Thinking About Goals

I've been thinking a bit about the best way to present my goals for the coming year, and really feel that my previous best example, though thorough, may be lacking somewhat in realism and focus. This is due to my goals checklist's aggressive nature--I'm simply listing too many things I'd like to accomplish in too many categories. These past set of goals may have given me some direction, but ultimately there was too much content and thus it was difficult for me to pay attention to them every day. What I need is something a little more concise, especially the daily and weekly portions which I intend to reference frequently.

Perhaps I need to think a bit more about how these different categories overlap, and how to best make progress in multiple areas simultaneously. Also, I need to do some thinking about some of the goals with which I don't seem to make much progress (patience with kids, daily physical activity). How must I frame these goals so I have a realistic shot at committing them to habit and following through with them on an ongoing basis?

Goals for Spring 2009

I haven't thought about goals in quite a while, so I wanted to get a rough framework down for them here. Perhaps I'll start by mentioning a point or two in each category, then sometime in the coming week flesh out this post into a full goals checklist.

Family

• I've been doing a fair job with spending time with my kids, especially reading to them and playing board games with them. Still need to work on my patience.
• Need to make more one on one time with the Mrs. Also more dates.
  

Social

• I've been meeting some new people, especially to play board games. Need to push myself to go to more social gatherings when possible.
• I've been keeping closer contact with several of my long distance friends and family, which is great. I need to continue to enlarge that sphere.
  

Gaming

• I've been playing lots of board games, both in person and online. I still need to meet more people in the area who play games, and introduce board games to more people I already know.
• I would love to attend a board game convention this year.
  

Professional

• I'm not sure what to do in this category. I'm beginning to feel stagnant at my job so I either need to somehow mix things up a bit and find a way to push myself more, or find a new job. I'll need to engage in some deep thinking here very soon.

Financial

• This is a tough category in this economic climate. I've lost a bunch of money on paper, especially in my retirement accounts. However, I've also been able put a lot of money away as the market has slid, so in the long run this will be quite advantageous. My only goal is to continue to invest at these great prices.
• As far as emergency fund, I need to get get back to 10k since this summer could be light on cash for the family, and we need to have liquid assets available for any future changes of plans (Mrs. going back to school, relocating to new area, etc.) Ultimately my financial goal is balancing between taking advantage of great stock prices and maintaining a solid emergency fund.
  

Intellectual

• I've been listening to lots of board game podcasts, and I'd like add some history and science ones to my list. Dan Carlin's Hardcore History is the first I'll try.
• Reading has been on my back shelf for a little while now, but I need to bring it back to prominence, both for enjoyment and for intellectual improvement.
• I'm not sure if writing in my blog counts as an intellectual undertaking, but I've definitely been doing well with it, and need to find a way I can maintain a steady output.
  

Physical

• During the fall and early winter I walked to work quite a bit, which is a great way to get exercise. I need to place more emphasis on this activity this spring.
• One reason for the importance of walking is that I have not made going to the gym a priority at all. It seems as if I don't have the time for it, though obviously I could make time if I really wanted. I need to decide if this is really essential, or if frequent walking is enough to stay fit.
  

Spiritual

• I have done little to no spiritual exploration as of late. Last year I did meet with the local Mormon missionaries long enough to understand what they believe and where they're coming from. It's debatable whether their Church is even really a religious institution (many would call it a cult), but regardless is certainly not for me! I need to make the time to find my spiritual niche.

Goals for July 2008 Revisited

Looking back at my 2008 goals, I felt it appropriate to break down how I was faring midway through the year. Here's the breakdown of my specific 'to be accomplished by July 1, 2008' list:

1) Plant my garden, hedge trees, and maybe apple trees.

My garden went in and is thriving for the most part. Tomatoes, snap peas, eggplant, peppers, herbs, berry bushes are all doing great. I had some problems with seed germination especially with the corn and green beans, but successive plantings of beans have given me some healthy plants, and I still have hope for a little corn before frost hits...we will see! The garden this year turned out to be a big expense since I decided to do raised beds due to my space and soil limitations. I'm pleased with how everything turned out, however, and the vast majority of those costs will not be repeated next year.

