Sunday, January 20, 2013

Goals for 2013

“Accepting oneself does not preclude an attempt to become better.”
 ― Flannery O'Connor


It has been a week already since my last blog entry, and I thought I was going to make an entry the next day.  I've decided to just list some of the goals.  I've even started on putting them together in a three-ring binder!

I was browsing the H-E-B website early this morning and I noticed on the Health Living Page, that if all my biometric numbers are within the "optimal" range, they will pay a $175 dollar bonus in December!  If they are:
  • Blood Pressure (<120/<80)
  • Fasting Glucose (<100mg/dL)
  • Body Mass Index (18.5 -24.9)
  • Total Cholesterol (<200 (LDL<100,HDL >60)
My first goal is to qualify for the Biometric Bonus!

To get there I will need to lose weight.  My goal weight should be in the range of 130 -165, which means my  second goal is to lose a minimum of  52 lbs, or about a lb a week for the entire year, but I only have until have until September 30th!

I will do this by exercising a minimum of 2 times per week, tracking my progress, by blogging and logging my journay through the coming year, and entering a minumum of 6 races (1 mile minumum distance).

I would like to finish a minimum of 6 sewing projects.  At least 4 of which using Fabrick already purchased!

My financial goals are to continue to work on our budget system, save more than just what is going into the 401K, increase by 1/2 of a percent and resolve some past issues that are still out there.

Spiritually, I would to be more intentional about devotions, reading the bible and going to church.  A goal of 1 once per month seems like a 'doable' goal!

OK they are now in writing and fairly specific.  Now I need to actually do them and be held accountable.  

YOU have my permission to keep me on track, and/or encourage me!

Gott run!


Monday, January 14, 2013

Still Procrastinating....and Goals for 2013


Yep, it is 2 weeks into the new year and I still haven't formally (or even informally) come up with a list of resolutions for this year.  I have been thinking a lot about goals and habits and what I want to accomplish and change this year, and what I am willing to "pay" to achieve them.  I know many people don't like the idea of New Year's Resolution, but it has an appeal to me.  I sorta think it is a natural starting spot (even if I am 2 weeks behind), but I also get the idea that there is nothing magical about the January 1st date, and I do give my permission to start at any time, now, tomorrow or the first of next month.  Although with my habit of procrastination sooner is probably better than latter!  Leta  and I seem to be naturally partial to the I'll think about it tomorrow"!

Most of the advise I have seen about achieving goals, says to focus on one goal at a time.  There are so many goals and things I would like to change, deciding on which one to start with seems like it will take a lot of thought and time.  Besides how will I determine which is the most important?  My health, fitness, and weight related goals, or my financial goals (the creditors will just have to wait!), and I guess those craft projects will continue to gather dust...

Another method is focusing or emphasizing on one goal for a specific bit of time, say working on the diet intensely for a month or 7 weeks then moving on to working on another goal for the next period time and cycling through the goals and then coming back and starting going through the list of challenges again.

So how do I prioritize the goals, can and should I have concurrent goals and efforts to change habits?  Do I try to track progress.  Again, the advise seems to be write the goals down.  Break goals down into smaller goals or actions that can be taken.  Track progress.  All this sounds reasonable, but then how exactly do I do this?  Do I use spreadsheets?  Blog entries, 44 Things website?  A different one for each goal (this is the one that I think makes the most sense, a spreadsheet for tracking weight history, or developing a budget, the "map my run" webpage for tracking fitness goals, blogging for tracking personal growth etc)?

What does each goal cost?    For example if the goal is something like "Run 500 miles in 2013 for health",   it will take time and energy, gotta get off my butt and turn off computer and lace up the shoes.  Put down "Runners World" and log miles ran, buying the running shoes and paying the entry fees instead of buying the candy bar or eating dinner out. 

Well I just noticed it is almost 4 am and one of my goals is to get to bed earlier so I better end this post.  One of my "ideals" (for those of you that don't like "resolutions") is to blog a lot more 2013.  So hopefully I'll have some more progress to report very soon!  Hopefully tomorrow ;-)

Gotta Run.
TDG