How to Reach Those Goals (hint: we could all use some support!)

Yes, I know I just did a post about my goals last week. But it’s my party blog and I’ll cry write about goals again if I want to! Because I know written affirmations/reminders can be a huge help, and I can use all the help I can get!

Another thing that can be a huge help in achieving your goals is having a support system. Which is why I’ve signed up for Change Right Now, Kelly L. Stone’s 90 Day Writing Challenge, and ROW80. (I also just signed up for Sparkpeople, which is a FREE weight loss community, but I don’t know enough about it to give a recommendation yet.) Change Right Now is for writers who want to become healthier, both physically and mentally. Participants have been set up into teams, and each team will report their progress each week. I think being held accountable is a great motivator to get my butt in gear! Weight Watchers, here I come (again! LOL)!

ROW80 and Kelly’s Writing Challenge are basically the same (except Kelly’s challenge lasts 10 days longer, lol). You choose how much you want to write, and commit to reaching that goal every day until the challenge is over.  (Most people seem to be going with 500 words a day, from what I’ve seen so far. I haven’t decided on my daily number yet, but I definitely will by Monday!)

Change Right Now is no longer accepting participants, but you can still sign up ROW80 and/or Kelly’s 90 Day Writing Challenge if you’re interested!

For those of you that are more interested in revising your work in 2012, Merilee is holding a challenge at her blog, Not Enough Words. So be sure to check that out! She also has a great post about the importance of having a plan, which I found very helpful…  Another post I read recently that’s chock full of good advice regarding goals and planning is this one from Vicki Hinze. If you don’t already follow her blog, you might want to remedy that situation. She’s got a ton of good info for writers on there.

Well, that’s all for me for 2011, folks. I can’t believe another year has passed us by so fast. I wish all my readers the best in 2012. I’ll be back soon with an update on how I’m faring with my goals and challenges! Happy New Year everyone!

ETA: I just realized I never mentioned the grade I got in accounting II, for anyone who might be interested. I ended up with a C+, which isn't fabulous, but it's what I needed to get to be able to take a class next semester. And it coulda been a lot worse. But, I also ended up with 3 As and a B in my other classes, so that C+ was the worst of my grades! Go me!  ;-)

Where on Earth does the time go? Looking back on 2011…

Today is December 21. We’re less than two weeks away from saying good-bye to 2011 and hello to 2012. How the hell did this happen?

It's the time of year when most of us take a look back and reflect on what we have (or haven’t) accomplished over the past twelve months. I decided to reread a few of my blog entries from a year or so ago, and I found an entry from January where I shared my goals for the upcoming year.  They were:

•  finish, edit/revise and eventually query a (90,000 word) manuscript by the end of the year
•  lose weight (more specifically, lose 25 pounds by June)
•  get control over my spending
•  set up and stick to a blogging schedule
•  get my website operational

As it turns out, I didn’t reach ANY of those goals. I had almost 365 days to get sh*t done, and I blew it. Yes, I did go back to school. Yes, I did manage to complete 33 credits (11 classes) in 12 months, which means I’m only 11 credits away from graduating. But I had over three-hundred days at my disposal, and I couldn’t achieve even one of those five goals I set for myself at the beginning of this year. #completefail

Is it worth it to set the same exact goals for myself for a second year in a row? Is it sensible? Realistic? *shrug* What do I know? But those were my goals nearly a year ago, and they’re still my goals now. With a few minor adjustments for 2012, of course…

• finish, edit/revise and eventually query the post-apocalyptic manuscript I started in November (NaNo 11) by the end of the year
• lose weight (more specifically, lose 30 pounds by the time I leave for the destination wedding I’m going to in Puerto Rico in mid-May – might be a bit more difficult than last year’s goal, but it’s doable if I really work at it)
• get control over my spending  (a.k.a. GET A JOB ASAP and bring my overwhelming credit card debt down to a more manageable amount)
• set up and stick to a blogging schedule (where I’ll hopefully blog a lot more than once a month LOL)
• get my website operational (I’m debating taking a workshop on wordpress for beginners in Feb

I’m also adding one more goal: graduate from NCC with my associates in accounting (which hopefully should happen in December 2012).

As you can see, it’s quite obvious I need to step my game up BIG TIME in 2012... So who’s with me???  ;-)