meditation" goal but it is somewhat different. Also it doesn't need to be in the morning.
Redefined goal #65 - Have half-hour devotional time three times a week.

66. Bake my own bread. Just like my momma taught me.
Redefined goal #66 - Bake ALL my own bread, except for fancy bread on fancy occasions (but try to do that myself too!)

67. Find a church in Vancouver. My regular church, St. Oswald's, is rather far away since I moved after finishing school, and I can't make it there every week. I'd like to have a second regular church.
Redefined goal #67 - Visit a different church in Vancouver every time I'm not at St. Oswald's, until I find one to attend regularly.

68. Develop a crafting space. This might have to wait till I get a laptop, because right now my behemoth of a computer is occuping the desk space where, say, a sewing machine might like to go. But I do want to have a little storage area and a desk/table for working on crafty things... sewing, beading, knitting, whatever.
Redefined goal #68 - Unchanged.

69. Watch all the Oscar Best Picture winners. Self-explanatory.
Redefined goal # 69 - Unchanged.

70. Read all of Shakespeare's plays. See #15.
Redefined goal #70 - Deleted.

71. Read "100 best books." As above.
Redefined goal #71 - Deleted.

72. Make wine. This can be in my own house if I invest in all the equipment, or in a U-brew establishment... maybe the latter and if I like it the former? Doesn't really change the goal - cheap booze!
Redefined goal #72 - Unchanged.

73. Reduce carbon emissions by 90%. I still haven't fully grasped the magnitude of this goal! Read more about it here. Holy crap it's ambitious. I love it. Note that this doesn't mean a 90% reduction from my current level, but from the average North American level.
Redefined goal #73 - Unchanged.

74. Go on a bike or canoe camping trip. A week is a good duration, I think. That's really all I need to say!
Redefined goal #74 - Unchanged.

75. Go on a pilgrimage. I'd like to take a trip to a religious site, probably one in the contemplative tradition (e.g. Iona or Taizé), and spend some time there. It's just as much about the journey there, though. It's kind of tough to put a timeline on this one; as granola as this sounds I feel like it'll take as much time as it needs and go where it needs to go.
Redefined goal #75 - Unchanged.

And with that, short-term goals are ready to get done! huzzah.

Clearly Defined Short-Term Goals - Super Size Edition!

Last week I took a sick day and was busy catching up on the following day. No more neglecting! I'm going to get through my short-term goals today.

1. Buy a laptop. I'd like a Macbook, and I've been told that there will be a significant OS upgrade in October. So buying one before then might be a bit silly. Perhaps it would make a good Christmas present for myself? Who knows, I might find a good post-Christmas deal.
Redefined goal #1 - Buy a Macbook within about 6-7 months time (i.e. by January 2008).

2. Pay off student loans. This is my single most important short-term financial goal and happens no matter what, at the expense of all others. By the end of THIS YEAR.
Redefined goal #2 - Pay off my student loan by Dec. 31, 2007.

3. Develop emergency fund. This will be a fairly small one. I don't have any large assets (house, car, etc.), I don't have a spouse or dependents, and we have socialized health care in Canada so anything medically necessary is paid for straight out of my taxes. We also pay into Employment Insurance every month (well, those of us being employed above the table do anyway) so if I lose my job, I would be at the EI office in a hot minute and would have something to pay the bills while I find a new job. I think $1500 is enough. I'm partway there, and have it stashed in an account earning about 4.5% yearly.
Redefined goal #3 - Develop an emergency fund with $1500 in it.

4. Take a vacation to Oregon. My boyfriend and some of his cousins and I are planning a camping trip on the Oregon coast this summer. This will also be an opportunity for me to pick up some of my own camping gear, which will be needed in order to accomplish a few of my other goals. For this one I don't think I'll need much more than a tent and cooking stuff.
Redefined goal #4 - Take a camping trip to Oregon; save $500 for camping gear.

