My Goals for 2014

Wow! It’s already a few weeks into the new year and the month of January has nearly come to an end. I’ve put this off long enough. I finally constructed my 2014 Goals List using Scott Britton‘s holistic goal setting framework. You can check out the step-by-step process on his site, but I’d like to use this space to share my resulting goals list with you here.

It’s true what they say, that “it’s better late than never,” because it feels great to have written out my thoughts and ambitions into a clear, concise list of goals, even if it is late. However, that same mentality is a limiting belief that I’d like to overcome this year as it is one that causes me to put others needs and requests before my own goals, which end up at the end of my to-do lists leaving me with little time to no time to make measurable progress.

However, I also have to admit that creating an ambitious goals list such as the one below and then holding myself accountable to it seemed a bit daunting before I started, and still kind of is, so that may have also been a factor that caused me to procrastinate. That said, I’m excited to see what I can accomplish this year! Here it goes…

My Goals for 2014

Personal Health & Mental Clarity

1. Find new long-distance bike rides at least 10 miles round-trip in and around nature [bi-weekly]
2. Plan weekend hikes with friends in advance before the weekend begins [weekly]
3. Implement the Sprint 8 exercise to improve cardio health [weekly]
4. Finish dental work that I started last year and schedule two cleanings
5. Spend at least 10 minutes stretching and finding my center of balance when I wake up [daily]
6. Find and stick to a healthy eating and workout regimen to build muscle and mass [daily]
7. Take three 5-minute breaks during the day (before, during and after work) to meditate [daily]
8. Participate in the 100 Happy Days challenge and write 1-3 things I’m grateful for [daily]
9. Keep a small pocketbook with me to document and measure the progress of my exercise goals
10. Donate unused clothing and items that are cluttering my space and interfering with my focus

Relationships (Friends, Family & Significant Other)

1. Call my Grandma & Grandpa on a regular basis [weekly/bi-weekly]
2. Talk with my mom and brother to plan regular fun family events that we can all enjoy (like kayaking!)
3. Find and spend more time with friends who enjoy doing fun, sober, outdoor activities [weekly]
4. Go to social events and outings to meet more creative, outgoing, like-minded people
5. Reconnect with friends who I haven’t seen or spoken with in years (Skype or phone)
6. Introduce friends from different circles who have the same interests but who have never met
7. Go on fun dates with intriguing women and pursue romantic interests

Personal Growth & Learning

1. Implement Eben Pagan‘s 60/60/30 solution from his Wake Up Productive Home Study Course to get regular breaks in my work schedule [daily]
2. Study Spanish on Rosetta Stone and attend Spanish conversational classes or meet-ups to improve listening skills and fluency in speaking [weekly]
3. Finish reading the books I’ve already started
4. Read business book recommendations that I received from clients last year
5. Write my thoughts and insights here on my blog to get in the habit of writing more often so it’s easier to write ebooks
6. Move into a nice place by myself with land to garden and space for my pets
7. Organize my finances in one easy-to-manage place, whether it’s a spreadsheet, Quickbooks or other app or website
8. Reflect on my progress towards these goals one night each week [weekly]
9. Volunteer and offer my time and resources to assist others in need [monthly]
10. Find grants, scholarships and resources for travel-abroad study programs
11. Find a mentor or coach who is willing to trade services and can help me stay focused and hold me accountable to my goals
12. Re-define my personal boundaries and communicate honestly

Business Growth, Finances & Money

1. Focus on completing one new digital product each month such as video courses, ebooks, niche websites, etc. (rather than trying to work on them all simultaneously and losing focus) [monthly]
2. Study PHP & JavaScript on CodeAcademy.com to improve my web development skills [weekly]
3. Publish at least three ebooks this year (I’ve already started writing 2, but want to expand beyond that and allow room for growth)
4. Begin taking detailed notes of the steps required to perform routine tasks and save it in Google Drive to begin preparing for delegation
5. Build a well-documented master list of all the coding solutions I find while building websites and save in the cloud for easy access anywhere
6. Create 3 or more natural products in bulk to sell on-demand via Amazon Prime
7. Sell my new and old artwork and handmade products on Etsy as a fun source of income
8. Complete web projects for my brothers business by the end of February
9. Study Self-Made Wealth again to re-align my thoughts and beliefs about money to match my financial goals
10. Get in front of my business taxes with quarterly payments

Fun, Leisure & Recreation

1. Learn to play piano including chords, scales and at least 3 of my favorite songs [weekly]
2. Study and practice digital photography & video to maximize my understanding of my current camera (before investing in a new DSLR). [weekly]
3. Get at least one photo published in Arizona Highways magazine (print would be ideal but very difficult, online edition is okay too)
4. Plan at least two trips to visit friends in different states and at least one trip to a state I’ve never been to
5. Save and plan for an international trip before my current passport expires
6. Get back into playing my guitar more frequently; Learn 2 songs from other artists; Write 2 songs of my own, and take part in several jam sessions
7. Keep in touch with the earth (and save money) by maximizing my garden space and growing as many seasonal fruits and vegetables as possible [weekly/monthly]
8. Get my car fixed so she’s reliable to go on long-distance road trips again
9. Share interesting articles and personal insights on my blog rather than social media
10. Write down the funny things that happen or peculiar things I observe, then creatively elaborate on them to make funny skits for short films

Now that I’ve written down my goals for the year, I have to construct mechanisms to hold myself accountable wherein I can track my progress and adjust my goals as necessary. Looking back at my goals from last year, I’m realizing that reviewing my progress is the key I was missing, because several of the goals that I really wanted to accomplish unfortunately slipped through the cracks and ended up carrying over into this year.

To really tackle these goals this year, I’m going to set a specific day and time of the week to review my progress. I’m sure it won’t be easy, but these are all things that I want to do so it should be fun. Also, like Scott said in his blog post, “I will not eliminate a goal because it’s hard or because I’m not making progress at the pace I want to.” And of course, there will be new interests and goals that arise in the process, so I’ll have to remain open to change while remembering to zoom out regularly to check that the bigger picture aligns with my goals.

Hopefully this has inspired you to pursue your own goals and ambitions this year. If you’d like to learn more or take part in any of the activities in the list above, feel free to let me know! I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below.

Thanks again to Scott Britton for sharing his goal-setting framework,  and an equally great ‘Thank You’ to all of my friends and family for supporting my dreams and helping me achieve my goals! Let’s make 2014 an awesome year together!