The big 16 – (belated) Check Point 2

Uni absolutely got the better of me up until November. Then the post uni-come down through November involved doing all those things I had put off until after Uni (doctor, friends, car, dentist). Also my partner in MT goal madness wanted to cancel the whole thing and start again in January which totally defeats the purpose. I think I’ll do my third update which would have been Jan 1,  on March 1 in preparation for the final month. I Colour-coded the goal headings to express progress. Green=Achieved, Yellow = Likely to be Achieved, Orange = step it up, Red = Not Achieved – Very cryptic I know.

Related posts:

Dumb Goals, SMART Goals, & NYR’s

Goals – The big 16

Goals – The big 16 – Check Point 1 July

 

December Update - 8 Months In (Check point two):

1. Achieve a GPA of 75% or higher   – I fell just short of this – mid year results put me at 71% – (damn Marshall McLuhan) however I got focused and more then made up for it in the second half of the year – GOAL ACHIEVED
2. Run 150 laps of Princess Park – I have run 77 laps. Starting to really pick this up now that uni is over. I’ve also started swimming which I think is helping with the general fitness. Injury has healed and I feel pretty good. I think I am going to get this one. 
3. Finish books 1 and 2 of Mandarin – This is still not going great but I’ve really started to step it up since finishing. I need to put in a lot more work (and I have the time to do it) so I’m still optimistic about this one.
4. Get a tattoo by 1 October 2008 – Have design complete by 1 July 2008 – This is on track – design is sorted – it will be similar to THIS . I have narrowed it down to 3 places and have a nice stash of (prescribed) Valium to calm me down (did I mention i have a phobia of needles). That was what I wrote at the start of July. This didn’t happen and I’m really starting to have second thoughts about it.
5. Have $XXX in savings – This is in trouble as I took virtually all of October off work to focus on Uni. Feeling the effects of the sub-prime and subsequent financial crisis. The entire shopping complex I work in is quiet. I am giving myself until the end of the year to relax before I seek a job in line with my qualification. Also I’ve started to get into Ebay a little which so far has been a bit hit and miss. I think this will pick up but I’m not fully confident I will reach my target amount.
6. Record 90% of money spent in accounts book – I lost my account book for a bit and that killed the momentum I had going. I’ll have to pick this one up again. Although while I found it a useful way to track my spending at the beginning its now lost some of its value for me. I know where my money goes and have improved my nasty spending habits.  
7. Read 24 books – I’ve read (completely) 6. This will pick up now that I’m not studying – fully expect to achieve this one. 
8. Write 52 blog entries – Surprisingly slack with this one I’ve done 19 which is slightly less than I wanted to. I am however going to really ramp this up. WATCH THIS SPACE
9. XXX
10. Complete  draft business plan – Nothing on paper as yet but clear ideas in my mind…am pretty excited about this.
11.  Speak or write a letter to 5 people letting them know how they have impacted my life – This is on track thanks to one very raw and honest 3000 word letter and a nice mums day card. I have also written (yet to send) a pretty nice thank-you card to someone who really helped me stay sane at the craziest times when I was studying.  So I have done three and hopefully I feel inspired enough to do the last two by April 1.
12. Complete 45 hours of charity work – So far I have done 4 hours. I collected money for the Salvation Army Red Shield Appeal . This is another goal that will be more progressive now that I have stopped studying. I’m looking into the RSPCA and Very Special Kids. Its really important that I find a charity that I am passionate about and hopefully can develop an ongoing involvement with.
13. Stop biting my fingernails by 1 October 2008 (Maintain to 1 April 2009) – This is going surprisingly well. Now that I have stopped studying i am calmer. I have noticed I tend to bite them subconsciously when I am sitting down with my books.
14. Get certificate 3 in fitness – This is done bar a little bit of paperwork and getting my first aid certificate – GOAL ACHIEVED
15. Average at least 6.5 hours sleep (between the hours of 10pm and 8am) per night – This one is going surprisingly well – I averaged: 6.6 in April, 6.56 in May, 6.23 in June, 5.98 in July, 6.68 in August, 6.58 in September, 6.97 in October, and 6.25 in November. That averages 6.48 which is damn close. Dec = 6.92, Jan = 6.61, Feb = 7.38, TOTAL: 6.84

The big 16 – Check Point 1 July

Last week Rosy and I had our first ‘MT Goals’ dinner at Soulmama (one of the best restaurants in Melbourne). We reviewed our progress on our goals so far and get motivated for the next 3 months. All in all I think we did pretty well. Our $10 (or a portion of that) for each on-track goal got converted in to Parklife tickets.

