TBT: Avoiding Neckbeards - aka setting new goals

Remember earlier in the year when I stated my goals for 2015? I also stated my year would be shortened due to my upcoming start in law school (omg, omg, it's really happening). So April is my 'midway point' of my shortened goal year.

Soon I will be posting a recap of my progress thus far and restating any goals that need to be adjusted. But before I get to that, I wanted to take some time and review the importance of setting goal in general.

For today's TBT I'm sharing Avoiding Neckbeards - aka setting new goals. This post was originally written way back when I was laid off from a particularly cray cray Day Job. I felt out of my element (I'd never been laid off before) and I wasn't sure where to go next. So goal setting became my light in the darkness.

Enjoy!

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Now that I find myself paroled from Corporate America I have a lot more time on my hands. Time for reading, writing, and blogging. I can no longer use the go-to excuse:

But time can also be a problem. A person can literally drown in too much free time. I’ve seen it. Not pretty. See neckbeard below:

I'm about two days away from being that guy. So I feel like it’s time for a new set of writing goals. Call these short term goals – since the length of my parole is undetermined. And I think it’s important to articulate the non-writing goals along with the writing goals. Why not? Right?

New Short Term Goals:

1. Wake up at a decent time – no sleeping in

2. Work out regularly (it always sparks ideas). I’m thinking running, or Zumba, or something

3. Write 5 days a week for 4 weeks

4. Spend time at the pool, because, you know, who doesn’t want to spend time at the pool?

5. Post three blogs a week

6. Clean one item (floors, counters, bathroom, etc) in the house every other day

7. Finish draft of WIP

8. Read, read, read

9. Go to bed at a decent time each night – no staying up too late to finish goal 5, 7, or 8

I’m sure I’m going to miss a few of these goals. I'm going to go ahead and say the chores goal is a long shot. Unless there are cute kittens available to assist.

Anyone who diets knows that there are days when your resolve crumbles and you just pig out on chocolate and potato chips (wait, chocolate covered potato chips sound really good right now. Are those a thing?).

Losing your willpower for one day, or even a few days, doesn’t have to derail your goals. I mean you wouldn’t get rid of your car if it got one flat tire.

The point of setting goals is to whisper the ideas out loud. Document them. When you breathe life into them they gain momentum and momentum is a powerful thing.

What do you do to gain momentum?


Need more on how our Day Jobs can make us better writers?

Check out this post about taking criticism.

Or this post on Stability and Creativity.

Or this post on Discipline - you gotta have it.