Wednesday, January 6, 2010

January 2010 Monthly Goal Meetup

Shakespeare & Company, reading bed

I did much better in November with 3 weeks than in December with 4 weeks. December is one of those months that just falls into a black hole. Family comes in to town and somehow you're mind is warped into believing that a regular routine and goals are so passé. Let's give the review a whirl anyways:


1. Do all the "easy" stuff that I just never seem to make time for. Finally got my car checked out. Made a dentist appointment, went to original appointment, and knocked out 3 additional appointments all before December 29th (although these were not fun appointments, sadly). I'd say most of December was about doing the easy stuff; after all, I didn't do a whole lot of thinking the last half of the month :)

2. Do something I've never done before. ...yea, CHECK.

3. Read a fiction novel. Yes I did. It was horrible though, so I joined this site, LibraryThing.com that's giving me much better book recommendations and I'm going to read a bunch more this month!

4. Include more of my photos on the blog. Seeing as how I didn't really blog much this month, I can't really check this off at all. I should have made this more of a 6-month long goal. That's what I'll do now.

5. Go to a free yoga class on campus at least 2 times. For the most part I did as much as I could. I went to this restorative yoga class during lunch one day and nearly fell asleep-- it was that good. Unfortunately I had forgotten that all the fitness classes were canceled for the last 2 weeks of December... so I went for a nice relaxing & stretching type of walk around the lake instead.

6. Work & work hard. Mini-goal A: create a database of client case studies. Mini-goal B: Send out the e-newsletter by December 16th. Not sure why I thought I would work hard during the holidays since I never do. I did send out our newsletter & created my first web survey. I did make headway on the website and brainstormed on the framework for the content. I did not however get anywhere near to launching the site by January 1. In fact, there is still lots of work to be done. Ah, FAIL. Complete letdown.

For January, to start off the new year:
  • Take more photos with the Nikon SLR. (Just got the replacement lens in, so it's back in action!)
  • Read a book I like gosh darn-it!
  • Pay attention to me: sleep cycle, mental alertness, mood, physical shape
  • Make a 6-month work goal plan.
To participate in the meet-up:
1. Post a list of your career/life related goals for January, along with your checked off December goals if you’d like, on your own blog.
2. Go back to Brazen Careerist and leave a link to your post (*If you don’t have your own blog, feel free to share your list in the comments to join in!)
3. Then, check out everyone else’s lists as they leave comments - click their links, visit their blogs, say hello, meet, greet and support each other because that’s what it’s all about! 

    3 comments:

    1. Looking forward to your photos!!! And if you drop a note about the books you like that would be really appreciated. I belong to those people who finish boring books because I can't leave them unfinished, so I try to rely on recommendations to avoid falling into the boring book trap ;)
      Happy new year and happy January! Those goals will put you on a good track for the rest of the year (decade?).

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    2. I love that people have reading on a lot of their lists. It's something that I can't get by without. at the same time however, your distinction about a book you like is interesting. I rarely put down a book that I'm not enjoying, and in fact, even if I really like a book, I don't retain the story very well. For example: If I read Harry Potter, even one of the books I've read before, I can promise you that I won't remember details from the beginning by the time I get to the end. I think I need to focus more when I read so that I really enjoy it. Good luck and happy 2010!

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    3. @Valentina: I'm also one of those people who can't leave a book unfinished. I'm working on this book right now and it's taking me so much longer than it should because I feel like I'm forcing myself to get through each chapter (Note: do not read "Normal People Don't Live Like This" by Dylan Landis). Only 40 pages left... then I think I'm moving on to either Time Traveler's Wife, 100 Days of Solitude, or some chick lit like Chasing Harry Winston.
      Oh, and you're right-- now that I look back on my January goals, they're more resolution"y" than I expected. I suppose I've thrown a wider and wider net as I've participated in this exercise.

      @Emily: That's an interesting observation about how you read. Reading is supposed to be enjoyable, right? So I wonder sometimes why I don't just put down the book I'm not enjoying. But then I feel like I'm not giving it a fair chance if I don't finish it. What if something happens 3/4 through the book that redeems the first half of the book and you end up giving it raving reviews? It could happen. But I don't know if you really need to focus on the details of a book if it's just for enjoyment. I don't think you'll be quizzed on the details like in grade school ;)

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