Goals and Resolutions for 2011

I usually write my New Year's goals and resolutions in my Daytimer - and, yes, even with all the techie gadgets in the world, I still like my nice leather bound organizer.  I might share the G&R's with my spouse, who will conveniently forget them, but the only person who really knows the promises I've made to myself is...well, me.

This year I'm going to try something different this year and post a few here.  Maybe the public declaration will give me extra incentive.  For clarification, I consider anything that's an ongoing behavior modification as a resolution and 'get it done and check it off' items as goals.  I don't include goals on this list that are not solely within my own power to make happen (i.e. get published). 

Goals

Finish re-writes/editing on Hunter’s Way (this is my top priority)

Find a crit partner(s) and/or beta readers (need to move beyond the friends and family network)

Start querying Hunter's Way (as soon as it's ready)

Go back to my half finished Sci Fi and start re-working it and/or start the new mystery story I've got bouncing around my head (after Hunter's Way is in the query stage)

Finish reading the Bible.  (This is a left over from 2010 when I decided to read the Bible straight through from cover to cover  - and, no, I'm not cramming for the final exam.  I'm not quite to the end of the Old Testiment so I'll be finishing this one in 2011.)

Lose 25 lbs. (My goal for 2010 was to lose 50 lbs. which I reached back in the fall, but I fell off the wagon and gained back a few so I've got to re-lose those and then move on to my original target.)

Resolutions

Develop a good work schedule for writing, blogging, marketing, etc. and stick to it (this will be a biggie as I adjust to not having a full time job to work around)

Blog M-W-F every week (still trying to find my stride on this)

Read one non-fiction book every two months - something that will stretch my brain (no, I don't count the books of the Bible - that would make it too easy)

Give blood every 8 weeks (I give now but not as regularly as I should)

Use food to alleviate hunger or as part of appropriate social engagements – not as a response to boredom,  frustration, depression, or as a procrastination device (obviously ties to the last goal mentioned)

Use exercise as a response to the above named conditions (this would really help that last goal)


Okay, I think that will do it.  I have a slightly longer personal list but some things are just not 'postable'.

Anyone have a resolution and/or goal they're willing to share?

I'm currently enjoying: Stay Tuned for Murder by Mary Kennedy

Groaner of the Day: (This is a long one but it cracked me up.) There is a monastery where monks have taken a vow of near-silence.  Each day begins with morning worship. The service starts when the head abbot comes in and chants, "Good morning."

The monks chant in reply, "Good morning."

They say not another word until evening vespers, when the head abbot comes in and chants, "Good evening."

The monks all reply in unison, "Good evening." Not another word is spoken until the next morning.

Several years ago one of the monks decided he had to break up the boredom of this routine. The next morning when the head abbot chanted, "Good morning," all the other monks responded, "Good morning", except the one bored monk who chanted, "Good evening."

Quickly, the head abbot sang in reply: "Some-one chanted 'evening'. He must be a stranger."

(admit it - you laughed)

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year's celebration and a healthy, prosperous, and joyful 2011.

How Do You Start a Year?

Two of my grandkids started school on Tuesday. The other two start today. A new year. Full of hope and promise and possibilities. For kids, and anyone else tied to the academic world, this “new year” is probably a lot more significant than the one that starts on January 1. And then there’s the fiscal year. For me, at work, that begins on July 1. It’s not quite a fresh start – many projects flow from year to year – but there are new goals and deadlines and a nice fresh budget to work with.

For sports fans there are lot of new years. The new year for my Red Sox begins in April. And hopefully runs through October.

I like the beginning of a new year. The concept of a fresh start. I make all kinds of resolutions and goals and write them down in the Daytimer I live by. The personal ones get made in January; the job related ones happen in July. Although this year was a little different. For the first time in decades, the job goals were only for six months. I’ll be retiring in December. Whew! Talk about a new beginning.

How about you? When does your year begin, or do you have more than one? Is it a biggie for you, with goals and resolutions, or does it just sort of slide by?  Hmmmm, maybe I'll do my next blog about goals and new year resolutions.  Would you share yours?

Unwriting progress: From 150,000 words down to 119,000.  (not much writing time since my last post)

I'm currently enjoying: A Murder Hatched by Donna Andrews (not much reading time either)

Quote of the day: An ignorant person is one who doesn't know what you have just found out. - Will Rogers