Project: 5 goals

New year, new resolutions, right? I actually don’t like that, because we all know that new year resolutions are the things we wish we could do, but consider unachievable.

Instead, I’ve set my mind to achieve six things I know I can achieve, some small, some big, some easy, some complicated. I have invented a set of rules for my goals, and how to make them a reality. Those are based on my past experiences with procrastination and trying to organize my life, and also based on one of the biggest goals I achieved a couple of years ago: quit smoking. First my rules, then my goals:

The Rules:

• Aim to small goals, but dream big: your goal can’t be the big prize. It can’t be the end line. There always has to be something bigger and better you’ll want to achieve after your little goal.
  
• Make it a routine; don’t work for it: don’t think of your goals as work, or as something you have to do. They have to become something you want to do, and something you enjoy doing. They have to become a small daily task that doesn’t take away your time, so that when you least expect it, you’re already more than half way there to achieve it.
  
• Take it one day at a time: the biggest problem of a big goal is that it can’t be done all at once. You have to break it in smaller pieces, little tasks, doable steps. Plan to do something each day, or each week, to help achieve your goal, but never think beyond that. Just do what you need to do that day, or that week, and be happy with what you’ve done. Eventually, you’ll become better at it, and you can take on more or bigger tasks.
  
• Start doing it: Procrastination has taught me that you can never finish something, if you never start doing it. Actually, the start is the hardest part of any task, project, or goal. After all, there’s always something better, or more urgent. Or you think tomorrow is better to start your project. It isn’t. Today is as good a day as any. Believe me, the sooner you start, the sooner you’ll get there.

The Goals:

1. Improve your drawing skills. How? Do one simple drawing a day. It can take you five minutes, or an hour, or 10. It all depends on how much free time you have. But draw something every day.
   
   I’ve already started this, but have forgotten about if for a couple of weeks, so it’s something I’m retaking.
   
   I don’t want this goal to be a burden, which is why I can take 3 minutes or 10 hours on it each day, as long as from now on, I keep drawing one thing a day.
   
2. Make $300 of extra income each month: How? create a website or product or website that can produce an extra 300 dollars every month. It has to be sustainable (after the goal is achieved, I should be getting that extra income every month without much extra work).
   
   I know it’s possible, because I’ve done it in the past (think google ads). However, I never kept working on the sites, and focused on other things (like actual work), so that extra income has almost faded.
   
   This one might be the hardest goal from my list, but I know it’s not impossible.
   
3. Wake up as early as possible: to be more specific, wake up at 6 or 7 am every day. How? finish pending things a lot earlier, and go to bed earlier.
   
   I’ve realized that I like doing a lot of my work during the night. It’s more relaxing and quiet, and I tend to focus better. However, when I wake up early, I tend to do more. Days seem to be longer, and I feel like I have more time. I might be wrong, but I believe that you are more productive during the morning.
   
   So, my goal is to wake up early every day, to go run, and then do as much as possible in the morning. That way I can do nothing in the afternoon and at night (well, there’s always something to do, right?)
   
4. Get a six pack: How? eat better, do more exercise. I don’t think there’s a magic trick to look good, or be healthy. It’s all about your daily habits.
   
   I used to be really skinny, but I gained a lot of weight since I stopped smoking. While I’m not fat, I have some extra weight, specially in the tummy area, that I’d be happier without. I used to think: I can always get rid of it, I just need three weeks of not eating and do lots of exercise. But I failed. Now I know it’s not that easy.
   
   So, to start with, my goal is simple: eat better (less rice, more protein, less chocolates and hamburgers, more fruit), and exercise (at least 30 minutes every day). We’ll see where that gets me after a couple of months. All I want for now is get into a daily exercise routine.
   
5. Learn Japanese: I travelled to Japan in 2007 and I loved it. I want to go back (maybe in 2012), but I know I need something: I need to be able to understand and speak japanese. I didn’t like the fact that I couldn’t communicate with people (although in the touristy places you can get around with english), and I couldn’t travel as much as I wanted (because I was on my own, every simple task became hard because of the language barrier).
   
   I already own a “learn japanese” audio cd, and a book, and some android and iphone apps. However, it’s not about the tools, but how you use them, right? So far those have been useful because I’ve never set this goal as a priority for me. I’ve learned the Hiragana 3 times already, but keep forgetting, because I keep forgetting about learning japanese.
   
   So once again, this goal is all about establishing a daily or weekly routine to learn and practice on my own.

Bonus goal: go to the top of the Cotopaxi. This was last year’s goal, and I’ve failed (mainly because I thought the people that I was going with had the same desire to go there, but it turned out they preferred to go partying instead of climbing the mountain). I’ve been getting in shape to achieve this little goal, and I’m expecting to go there by the end of January.

So, what now? I don’t know. That’s why I wrote such a long post. I want this blog to be my witness of all the steps I take, and whether I’m successful or fail. I know there’s a big chance that I’ll forget about these goals in two weeks, or maybe “I won’t have time, and I’ll do them later”, just like a lot of things happen to be forgotten nowadays. I know I have to put some effort (at least in the beginning) and create routines, and work on little tasks (hence my set of rules). So we’ll see, we’ll see…

I’m curious, do you have any goals for 2012?