The 2014 year in goals
Before I get to the present, let's take a look at the past. The following were my one-year goals for 2013.
- Compete in a Hearts tournament. Nope. Have you ever tried finding a Hearts tournament? Impossible.
- Participate in National Novel Writing Month (✓). Participated, did neither finish nor fare particularly well.
- Get organized, live simply (✓). Removed a lot of clutter. Gave a lot away. Still have a lot more to remove and give.
- Manage the budget. Check transactions monthly. Nope.
- Read Positive Discipline: Zero to Three Years (✓).
- Have a game night/afternoon with friends at least once a month. Nope. Played more board games on the iPad though.
- Write a book – any book (✓). Wrote an e-book that I can't remember the name of right now.
- Attend a Steelheads game. Nope.
- See Scott and Hannah (✓).
- See Nicholas (✓).
- See Joshua and Lori. Nope.
- See Casey and Alyssa. Nope.
- Wish lanterns on the beach (✓ sorta). We did wish lanterns in the back yard, almost burned the neighborhood down.
- Ask for at least one gift from KickStarter (✓). Bought myself a gift from Kickstarter: $3 for Coin Age, a map the size of a business card that someone turned into a game.
And here's the to-stop-doing list of 2013:
- Working. Still working on that (see what I did there?).
- Watching movies / TV shows I don’t like (✓).
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Now, onto 2014…
Life list update, 2014
Life list / bucket list: Spend an afternoon, or even just half an hour, listing out a range of activities and experiences you’d like to have sometime. The typical life list contains a wide variety of goals, ranging from the trivial (“try 100 fruits”) to the difficult (“camp on Antarctica”).
- Compete in a Hearts tournament
- Write a book about my dad
- Learn to play the piano
- Learn Spanish
- Participate in National Novel Writing Month
- See a U.S. soccer game live
- Attend the World Cup
- See a hockey game in Europe
- Get access to Boise State practices and skybox
- Visit Park City, Utah
- Work from home, remotely, be my own boss, etc.
- Manage the budget
- Give to charity: Pets, brain cancer, SPU
- Volunteer at the local animal shelter
- Read the whole Bible in one year
- Memorize the book of James
- Play more board games
- Write a book – any book
- Attend a Steelheads game
- See Scott and Hannah
- See Nicholas
- See Joshua and Lori
- See Casey and Alyssa
- Visit Seattle
- Kayak the San Juans
- Be involved in football
- Wish lanterns on the beach
- Get a Master’s degree in something
- Teach at a college
- Move to Boise
- Drink more green tea
- Write daily
- Exercise daily
- Pray/Bible/meditate daily
- Do five pull-ups a day, twice a week
- Build a draft board with Evan for a Madden game
- Ski more
- Mountain bike more
- Own an iPad
- Go through dad activity books with Evan
- Be a one-car household
- Smoothie month
- Meatless month
- Unprocessed food month
- Cook Pad Thai
- Attend a Presbyterian church regularly
- Play on an organized sports team / start a game night at church
- Catch up on Adventure Time
- Contribute to Edward Jones accounts
- Clean up the piles in the bedroom
Take the overall list and break it down into measurable goals with an approximate deadline.
- Compete in a Hearts tournament (∞)
- Write and publish a book about my dad (2015)
- Play a song by ear on the piano (2017)
- Listen and understand a Spanish soccer telecast (∞)
- Participate in National Novel Writing Month (2014)
- See a U.S. soccer game live (2017)
- Attend the World Cup (∞)
- See a hockey game in Europe (∞)
- Get access to Boise State football practices and skybox (∞)
- Visit Park City, Utah (2017)
- Work from home, remotely, be my own boss, etc. (2014)
- Check the budget/transactions at least once a month (2014)
- Give to charity: Pets, brain cancer, SPU (∞)
- Volunteer at the local animal shelter (∞)
- Read the whole Bible in one year (2016)
- Memorize the book of James (2014)
- Play board games with friends or family at least once a month (2014)
- Write a book – any book (2014)
- Attend a Steelheads game (2014)
- See Scott and Hannah (2014)
- See Nicholas (2014)
- See Joshua and Lori (2014)
- See Casey and Alyssa (2014)
- Visit Seattle (2014)
- Kayak the San Juans (∞)
- Coach special teams for high school football (∞)
- Get a Master’s degree in something (∞)
- Teach at a college (∞)
- Move to Boise (2017)
- Drink green tea at least once a week (2014)
- Write 500 words daily (2014)
- Exercise five times per week (2014)
- Pray/Bible/meditate daily (2014)
- Do five pull-ups a day, twice a week (2014)
- Build a draft board with Evan for a Madden game (∞)
- Get a skiing season pass (2017)
- Go on biking trails five times or more (2017)
- Own an iPad (∞)
- Go through dad activity books with Evan (∞)
- Be a one-car household (∞)
- Substitute a smoothie for a meal every day during one month (2014)
- Do not eat meat for one month (2014)
- Do not eat processed food for one month (2014)
- Cook Pad Thai (2014)
- Attend a Presbyterian church regularly (∞)
- Play on an organized sports team / start a sports night at church (∞)
- Watch all available episodes of Adventure Time (2014)
- Contribute to Edward Jones accounts (2014)
- Sell and donate all items in the bedroom piles (2014)
Radical goal-setting, 2013
One-year goals: This list gets reviewed a few times a year, and I create next year’s goals each December. I break this list down into further specific categories. Some of mine are Writing, Health, Business, Friends, Family, Service, Travel, Income, and Giving.
