52 Week Challenge - Goals and Priorities

By recording your dreams and goals on paper, you set in motion the process of becoming the person you most want to be.

 Mark Victor Hansen

Its been a week and I haven’t tackled Deb’s http://www.homelifesimplified.com.au/simplify-your-life-week-six-goal-setting-and-priorities/ challenge yet. I have been very busy with work and I’ve not dedicated the time I want to this challenge. The weekend is here and I’ve had time to kick back, spend a great night with friends and relax.  I’m now ready to work on my goals and priorities.

True to form, I’ve created a list and categorized my goals.

Me – as previously mentioned I’ve been spending time on myself and I am happy with where I heading. The time I spend looking after myself s very important to me and an area of my life I am very satisfied with. Of course there are things I’d like to change and for this year my goals are:

            Weight reduction -  I will continue to exercise, eat well and my weight will reduce.  I will spend the time needed to exercise and eat well. I will reduce my weight by 2kgs each month until I reach my goal weight.

Publishing my book - I will review my manuscript each month to make improvements and each month I will seek out a different publisher to send my manuscript to. In six months I will also investigate self publishing.

            Further education – I will investigate further education to enhance my writing techniques. I will spend the time needed to learn something new. Within the next month I will commence a writing course.

Family – looking back to my family mission statement it is all about respect and being kind to each other. I’d like to add making the time we spend together count, not just going through the motions but actually doing something together.

Holiday together – we will plan a holiday this year, doesn’t need to be long, expensive or fancy. Key ingredients are LOML, Merman and I doing something new, fun and together. Each week I will check out the cruise sites for a suitable cruise for the family.

            Spending time together – not just at holiday time but each week, each day we will spend time together. When merman was younger I used to ask him to tell me 3 things that went well for him at school and 1 thing that didn’t go as planned.  Lately we haven’t been doing this, I think its time to start it up again.  Merman catches the bus now and we don’t spend time traveling to and from school together so I will make time to find out what is going on in his life. Its not just about Merman, I will spend more time with LOML too. So far this year we have been travelling to and from work together and lunching together most days.  It has been really good and our relationship has improved.

Merman is in year 10 this year and it is a priority for me that he makes it through the year working to his best ability, enjoying his year, being well adjusted, having fun and making sure he has everything he needs (not everything he wants). While this isn’t a goal it is definitely a priority.

Home – Ah Home, not that this is a huge priority for me but it is one of my goals to do more around the home. I’ve been very slack lately and well it is time that I get back to looking after the home.

Cleaning house – yes I will ensure that the house receives some sort of cleaning each week. I’ve been thinking about this and it doesn’t mean that I have to do it all. I can enlist a bit of assistance from the two others that share this home.  We all have chores and I just might add a few to the boys list so we all share the fun (pain of housework).  I have a friend that wears a toy tiara when she cleans so she feels special….. I’d love to see LOML and Merman wearing a tiara cleaning the toilet.  Ha ha!

            Yard – another area that I am not too fussed with but I will dedicate some time each month in the yard. Not a priority for me but a goal I would like to achieve.

Pergola – Working with the family I would like to start the “pergola project”.  Working together to extend the pergola and replace the roof to keep the rain out before next summer.

           De clutter – Working through each room in the house I want to get rid of the unwanted, the unused, the broken and the out grown. When we were in the RAAF we moved every 6 years and we de cluttered each time we moved, now that we have settled down and have been in this place for 15 years its time to de clutter. I don’t think I need Thomas’ baby toys anymore…..Before we buy anything new is purchased I will clean out the back room – one thing in and two things out……

Career – since leaving the RAAF I’ve not been very interested in my career but lately I’ve been thinking about what I want to do. I spend a big chunk of my day at work and I want to be happy and do a job that is fulfilling and worthwhile. Something that gives me a sense of value.
            Promotion -  I will work towards promotion, learning what I need to get to the next level, this includes working on further education.  This won’t be a quick fix, within in the next 2 years I would like to be at the next level. I need to really work this out with my managers to see what opportunities exist. I will discuss suitable opportunities at my PDA meeting.

In planning my goals I tried to use SMART:

·         S - Specific (or Significant).

·         M - Measurable (or Meaningful).

·         A - Attainable (or Action-Oriented).

·         R - Relevant (or Rewarding).

·         T - Time-bound (or Trackable).

I didn’t always get the measurable or trackable right but I am happy with my “list”. I am already working towards a number of the goals,  it is a lot easier now that I’ve written then down. Today LOML, Merman and I went to the Multicultural Festival and it was fun, we had a nice time together…… and so it begins another new stage in our lives, a stage I am really looking forward to.

The most important thing about goals is having one. Abert, Geoffrey F.