I planted 50 American Arborvitaes trees as a hedge along the back edge of my lawn. They took a ton of effort to get in, but since I had a week off from work when they arrived, I did have plenty of time to accomplish the job. I have some worries concerning the amount of sunlight they receive on a daily basis where they are planted, but so far they seem to be doing well. On average I would say the trees have added about 5-6 inches of new growth this year, and all but perhaps one tree seem vibrant and healthy.

Apple trees didn't work out this year, I ordered one but it didn't survive the shipping and planting process, so I'll try again next year. Although I wanted to plant only real, standard sized trees, I'm now thinking I'll go with a dwarf variety that will more easily fit my yard and as an added bonus will produce fruit as early as the second year after transplanting.

2)Reach $10,000 in emergency fund, $13,000 in retirement fund, and $1300 in taxable mutual fund.

Mixed bag here, largely due to the stock market woes of '07-'08. I would say everything on my part went well, and if anything, the stock slump will only add to the value of my accounts long term since so much of what I've invested has been bought during the slide. Emergency fund is in my HSBC high yield online savings account, and at one point was up to $12,000. Currently it is still above the $10k mark, but may dip a little below that point this summer since I have little to no income for a couple months.

My total retirement savings as of today is $11,300, far short of my stated goal. However, since 100% of this money is allocated to stocks, it isn't much of a shock that I didn't reach the $13k. In fact, I've been saving into this account for several years now and currently it is worth about $500 shy of my total contributions! Hopefully during the stock recovery that should occur over the next several years my account will thrive. Until then, I just need to set another goal!

Finally, my taxable mutual fund I opened through T. Rowe Price at the start of the year is currently at $2075, which is a result of me being fairly aggressive with funding the account. Investment returns so far are about -$125, but this just means that the $200 I add twice a month is currently buying me lots of shares! Again, this stock downturn should translate into excellent returns in the years to come, especially since all of the money I've invested into my taxable account has been while stocks have been discounted.

3) Propose new test recipes at work.

I had hoped to test several batches of recipes at different times throughout the semester, but as it turned out just our day to day duties kept us so busy that there was simply no time for it. I did one round of tests that led to a couple of new menu items that have since been heavily utilized.

Overall, I would say a successful first half of the year...

Next up, setting new goals for the second half.

2008 Goals Checklist

After giving my goals a little more thought, I've realized that the way I've listed them (in themed categories) is the best way to brainstorm goals, but perhaps not the best way to stay on target following them on a day to day basis. The answer here is to reorganize each bullet point by desired frequency, resulting in a list of goals and activities sorted by time frame into items to be achieved daily, every other day, weekly, monthly, etc:

Daily Goals

• Spend one on one time with each of the Mrs., my son, and my daughter.
• Consciously work to be more patient with my kids.
• Write in my food journal.
• Read NYT online.
• Read one chapter of a book for pleasure.

Every Other Day Goals

• Spend significant together time with the Mrs. to connect.
• Perform a physical aerobic activity for at least 30 minutes.
• Call someone important to me, either family or close friend.
• Read one chapter or article about politics, history, or any topic that will make me better informed.

Weekly Goals

• Play at least one board game with friends.
• Plan weekly food menu and evening activity schedule with the Mrs.
• Publish an entry in Splitting Eights.
• Read a chapter or article on religion or spirituality.
• Listen to The Dice Tower, read gaming blogs.
• Update finances through Microsoft Money.
• Write a letter to the Mrs.

Biweekly Goals

• Get out of the house for one fun family activity.
• Get out of the house for one fun personal activity.

Monthly Goals

• Go on a real date with the Mrs. (with no kids!!)