- Participate in National Novel Writing Month (2014)
- Work from home, remotely, be my own boss, etc. (2014)
- Check the budget/transactions at least once a month (2014)
- Memorize the book of James (2014)
- Play board games with friends or family at least once a month (2014)
- Write a book – any book (2014)
- Attend a Steelheads game (2014)
- See Scott and Hannah (2014)
- See Nicholas (2014)
- See Joshua and Lori (2014)
- See Casey and Alyssa (2014)
- Visit Seattle (2014)
- Drink green tea at least once a week (2014)
- Write 500 words daily (2014)
- Exercise five times per week (2014)
- Pray/Bible/meditate daily (2014)
- Do five pull-ups a day, twice a week (2014)
- Substitute a smoothie for a meal every day during one month (2014)
- Do not eat meat for one month (2014)
- Do not eat processed food for one month (2014)
- Cook Pad Thai (2014)
- Watch all available episodes of Adventure Time (2014)
- Contribute to Edward Jones accounts (2014)
- Sell and donate all items in the bedroom piles (2014)
Five-year goals: This list gets reviewed once a year and contains some of the “big things” you hope to do in the near future. Note that as some of the goals on the one-year list are completed, other goals from the five-year list shift down.
- Write and publish a book about my dad (2015)
- Play a song by ear on the piano (2017)
- Listen and understand a Spanish soccer telecast (∞)
- Participate in National Novel Writing Month (2014)
- See a U.S. soccer game live (2017)
- Move to Boise (2017)
- Visit Park City, Utah (2017)
- Read the whole Bible in one year (2016)
- Get a skiing season pass (2017)
- Go on biking trails five times or more (2017)
Lifetime goals: This list gets reviewed once a year and includes everything that you want to do, but either don’t have a timeline for or will take a long time to accomplish.
- Compete in a Hearts tournament (∞)
- Listen and understand a Spanish soccer telecast (∞)
- Attend the World Cup (∞)
- See a hockey game in Europe (∞)
- Get access to Boise State football practices and skybox (∞)
- Give to charity: Pets, brain cancer, SPU (∞)
- Volunteer at the local animal shelter (∞)
- Kayak the San Juans (∞)
- Coach special teams for high school football (∞)
- Get a Master’s degree in something (∞)
- Teach at a college (∞)
- Build a draft board with Evan for a Madden game (∞)
- Own an iPad (∞)
- Go through dad activity books with Evan (∞)
- Be a one-car household (∞)
- Attend a Presbyterian church regularly (∞)
- Play on an organized sports team / start a sports night at church (∞)
To-stop-doing list, 2013
The best way to stop spending time on unnecessary distractions is to make a “to-stop-doing list.” This is better than a to-do list, because it helps you see what’s bringing you down. Your to-stop-doing list is exactly what it sounds like: a list of things you simply don’t want to do anymore.
- Working in the office
- Eating refined sugar and bleached flour
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Lindsay’s lists, 2013
First, a review of last year …One-year goals: meteor shower, spend time outside (✓), plant new vegetables in the garden (✓), make gifts, join a mom group (✓ sorta), attend library kids’ reading (✓), P90X, consignment (✓), raspberry patch, new glasses (✓), get a passport (✓)+Bonus: Five-year goals: sprinkler system for garden (✓), Evan aquarium (✓),To-stop-doing list: clothes shopping in stores (✓)Lindsay’s updated life list, 2013
- Get a master’s degree in counseling
- Own a dog
- Travel to the East Coast
- Watch a meteor shower
- Pergola
- Make at least one gift for everyone
- Paint/redo Evan’s play room
- Go paddleboarding
- Grow a raspberry patch
- Cut her hair very short
- Move to Boise
- See more plays
- See a Broadway show
- Visit England
- Visit the Caribbean
- Own an SUV
- Go snowshoeing
- Do a snowshoeing/yurt getaway
- Learn to swim
One-year goals: Get a master's degree, make at least one gift for everyone, paint/redo Evan's play room, visit the CaribbeanFive-year goals: Travel to the East Coast, go paddleboarding, grow a raspberry patch, move to Boise, see more plays, see a Broadway show, own an SUV, Go snowshoeingLifetime goals: Own a dog, pergola, haircut, move, visit England, learn to swimLindsay’s updated to-stop-doing list: