My Goals for 2011

Okay, so I’m back! The vacation I took during the last couple weeks of December was so relaxing, I had a hard time getting back into the groove of things. Plus, I walked into a HUGE to-do list at the job, so I’ve been working like a mad woman just to get caught back up with work. I’m finally feeling as if I’m back on track.

My goals for 2011 look a lot like 2010′s goals. In addition to introducing new ones, I’ll reflect a bit on how I well I accomplished the ones that were similar to last year’s.

1. Write a minimum of 1,250 words every day. That’s just 4 or 5 pages a day, and I believe I should be able to easily accomplish that with around 2 hours of dedicated writing time. Now I struggled  with this goal last year because I wasn’t consistent, and I let things like a bad mood or lacking confidence deter me, and I would often force myself to write a lot in a short period of time to try to catch up, and then not write for many weeks due to burnout.
2. Finish at least 6 books. I managed to finish 3 books last year, with me writing very inconsistently. If I can stick to goal #1, this one would happen naturally.
3. Blog every week. I got a leg up on developing this habit last year, with only a few weeks missed in all. I’d like to continue the routine at a minimum, with hopes to increase the frequency.
4. Read 1 book a month. With a full-time job, family, responsibilities and a writing career on the side, my free-time is limited. But I love to read, and there were some periods last year where I got so caught up in books that I didn’t write anything for days and days. I don’t want that to happen again unless I’m on vacation, but I also don’t want to let a month slip by where I haven’t read at least 1 book.
5. Beat 1 video game a month. I’m a big gamer. I especially love RPG and action/adventure games, but I’ll play almost anything that has a good storyline. Last year, I let full quarters go by without putting in a single minute of gaming, and paid for it in the form of added stress and unfulfilled due to denying myself one of my favorite pastimes. I won’t be able to play every day, but allowing myself a few hours each weekend would be good.
6. Exercise 5 days a week. Last year I aimed to workout 4 days a week, and averaged 5. I didn’t reach the weight goal that I wanted to, but found that I felt much better all around when I exercised frequently than when I didn’t. Family Exercise Time is still a hit in our house.
7. Submit a writing project every other month. Last year, I had an over-zealous goal to submit something every single month. But I meet my first and second goals on this list, I will have enough new work to submit something every other month in 2011.
8. Start non-fiction freelance writing. For a while now, I’ve been wanting to dip into some non-fiction writing on subjects that I’m interested in. This year, I’d like to at least set myself up to begin one on-going project. Since getting my finances in order is something I’ve become very passionate about, I’m thinking a personal finance blogging and article-writing project is in my near future.
9. Break from the computer more often. There were far too many days last year that I was practically on the computer from the moment I woke up until the minute I fell asleep. Apparently, my laptop’s keyboard makes a pretty good pillow/drool-pad. I’d like to restrict my daily computing time in order to 1) protect my eyesight, 2) not suffer from burnout and then go on computer-strike like I did for my entire vacation in December, and 3) prevent my kids from being surprised when I’m actually not on the computer. I’m considering something like a 6am to 6pm time constraint, but the details are still TBD.
10. Drink less alcohol. It ‘s not so much the quantity that I’m looking to change (I have a low tolerance and am quite satisfied after just 1 drink or a little less) but rather the frequency. I’d like to cut down my intake from one alcoholic beverage a night to no more than a couple of drinks a week. This would break an unnecessary habit, help maintain good health and save money all at the same time.

What are your goals for the year?

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