By July 1 2008

• Plant my garden, hedge trees, and maybe apple trees.
• Reach $10,000 in emergency fund.
• Reach $13,000 in retirement fund.
• Reach $1500 in taxable mutual fund.
• Propose new test recipes at work.

By January 1 2009

• Achieve $0 overall net worth.
• Go on a romantic vacation with the Mrs. to New York City, Ottawa etc.
• See a Red Sox game live.

Hopefully this list will be the tool I need to start to improve myself and my life in 2008. I'll keep you updated!

Goals Revisited for 1st Quarter 2008

As I expected my Fall Goals were a little too aggressive. I think I made some headway on a few of the issues I mentioned and certainly learned much about what is and isn't doable. The basic content of my goals is still on target, it just needs a little fine tuning to really work for me. Here's my updated list:

Family [Most of my bullet points here are about right. I may have fallen a little short of achieving them fully, but my aim is still correct.]

• One on one time with each of my kids: every day.
• Work on being more patient with my kids.
• A few minutes of one on one time with the Mrs. every day to connect, together time every other day for an extended time, massage, cuddling, talking, etc., full fledged date without the kids once per month.
• One family activity outside the house, every week.
• Closer contact with Mom, Dad, my brothers, and my cousins.

Social [Still need a lot of work in this category.]

• Meet new people in the area and cultivate relationships already started: monthly.
• Closer contact with several friends: Tim, John, Ethan, Abe, Pat, etc.

Gaming [Ties in closely with social category.]

• Develop friendships through boardgames.
• Begin more regular board game sessions, eventually having some sort of a weekly gaming group.
• Read more gaming blogs, listen to the dice tower.

Professional [Easy to let this category fall through the cracks, I need to work much harder on this. I did implore management at my job to allow for more creativity on my part, now I just need to follow through on my end of that deal.]

• Start a food journal, write in it several times a week, flavors, combinations, recipes, ideas, etc. This is extremely important!!
• Propose new test recipes for use at work.
• Find a couple of food blogs to read and look for as many idea sources on food as possible, read the wine bible, drink more wine and take notes!
• Do research on the possibility of opening my own bakery, restaurant--where, what, food, & financials.

Financial [I opened an account to systematically purchase a balanced mutual fund every month, made it to $10,000 (or thereabouts) in my retirement fund, but fell a little short on emergency savings.]

• Reach $10,000 in emergency fund savings by June.
• Reach $13,000 in retirement account by June.
• Achieve $0 net worth by end of 2008.
• Begin furnishing our house and doing necessary maintenance work while still achieving the above three goals.

Intellectual [I've done lots of reading lately, not sure if that is intellectual or not but it has been very positive, I'd like to keep that up. Other than that I've failed at much of this category thus far.]

• Read NYT online every day.
• Publish in my blog at least once every week.
• Read lots of good books.

Physical [This is one category where I feel I was far too aggressive in my last attempt at goals. By aiming too high in fitness goals it is far too easy to get discouraged and do nothing at all. This has been the case with me.]

• Engage in an aerobic physical activity at least 3 times per week, walking to work, going to the gym, playing tennis, etc.

Spiritual [I made basically no attempt to figure out my spiritual side over the last few months.]

• Read something each week to help me learn about spirituality and/or religion to determine if there is anything important for me to know on this topic. I have the feeling that there must be, I simply need to put in the effort to find it.

So, there you have it. Certainly a little less aggressive that my last set of goals, but perhaps still too aggressive. Only time will tell. I'll check in with this list on a weekly basis, then revise my goals again in the spring. If you have comments, your feedback is appreciated!

My Goals For Fall 2007

I believe it is vitally important to have defined personal and professional goals in our lives, yet I have not spent the time to formulate any in a terribly long time. Even having had the summer off, far too many important aspects of my life have gone unexamined, and frankly been allowed to slip altogether too much. Especially since autumn should prove to be quite busy for my family and I, it is essential that I focus on these important issues. Here is a quick rundown of what I'd like to accomplish in my life from now until the end of 2007, in no particular order:


Family

• Find one on one time to spend with each of my kids here at the house. This could be playing a board game, reading a book, finding a quiet corner and chatting about the events of our day, making plans for future fun, or most anything that allows us to connect. Certainly I'd like to make this happen every day or at least 5 or 6 days each week.