5. Visit my family. I live in Vancouver, BC. My parents live in Kentucky, my sister in Tennessee, my dad's family mostly in North Carolina (except one brother in San Fran), and my mom's family all in Pennsylvania. It's hard for me to visit them both in terms of money and time off from work. Nevertheless, I would like to do it more, and I would like to visit some of my extended family as well. It's been two years since I saw any of them.
Redefined goal #5 - visit my immediate family at least twice, and my mom's and dad's side of the extended family at least once each in the next year.

6. Get a job doing what I love. My degree is in linguistics, and as far as I can tell, a good portion of the jobs are in academia - which is fine with me! Though I think it's probably impossible for me to end up as a professor within the next three years, what with no Master's, nevermind a PhD. There are other things I love doing though and other fields I would be happy to work in, and they include fibre arts, environmental advocacy, and various kinds of helping people (poor people, kids, whatever).
Redefined goal #6 - become employed in any of the following fields: linguistics, social science, fibre arts, environmental work, or charitable organizations.

7. Become actively involved in environmental advocacy. I think that to do this, it's probably best for me to focus my energy in one particular place or topic. With that in mind, I think this goal should be merged with #36, since I can focus my energies on a particular place: my church.
Redefined goal #7 - Become actively involved in environmental advocacy by developing and implementing an environmental stewardship program at St. Oswald's.

8. Finish Learn-To-Ride and Learn-To-Race. These are courses at the local velodrome, and I've finished two of four. Easy!
Redefined goal #8 - unchanged.

9. Grow a garden. I tried some containers last year without a lot of success, but I think I needed some more container-friendly vegetables or something. I'm trying again this year and I want some results!
Redefined goal #9 - Grow a garden and harvest something edible from each patch that I plant (so far, I have carrots, squash, zucchini, peas, beets, tomatoes, salad greens, peppers, and some herbs).

10. Preserve food for the winter via canning/drying. Self-explanatory, but this can probably be merged with #29 - get friends together to visit farms - since in my mind they are pretty much related, I wouldn't do one without the other.
Redefined goal #10 - Go in with some friends on buying/picking produce in bulk from local farms, and preserve it via canning, drying, or freezing.

11. Buy local. I think this is really important for several reasons, and you can look them up easily for yourself. It just needs a little more definition regarding how much and how local. Also, this includes stuff I grow and make myself!
Redefined goal #11 - Obtain at least 50% of my food from within 200 miles, and my non-food from within 200 miles where possible (i.e. an affordable option exists).

12. Spend less time on the computer. I think this can be modified to include any screen, including the TV. How much is 'less' though? I think I'd be happy with very little computer use outside work, seeing as I already stare at the damn thing all day.
Redefined goal #12 - Limit my computer/TV time to an average of one hour per day outside work (except as needed for job and/or grad school hunting).

13. Practice meditation. I find this really helpful, especially when I'm trying to simplify my life and reduce stress. Ideally I'd like to practice this daily, but starting small is probably the better plan. This may include mindful knitting!
Redefined goal #13 - Practice meditation for one half hour, three times a week.

14. Write more. I enjoy writing and do it well, and I did develop some of the discipline needed while at university. However I haven't kept up with it. I've written a few short articles for my church newsletter, and I've been asked to submit one to the monthly Anglican newspaper. I'd also like to get in the habit of "morning pages" - just stream of consciousness, the object is simply to fill two or three pages.
Redefined goal #14 - Practice writing regularly - one short article per month, and morning pages three times a week.

15. Read more books. I think an excellent start would be the ones on my bookshelf (including Shakespeare's complete works). I also found a list somewhere of the 100 best classics, some of which I've read and all of which I'd like to. This actually encompasses goals 70 and 71 as well.
Redefined goal #15 - read all the books currently on my shelf or the 100-best list that I have not read yet.

16. Knit a sweater. It has to be wearable, and by 'wearable' I mean it gets worn, regularly. Not that I would knit anything else, of course. My days of "Gauge swatch? I don't need no stinkin' gauge swatch!" are over. I even have a few specific possibilities in mind, but I'll leave it open for now.
Redefined goal #16 - Unchanged.