Related posts:

Dumb Goals, SMART Goals, & NYR’s

Goals – The big 16

July 1 Update - Three Months In (Check point one):

1. Achieve a GPA of 75% or higher  – I fell just short of this – mid year results put me at 71% – (damn Marshall McLuhan)
2. Run 150 laps of Princess Park- I have run 26 laps. Ideally to be on track I should be up to 38. I don’t want to make excuses but i am going to. The netball injury in April turned out to be more serious than I thought. After a massive dose of anti-inflams, x-rays and an MRI on my knee I had to take 6 weeks off – I’ve just started running again (under supervision) and it’s going well.
3. XXX
4. Finish books 1 and 2 of Mandarin- This is by far my worst effort – I’ve done maybe 3 hours work on this…Most of the effort will come after honours is over so I can devote a lot of energy to it. Mandarin is hard – you need to be committed (and a little crazy) to attempt it.
5. Get a tattoo by 1 October 2008 – Have design complete by 1 July 2008- This is on track – design is sorted – it will be similar to THIS. I have narrowed it down to 3 places and have a nice stash of (prescribed) valium to calm me down (did I mention i have a phobia of needles)
6. Have $XXX in savings – This is going well - Laura Ashley are a fantastic company to work for
7. Record 90% of money spent in accounts book- I have recorded roughly 75% of my in-goings/outgoings which is still quite good. It is defiantly a practise that I recommend as it give an appreciation for exactly how much things cost. I am also starting to see patterns in my spending. Silly things like spending more when I am with certain people or buying up to 7 (I am not lying) $4 coffees/hot chocolates a day… I am defiantly seeing an improvement in the financial choices I am making.
8. Read 24 books- I’ve read (completely) 4. I’m not counting the 20 million I have read on Childhood healthy, promotion and obesity as these are for uni. I have a couple that are almost finished so I feel like I’m on track.
9. Write 52 blog entries- Surprisingly slack with this one I’ve done 11 which is slightly less than I wanted to.
10. XXX
11. Complete draft business plan- Nothing on paper as yet but clear ideas in my mind…am pretty excited about this.
12.  Speak or write a letter to 5 people letting them know how they have impacted my life – This is on track thanks to one very raw and honest 3000 word letter and a nice mums day card. I found the letter helped me in ways I can’t even begin to describe. It was incredibly difficult to send (It is staggering how something so simple as putting a letter in a postbox can feel like the hardest thing in the world) but I feel good about it.
13. Complete 45 hours of charity work- So far I have done 4 hours. I collected money for the Salvation Army Red Shield Appeal. This is another goal that will be more progressive when I stop studying.
14. Stop biting my fingernails by 1 October 2008 (Maintain to 1 April 2009) – Aggghhhh I’m trying but not making too much progress.
15. Get certificate 3 in fitness- DONE – This is where most of my energies when. It was hard work but I loved it. I am actually going to keep going a do my cert 4 (but not until October)
16. Average at least 6.5 hours sleep (between the hours of 10pm and 8am) per night- This one is going surprisingly well – I averaged (Yes I write it down each morning): 6.6 in April, 6.56 in May and 6.23 in June. That averages 6.46 which is damn close. I find I have more energy and study more efficiently on more controlled sleep.

Goals – The big 16

On Sunday Rosy and I set our MT Goals (reference previous post). Due to bad weather our secluded beach turned into Starbucks but other than that all went to plan. After much debate and tweaking we nailed down 16 MT goals each. In the interests of being SMART and accountable…I’m blogging mine. In the interests of not over-exposing myself some personal ones have been entirely (or partly) blanked out.

Originally we tried to divide our lives into categories (work/uni, friends, health etc.) and set 3 goals under each however this proved unproductive as we found ourselves listing goals we weren’t committed to in order to reach our 3 per category quota. Also, some categories had 5+ goals none of which we were prepared to drop….so in the end we scrapped this idea and just made a general list of 16.

Unless otherwise stated all goals are to be achieved by 1 April 2009.

As planned in the previous post we set check points on 1 July 2008, 1 October 2008, and 1 January 2009. On each of these dates we will assess our progress and reward ourselves $10 (for motivational purposes) per on-track goal. I’ll also publish my progress at each of these checkpoints.

So without further ado (in no particular order)…

1. Achieve a GPA of 75% or higher
2. Run 150 laps of Princess Park
3. XXX
4. Finish books 1 and 2 of Mandarin
5. Get a tattoo by 1 October 2008 – Have design complete by 1 July 2008
6. Have $XXX in savings
7. Record 90% of money spent in accounts book
8. Read 24 books
9. Write 52 blog entries
10. XXX
11. Complete draft business plan
12.  Speak or write a letter to 5 people letting them know how they have impacted my life
13. Complete 45 hours of charity work
14. Stop biting my fingernails by 1 October 2008 (Maintain to 1 April 2009)
15. Get certificate 3 in fitness
16. Average at least 6.5 hours sleep (between the hours of 10pm and 8am) per night

 Today (1 April 2008) is officially our first day - so far so good! I have written every cent I’ve spent in my accounts book ($2 sushi at uni), haven’t bitten my nails, got 7 hours sleep…oh and this would be blog post number 1.

