Health, Memory, and More Instagram Followers Than Coolio: Everything I Hope to Do in 2017

For the last several years (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016), I've set yearly goals. I've not been great at achieving them, but I sure do enjoy setting them. Most recently I shifted the goal-setting rules so that there were only one or two main goals that I'd aim for each year and then a bunch of smaller ones that I wouldn't feel too bad if I didn't meet. Here's what the list for 2017 looks like.

1. Log 7,500 highly active minutes on my Fitbit

I'd love to focus on health in 2017, no matter what form that takes: more weights, more cardio, Whole30, Crossfit, mud run, America Ninja Warrior, etc. In general, being active will be a great outcome, and my Fitbit can tell me how I'm doing. It tracks activity, which is anytime my heart rate gets above 100. And 7,500 minutes this year would be 30 minutes per day (minus weekends) --- a very doable goal, even if I'm way behind come September and need to run a half-marathon.

2. Memorize the book of James

I used to memorize stuff all the time, and I haven't done as much lately. Fortunately James is one of the shorter books of the Bible (and one of my favorites), so I'm hoping the memorization muscle is still there. Like riding a bike?

3. Get 10,000 Instagram followers

Today: 106 followers. You can follow me here.(I'm motivated not so much by ego --- I don't think, at least --- but much more by curiosity. How do people get so many Instagram followers? What's the key to Instagram growth? Can I figure it out?)(Oh, and technically Coolio has 22.4 Instagram followers, so to top him, I'll have to really  go above and beyond.)--The rest of my goals are split into things it'd be neat to achieve this year (2017), things that would be neat to achieve anytime in the next five years (2022), and things I'd love to achieve anytime (∞).

One-year goals

• Send at least five emails to the newsletter list I've built from my website
• Learn 10 new songs on the piano
• Ski Sun Valley
• Subscribe to a sermon series on Soundcloud
• Write Lindsay a poem
• Build and ship a Wordpress theme that people can download at Wordpress.org
• Come up with 3 new passwords
• Keep doing the 7 sacred pauses, daily
• Find a professional mentor and chat monthly
• Listen to an audiobook / e-book with Whispersync
• Complete a Treehouse course
• Bike the foothills x1
• Finish a Gomix course
• Write the first chapter to three new books
• Get published on BuzzFeed
• Attend a concert

Five-year goals

• Give to charity: Pets, brain cancer, Seattle Pacific University (2022)
• Go whitewater rafting (2022)
• Go through The Dangerous Book for Boys with Evan (2022)
• Win a game of bridge against real people (2022)
• Play in a Hearts tournament (2022)
• Do intermittent fasting more consistently (2022)

Anytime goals

• Volunteer at the local animal shelter (∞)
• Own a dog (∞)
• Kayak the San Juan Islands (∞)
• Ski at 20 new places (∞)

Bonus: To-stop-doing list

• Eat refined or processed sugar (w/ one cheat day each week)

--And if you're curious how I did last year, this is a recap of how things went:One-year goals:

• ✔︎ Publish a book about my dad and have it appear on Amazon
• ✔︎ Play a song by ear on the piano
• Build an iPhone app and have it appear in the App Store
• ✔︎ Do the 7 Sacred Pauses every day
• Memorize the book of James
• ✔︎ Play Cosmic Encounter with a group of friends
• ✔︎ Get Thai food in Seattle
• ✔︎ Be active more days than I’m not
• Ski Sun Valley
• ✔︎ Ride my bike into downtown Boise
• Listen to 10 sermons from First Presbyterian Hollywood
• Hike the Foothills
• ✔︎ Contribute to retirement account
• ✔︎ Be on pace to pay off the house in 10 years
• Write Lindsay a poem
• Build a WordPress theme
• ✔︎ Read 52 books in a year
• Play Rook at least once
• ✔︎ See Underoath in concert
• Write an article per month on kevanlee.com
• ✔︎ Take a parenting class
• ✔︎ Get a wellness checkup
• ✔︎ Get a blood test
• ✔︎ Find a primary physician
• ✔︎ Know the score of every Crystal Palace game
• Make a password that’ll change my life
• ✔︎ Make lunches for Lindsay and Evan
• ✔︎ Keep my cactus alive for the entire year
• ✔︎ Publish at least one picture/quote to Evan’s website each week
• ✔︎ Earn $1 from my personal website
• Know the names of all our immediate neighbors
• Try a meal replacement mix for a month
• ✔︎ Win a chili cook-off

Five-year goals:

• Give to charity: Pets, brain cancer, Seattle Pacific University (2021)
• Go whitewater rafting (2021)
• Go through The Dangerous Book for Boys with Evan (2021)
• ✔︎ Be a one-car household (2021)
• Play on an indoor soccer team (2021)
• Start a monthly game night with friends (2021)
• Join a curling club (2021)
• Get a Polaris ATV (2021)
• Win a game of bridge against real people (2021)
• Play in a Hearts tournament (2021)
• Write a weekly Boise State football article (2021)
• Do intermittent fasting more consistently (2021)
• Attend a U.S. men’s soccer game (2021)
• Visit Switzerland with my mom (2021)

Lifetime goals:

• Volunteer at the local animal shelter (∞)
• Kayak the San Juan Islands (∞)
• Get a Master’s degree in something (∞)
• Build a robot using an Arduino board (∞)
• Ski at 20 new places (∞)

To-stop-doing list 

• ✔︎ Check the mail every day
• ✔︎ Shop in real stores
• Eat sugar