17. Have a Buy-Nothing Christmas. And by "nothing" I mean no consumer goods - obviously if I make something I might need raw materials. For example tonight I am going to make a batch of mint jelly to put aside, and I need some pectin and an alarming amount of sugar.
Redefined goal #17 - Unchanged.

18. Buy a camera. I would LOVE a digital SLR. I love taking pictures but don't have a camera. I've been borrowing James' SLR but I'm terrible at getting film developed and don't want to pay for it anyway. I think my budget will top out at $1000.
Redefined goal #18 - Save $100 a month; buy a digital SLR.

19. Go snowboarding. So much fun! I've only been twice. Must go more. Also, must improve skills.
Redefined goal #19 - Go snowboarding at least three times during the 07-08 season. Learn to carve.

20. Volunteer with Habitat for Humanity. I did this while I was in school and unfortunately, I don't get automatic spring breaks anymore so weeklong trips to California are not that possible. But spending a Saturday at one of the build sites in the Vancouver area is definitely possible.
Redefined goal #20 - Spend at least five Saturdays working with Habitat.

21. Research an ethnography. I thought about merging this with my "Write more" goal but it's really quite separate. Ethnography is by far my favourite subject and I really enjoyed researching and writing one while in school. Bonus points if it's eventually published. But right now I just have to get started.
Redefined goal #21 - Choose a social scene to study, and begin the participant observation/research.

22. Start sewing. This one is necessary for accomplishing #30.
Redefined goal #22 - deleted.

23. Learn how to use a spinning wheel. My local yarn store has classes. However I'm merging this with #24.
Redefined goal #23 - deleted.

24. Knit something with my own handspun. See above - I'm specifying a wheel as opposed to a drop spindle, which I can use already.
Redefined goal #24 - Knit something with wool I've handspun on a spinning wheel.

25. Run 10 km. Easy.
Redefined goal #25 - Unchanged.

26. Bike 100 km. Also easy! All you have to do is bike 50 km in one direction and leave yourself no other option for getting home. However this isn't really much of a stretch for me anymore, I did 73 in one go a few weeks ago, and that was fully loaded. I think my panniers weighed twice as much as my bike! So I'm going to say 150.
Redefined goal #26 - Bike 150 km.

27. Take pictures and get some prints framed. After I get a camera of course. I have a couple friends who are excellent photographers, and I'd really like to work on my skills and get a few nice prints made. I think they make great gifts as well.
Redefined goal #27 - Practice taking pictures regularly (i.e. on a weekly basis) and get prints of five of my best.

28. Practice networking. I already went over this in micro-goal #7 really, though it is also a short-term aspiration as well.
Redefined goal #28 - Deleted.

29. Get friends together to visit farms. See #10.
Redefined goal #29 - Deleted.

30. Sew one whole outfit for myself. I haven't decided yet if this includes underwear yet, but I'm leaning towards "why the hell not?" I don't think this will include shoes. Socks yes. They'll be knitted though obviously.
Redefined goal #30 - Unchanged.

31. Learn to dirtjump. I have a badass dirtjumping bike and it's high time I started getting some air on that thing.
Redefined goal #31 - Learn to dirtjump; be able to do a clean run on medium-sized tables.

32. Improve flexibility. I used to do springboard diving and could pretty much just fold myself in half. Ahh to be young and nubile again.
Redefined goal #32 - Practice stretching in order to improve flexibility for 15 minutes each evening.

33. Go scuba diving. Vancouver is great for this, or so I'm told. If I save $35 a month, I can take a beginner open water course with 10 dives in less than a year's time.
Redefined goal #33 - Take a beginner open water scuba diving course; save $35 per month for it.

34. Go rock climbing. How many outdoor sports have I mentioned already? Vancouver is a mecca for pretty much any of them. Anyway, rock climbing. I think there's a course I can take somewhere so I can be on the other end of the rope as well. I'd like to try it up a proper rock face and not just an artificial rock wall, but let's start in the shallow end here.
Redefined goal #34 - Go rock climbing three times; get certified to belay.

35. Play board games. Come on, free entertainment! Well, once you own the game anyway, and between me and my friends, I have access to many. Not that I watch much TV to begin with, but I'm trying to come up with even more alternatives.
Redefined goal #35 - Spend twenty evenings playing board games.