APRIL 8 Update – One Week In:

Feeling pretty good thus far - still motivated:

Due to freak storms in Melbourne all through last week (and a minor netball injury) I haveonlyrun 2 laps (148 to go) of Princess Park. The Savings (due to an expensive Friday/Saturday/Sunday night out) and the Mandarin (due to general slackness) aren’t going super well – i’ll focus on these this week. Sleep was going well until the weekend hit.  According to bank statements I have recorded all my incommings and outgoings in my account book. 2 Blog entries down and I ‘ve started to read an awesome book by the awesome Seth Godin (see blog roll) called Meatball Sundae which is about companies correct/or incorrect application of new media. I’ve made contact with the Red Cross re: volunteer work and I am signed up/paid up to begin my Certificate 3 next week.

May 3 Update – One Month In:

MT goals are going a hell of a lot better than expected. I was worried I would get bored after the first week – however working towards my goals has become a mini obsession. I am  actually more motivated then I was on day one. I can start to see progress and that pushes me more.  Because my goals cover virtually every area of my life there is hardly a moment when I’m not thinking about working towards them.  

1. Achieve a GPA of 75% or higher  – I haven’t actually had any results back and have only handed in one assessable task. A 3000 word analysis of the cultural theories of Raymond Williams and Marshall McLuhan isn’t the most confidence inspiring opening assessment task – although I’m pretty interested in Karl Marx and found that some of McLuhans theories were along the same track of thinking (before he would go off on a self-contradictory irrelevant tangent). Other than that I am on track with my thesis and on-line documentary.
2. Run 150 laps of Princess Park- I have done 10 laps of the park which is slightly less hen I wanted (to be on track to complete 150 i need between 12 – 13 per month). However, I have built up my fitness and I’m now running 2 laps (roughly 7kms) at a time instead of just one so I’ll defiantly make up for it in the coming months.
3. XXX
4. Finish books 1 and 2 of Mandarin- I am pretty disappointed with my (severe lack of) effort on the Chinese – I haven’t really done any formally since getting back and I know the longer I leave it the More I will forget and the harder it will be to complete.
5. Get a tattoo by 1 October 2008 – Have design complete by 1 July 2008- This is on track – no design as yet but I’ve spoken to some friends and have been given a few suggestions for good places and designers.
6. Have $XXX in savings – This is on track I have found a part-time employment (Laura Ashley) and I love it so far, slight juggling act with the honours and cert 3 but I am on top of it and making good savings progress.
7. Record 90% of money spent in accounts book- According to my bank balances I have only not recorded $25 of my spendings (not sure where this went). This has actually been a really good habit as I can see clearly where all my money goes (and what unnecessary purchases I am making) and knowing in the back of my mind that I have to write it down and show people makes me think twice before I buy something I don’t really need. A friend commented that I spent significantly more money on alcohol then food in April. This is scary and is something I’m watching very carefully this month. 
8. Read 24 books- This one was never going to be a problem because I will read anything. I’ve so far read 2 books: ‘Meatball Sundae” by Seth Godin (GENIUS). Also, ‘The best of times the worst of times’, a book on bi-polar disorder by Jessica and Penelope Rowe. This was something I really wanted to understand more about. I have recently found out that a close friend suffers with it. Although it was a light book it still helped me and I’m defiantly going to find more literature about Bipolar – perhaps even look at doing some charity work for a mental health organisation.  Currently I have 3 books on the go. Another Seth Godin book, an autobiography on Kofi Annan and also a book that my honours coordinator recommended I read called ‘How to get things done’ by David Allen.
9. Write 52 blog entries – I’ve done 6  – I’m sprinting ahead on this one. This blog started as something purely academic but has become addictive (one of my less destructive vices) - I find blogging is a great mental release.
10. XXX
11. Complete draft business plan- Nothing on paper as yet but clear ideas in my mind…am pretty excited about this.
12.  Speak or write a letter to 5 people letting them know how they have impacted my life – This is on track thanks to one very raw and honest 3000 word letter. I actually found it helped me in ways I can’t even begin to describe. It was incredibly difficult to send (It is staggering how something so simple as putting a letter in a postbox can feel like the hardest thing in the world) but I feel good about it.
13. Complete 45 hours of charity work- This is something I really want to do but as yet have not made an indent into. Currently I am doing 12 contact hours a week in honours, 12 contact hours a week for my cert three, and working around 20 hours, plus study and socialising - the days aren’t not long enough. I think realistically this will happen after November once my Honours year is over. I did make some enquiries about donating blood however because it was found I don’t have enough Iron (being vegetarian doesn’t help) I am not allowed.
14. Stop biting my fingernails by 1 October 2008 (Maintain to 1 April 2009) – Aggghhhh I’m trying but not making too much progress.
15. Get certificate 3 in fitness – I’m three weeks in to the course and love it. It has always been something I have been interested in. It is slightly more difficult than I thought but I am so glad to be doing this.
16. Average at least 6.5 hours sleep (between the hours of 10pm and 8am) per night- This one is going surprisingly well – I averaged 6.6 hours (Yes I write it down each morning) for April. I find I have more energy and study more efficiently on more controlled sleep.

Books:

Just a track of the books i’ve read thus far…

1. Rumulus, my father – Raimond Gaita

2. The best of times, the worst of times – Jessica and Penelope Rowe

3. Down Came the Rain – Brooke Shields

4. Meatball Sundae – Seth Godin