Failure to Plan and All That Jazz...

I excel at setting long-term goals. EXCEL AT IT! Every January, I look at the blank canvas which is the year ahead of me and think of what is possible in that year. What could I do with those 12 months? Then I think of all the amazing things, pick a few I like, and write them down.

Where I fail is setting short term goals to reach those long term goals. I look at my goals and think "I have 12 months to complete that, I'll deal with it tomorrow" and then continue to think that until a couple of  months down the road when I just stop looking at my goals. It's easier to ignore them if you never open the word document.

I set goals last year and didn't achieve on of them. Not one. I'm sure part of that is due to the fact that I couldn't even remember what they were without looking them up. So instead of setting goals for this year and talking about them on here, I'm making a resolution: set and work on short-term goals on a weekly and monthly basis.

That's it. No grand plan to unicycle up Everest next Christmas Eve. No decision to memorize and recite the entire Histories in Ancient Greek. I have a few goals for the year, but what I really want is to look back and see 12 months of goals set to help move myself forward towards my 'big' goals. I want to see 52 weeks worth of goals set and (mostly*) achieved which will allow me to complete the monthly goals.

I've found an unused lined notebook. I'm in the middle of turning into a goal book of sorts so I can keep track of my monthly/weekly goals etc. It's pretty much my goal for this week!

*I'm not going to get upset if I don't make every single goal every single week as long as I'm still moving forwards towards the end result.

How to Start a New Year

Realise you've had less than six hours sleep three days in a row so opt to be a good girl and stay in.

Make yourself a hot chocolate and Bailey's and settle in to watch the Doctor Who Series Six DVD you got for Christmas.

Decide that as you're taking things easy, you can stay up until midnight, just head to bed very quickly afterwards.

Be halfway through an episode (Let's Kill Hitler by the way) when the new year arrives. Laugh at your cats doing laps around the apartment every time a firecracker goes off.

Once the episode is over, start trolling the internet and find lots of Doctor Who themed pictures.

 

Yes. Yes, it is.

Well, it's mine at least.

Go to bed at 2AM.

Wake up at 7:30AM and curse the addictive hilariousness of Doctor Who fans.

Watch another Doctor Who episode while you potter about the house.

For the first time in the five years that you've thought about doing it, go to the Government House levée, arriving just in time to be the last person in the receiving line.

Sing 'Auld Lang Syne' with hundreds of other people and the pipe band before making your way to the patio to stare across the Juan de Fuca Straight to the snow capped Olympic Mountains. Remind yourself that you live in a pretty freaking beautiful part of the world.

Laugh as the Lieutenant-Governor 'pays the piper' and then cry while he gives his speech. (In this case, 'pay the piper' means to share a wee dram with the piper who led in the head party.)

Vow to make it to the levée in future years. Next time, drag people with you suggest your friends come along.

Write a couple of thoughts as to goals for 2012. Set them aside so you can sleep on them some more.

Go to your mom's for dinner. Receive an impromptu guitar lesson. Celebrate your older brother getting even older.

Curl up on your couch with your cats and watch another episode of Doctor Who before bed. Decided that this sentence will stay on your 2012 list of goals:

Best advice I've been given in a long time.

I hope you've all had a wonderful first 24 hours to 2012!

Winding Down 2011

I'm just going to start this post by coming right out and saying it: Christmas was awesome. After a less than spectacular 2011 (Ireland trip aside because that rocked!), it's ending on a high note and that's really all I can ask for at this point. I had a fabulous two nights up in Nanaimo with my stepmom and Baby Bro, and then I had a wonderful Christmas Day with the rest of my family here in Victoria.

First and foremost, I got a guitar for Christmas! Well, my stepdad gave/loaned me one of his guitars, but the important thing is that I now have a guitar so I can learn to play. I even played my first song today, a very slow, laborious and painful heartfelt and emotional rendition of On Raglan Road. 

My version sounded exactly like that except guitar-only, much slower, with a plethora of mistakes and a voice that sounds nothing like Luke Kelly. But other than those tiny differences, exactly like that. It's not that I honestly expected the song to be any good right away but I just wanted to fumble through one song I'd like to learn so I know exactly how far I have to go. Answer? Pretty freakin' far at this point! It's also helped me set a goal for what will constitute #24 on my 101 in 1001 list as completed: participate in my local coffee shop's Open Mic. So simple and yet so freaking terrifying right now.

I also got Doctor Who Series Six on Blu-Ray!! Except I don't have a Blu-Ray player. ::sad trombone:: I had to do something I've never done before: I went to the mall on Boxing Day. Did you know that most stories won't do returns or exchanges on Boxing Day? Again, this was my first time ever going to a mall on Boxing Day. Lesson learned! At any rate, I now have DVDs which I can watch so, yeah, don't be surprised if I disappear for the next week...

As the year wraps up, I've been debating about whether or not I'm actually going to set resolutions or goals for 2012. To be honest, I set them every year... and then forget about them by February. Perhaps if I made them and put them in a place where I actually see them, I'd have more success. I know me and I know that I will do resolutions (although I prefer to call them goals) because I like making lists, but I'm also thinking I might just make them ridiculously simple this year. E.G. Don't leave house with curlers in your hair. (True story.)

While I was debating this topic yet again this afternoon, a friend shared this on facebook:

It reminded of a post on The Great Fitness Experiment earlier this year about a to-be list vs. a to-do list. I thought a lot about what would be on my to-be list at that time but then I got distracted by, oh, probably by my to-do list to be honest, and I never did get around to actually writing a to-be list. The six habits of happiness list overlapped a lot of my ideas for my to-be list and got me thinking about it again. So while I don't know if I'll formally set resolutions or goals, I will be writing a to-be list for 2012.