Clearly defined micro-goals

Back to the baby-step goals! These are the ones that should be completable with about a week's work. I'll go through them in sets of 10 or so, as I have time.

1. Take shorter showers. How short is short? For me, 10 minutes would be a stretch, but it's possible if I don't have to shave that day. However, this is necessarily part of short-term goal #73.
Redefined goal #1: Deleted.

2. Write a will. This one's pretty easy, however it includes a couple other sets of documents that aren't part of a traditional will.
Redefined goal #2: Write a will, including a living will, funeral arrangements, and other instructions to my family in the event of my death.

3. Race in an alleycat. This one needs no further definition, and will be accomplished on June 16th actually. Though I am thinking about amending it to include some winnings. I feel like that is partially beyond my control, as I don't have any influence on other entrants, and I'm not about to start hiring someone to break people's legs. But I can for sure do some more training and get more experienced. So with that in mind -
Redefined goal #3 - Race in an alleycat, and bring home a prize.

4. Make church website. My boyfriend James and I are in the middle of designing a website for my church. I'd give you a link, but well... I can't right now. ha! It is coming along though, I understand the design is done (that's James' end) and so what I need to do is finish writing... whatever needs to be written!
Redefined goal #4 - Finish all the writing for the church website, and get it online.

5. Go to the farmer's market. It's that time of the year, and I'm trying to buy local as much as possible. However, I've observed that one of my other goals is "Buy Local" and shopping at the farmer's market (there are several excellent ones near me) is part of that. So I'm scrapping this, but it will show up in an Action Plan later.
Redefined goal #5 - deleted!

6. Do some beadwork. I bought a nice bead kit from a friend and enjoy making jewelry, but I've neglected it a bit in favour of its nicer older sister, knitting. I'd like to make a few things for small gifts, since I prefer to keep my jewelry stash fairly small.
Redefined goal #6 - Make at least 10 beaded items (e.g. bracelets).

7. Practice networking. I am seriously considering starting a job search within the month, and I'd like to make some contacts who can help me out. I could amalgamate this into my medium-term goal of finding a job in my field, but I think it is important whether or not I'm looking for a job, so it stays on independently. I've also been unsure of whether to include this goal as short-term or medium-term or what, but I think I will leave it here since making a new contact is easily doable in a week.
Redefined goal #7 - Make one new contact (who can help influence my career path) each week for one month.

8. Redo my résumé. Obviously necessary when one is planning on job shopping, and honestly in the sector I work in, it's a good idea to have it always up to date. In my opinion it's a pretty good resume, well-formatted, concise, and effective. There are just a few things about it that need to be updated in light of my present job.
Redefined goal #8 - Update résumé to include present work experience, and new skills learned.

9. Donate hair to Locks of Love. I did this once already, dropping TWO FEET of my flowing tresses, and it felt so weird I'll just have to try it again. It's just not long enough yet.
Redefined goal #9 - Once my hair reaches waist length, chop it to chin length and donate it to Locks of Love.

10. Register as an organ donor. In British Columbia, this is done through a separate agency and has nothing to do with your driver's license or anything else, though you do need a valid CareCard.
Redefined goal #10 - unchanged.

Setting well-defined, measurable goals

Here's the blurb from Triplux, whence this goal craze originated:

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

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as new year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

Some common goal setting tips:
1. Be decisive. Know exactly what you want, why you want it, and how you plan to achieve it.

2. Stay Focussed. Any goal requires sustained focus from beginning to end. Constantly evaluate your progress.

3. Welcome Failure. Frequently, very little is learned from a venture that did not experience failure in some form. Failure presents the opportunity to learn and makes the success more worthy.

4. Write down your goals. It clarifies your thinking and reinforces your commitment.

5. Keep your goals in sight. Review them frequently, and ensure that they are always at the forefront of your thinking.

So now, my next task is to make sure all of my goals are specific, well-defined, measurable, realistic, and stretching. In the next few days I'll be going over them all once more, since it's quite obvious that none of them are any of those things right now.