Now that I’ve looked back on my accomplishments and shortfalls from last year it is time to set out my goals for 2016. a couple of my goals for this year don’t follow my usual uber list criteria of specific and measurable, but they are things that I’d like to focus on anyway. In general though my goals follow these rules that I’ve listed in previous years:
- Uber list items should be things I probably wouldn’t do without a list prodding me.
- Uber list items should be specific and measurable (as opposed to saying I’ll do something “more” or “be better”)
- Uber list items should be within my control. For example, I can make goals about applying for jobs but “getting a new job” isn’t entirely up to me.
Here are my goals for this year. I’ve decided to try a bullet journal as well, which I’ve already set up to track my progress on these.
Family & Friends
- Get professional pictures taken of my family. My daughter was recently asked to bring a picture of her family to school. We had to take a group selfie and print it because the last time we had a good picture taken of all four of us was embarrassingly too long ago.
- Go out with friends at least once a month. Although I do like to stay home, I really should get out and do things with my friends more often.
- Meet my new nephew. He was born in July, and I still haven’t met him. Boo. I also haven’t seen my other nephew, my sister-in-law, and my brother-in-law in over a year. Luckily, a family gathering is being discussed.
Creative
- Submit to at least 10 theatres or publications. What I’ve learned about me is that I don’t need a goal to write; I need a goal to do something with the things I’ve already written.
Arts & Entertainment
- Read at least 25 books (and the ones I read to my kids don’t count). Without even stating this as a goal I was reading a lot last summer then I fell out of the habit again. Besides the fact that I like reading and there are a lot of things I’d like to read, another reason for this goal is I know that when I read more I write more.
- Go to at least 10 plays (that aren’t children’s shows). I should see far more than that, but this is a good start. I hope to sometimes be able to pair this with the going out with friends goal above.
- Watch 50 movies with my husband (mostly at home). My husband and I only watch a few TV shows, which means when we settle down for a night in we waste a lot of time on the in decision of what to watch. This year we have both made lists of movies (some new, some classics, some guilty pleasures) that at least one of us hasn’t seen so that we’ll always have an idea of what to watch.
Career
- Less Talking, Better Listening. I wrote about this in an earlier post.
- Get my CISSP. Last year I had to put this on hold to get a CISA certification, but this year I’d like to return my focus to becoming a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP).
- Get a good professional headshot taken. Maybe I can tie this together with getting the family pictures taken.
Self Care
- Wear red lipstick. I’m not sure of an appropriate frequency on this, but I’d like to try this. I know that the writers of I Got a Dumpster Family and Lipstick, Lollipops, & Life both swear by red lipstick. I would have sworn that I’ve never worn it outside of a play, but I recently found a 20-year-old picture that contradicts that. This is a push myself out of my comfort zone thing. We’ll see what happens.
- Get my overdue massages. My husband bought me a massage two Christmases ago (2014) and another for either Valentine’s Day or my birthday. I didn’t use either. Luckily, the friend he bought them from said they never expire, but I need to use them. Sooner rather than later.
- No drinking at home during the week. My husband and I have a habit of running out for beer in the middle of the week then drinking, watching TV, and talking. This can happen a few times a week. It’s always fun, but we both agreed we don’t need the calories or the added expense. We’ll save that for weekends when we are staying in.
Of course, I also want to achieve the things I didn’t manage to do from my 2015 list, but I clearly have to find a different form of motivation for those. I definitely want to get in better shape/be healthier, but I haven’t decided how I want to try to approach that yet.
Did you make any New Year’s resolutions or goals? What are they?
RELATED POSTS:
Get notified of new posts by email. Type your email address in the box and click the “create subscription” button. My list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time.
You can also find Kim Z. Dale on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ .
Kim Z. Dale 