• Work on becoming more patient with my kids. I need to learn to step away from them when they frustrate me and take a personal time out to breath and relax. Explore the concept of meditation.
  
• Spend time alone with the Mrs. to ensure we stay connected throughout our busiest times, at the very least spending a few minutes each day to give each other our full attention and to chat. Go on a full-fledged date at least twice a month with NO KIDS!


• Plan at least one fun activity each week where we all get out of the house and enjoy ourselves as a family.


• Stay better connected with my Mom & Dad, try to call each of them once a week.


• Do a better job maintaining relationships with my brothers and with my two closest cousins--all of whom are dear to me but I interact with far too rarely.

Social

• Look for new friendships and gradually develop the few that I have begun in this area.


• Be social in our neighborhood once we move into our new house. Host parties, invite people over for dinner, and generally get to know everyone around us. Find ways to get active in the community.


• Reestablish and maintain relationships with friends from my past through facebook, email, telephone, and face to face whenever possible.
  
  

Gaming

• Share my love of board games with a couple of new people every month. Explore possible gaming relationships with people I know now. Sometime early next year have enough interest to start a weekly board game group in the Canton/Potsdam area.


• Continue to explore the gaming blog community, give lots of feedback to those bloggers I enjoy reading, keep up with all the gaming blogs I enjoy. Listen to at least two gaming podcasts weekly, including The Dice Tower.


• Buy one or two new games and share them with friends, building my collection, the breadth of my gaming experience, and my gaming friendships.
  
  

Professional

• Propose new recipes to test for the St. Lawrence University catering department.


• Research flavor combinations and dishes that I would like to explore in the future. Read one book about food and find and read food blogs that I enjoy.


• Start a food journal with my thoughts on ingredients, dishes, combinations, recipes, what works and what doesn't.


• Learn as much as I can about wine. Drink wine with dinner at least once or twice each week. Read the wine bible from cover to cover.


• Volunteer for more responsibility at work if the opportunity presents itself, look for occasional experience baking and working the line in a restaurant setting.

Financial

• Hit the $10,000 level in my retirement fund through work.


• Rebuild our personal savings level to $10,000.


• Start a taxable investment plan with a small monthly contribution.

Intellectual

• Read one book on an interesting and important topic.


• Read the New York Times and Wall Street Journal (or other good daily newspaper) online on a daily basis.


• Listen to NPR three to four times each week.


• Thoroughly research the 2008 political candidates. Get well versed on the issues important to me and each candidate's stand on them. Get a good feel for the character of each of them. Generally learn as much as I can about the political landscape and become much more firm in my political opinions.


• Publish my blog at least three times weekly no matter how busy I am at work!

Physical

• Engage in one aerobic activity for at least half an hour three to four times per week. This could be a jog or a walk, playing tennis, going to the gym, etc.


• Find time to play tennis in particular at the St. Lawrence fitness center once a week if possible.


• Begin a strength training program even if it is very light at first.

Spiritual

• Try to figure out exactly what it means to be spiritual without necessarily being religious. Stay open to learning about the religious experience. Although I went to church as a child, I've never actively believed in God or had a personal religious life. (I also don't actively believe there is no God, I've just never had an experience that moves me in such a way to find meaning in any particular faith.) This is an area I understand very poorly and would like to explore.

Well, there you have it. The chances of me achieving all this are probably slim to none, but so long as I remain dedicated to giving it my best shot I'll be in great shape at the end of the year in a lot of ways. If anyone out there is interested in setting up some personal goals for themselves as well and would like to keep each other accountable I would be very open to that! Also, I would love to hear your comments on any of these topics.