Earlier I wrote about my plan for 2011 and how that went, this post will be devoted to 2012.
Each of the items below is something I want to do or accomplish this year. I’ve gone ahead and created a project for each one of these (nothing fancy, I just use tasks in Microsoft Outlook to track these). Each project has various items under it that represent to do’s or tasks. Accomplishing these tasks may lead to more tasks. For example, when I figure out what I want to build from scratch I’ll have more to do’s around buying materials and making blue prints.
Each of these projects has measurements attached where possible. These measurements are used to indicate success or failure. for example, the blogging goal has a measurement of 1000 users per day to indicate success. I then take this measurement and figure out what I need to do in order to achieve it. Some goals, like children, have no measurements attached but in such a case I usually make a note to myself about why is it that I’m tracking this goal. For example “I want to be a good parent”. This will help me figure out what I need to do.
So, without further ado, let me introduce you to my grand plan for 2012!
Relationship
- A happy marriage – Why is this a project you ask? I mean, a marriage is something you live, it’s not a project to be executed and measured, right? Actually, that would be wrong. I read a wonderful book last year called The Secrets of Happily Married Men and it opened my eyes to a few things. The book discussed marriage from a distinctly male point of view with plenty of tips on how to have loving and successful marriage. One of the insights that really rang true for me was the fact that men are goal and project oriented. We tend to work well in a world of goals and plans. The book suggested extending that metaphor to the world of marriage. Sure, you don’t want go overboard with this and send your wife a weekly customer service survey but a little project orientation goes a long way. Ladies, if this sounds a bit less than romantic please keep in mind that men and women think differently. We accept and love you as you are and you might need to do that same. Anyway, there’s no real measurable result here except that I’m still happily married at the end of the year Here are some thoughts for this project.
- TASK – How about a weekly reminder to take her out somewhere nice?
- TASK - How about a daily reminder to send her a cute text?
- TASK - How about a monthly recurring project to plan a weekend away?
- Kids? – Wow, it’s scary to even contemplate this but if Julie and I are going to start thinking about children then maybe there are things I should be thinking about. The measurable result will depend on what decisions Julie and I make but here are some thoughts:
- TASK - I’m switching jobs this year, is there a health insurance option I should consider?
- TASK - We might be moving houses this year, should we take a look at school districts?
- TASK - Any good books I should be reading about children?
- TASK - Should we take a big trip to Israel now rather than later?
- Family Relationships – My relationships with some of my family members are currently a bit strained. I’m not going to divulge personal information here but one of my main goals for 2012 is to work through this issue and come to a resolution. Most of this revolves around frank and open conversations where both parties talk about the issue and then move forward from there.
Financial and Professional Goals
- Business Idea 1 – I have an idea for a tech start up. I am going to take this idea and run with it to see how far I can get. The goal is obviously to get the business off the ground. I’ll give more details about this one as I make progress.
- Business Idea 2 – This is the aforementioned gifts website Diamonds or Dogs. This idea is moving forward nicely and again, I’ll be providing more updates as things progress.
- TASK - Need to finish the basic layout of the site
- TASK - Need to get more reviewers
- TASK - Need to do marketing
- Blogging – I’d like to increase traffic to my blogs to around 1000 visits per day.
- TASK - Clarify mission of both 60 in 3 and Equally Happy.
- TASK - Increase post frequency
- TASK - Add in a proper about page
- TASK - Add in contact emails
- TASK - Link exchanges with 10 other blogs
- TASK - Three guest posts
- Simplify Financial Situation – I’m doing good money wise but I’d like things to be a bit simpler to manage.
- TASK - Consolidate retirement accounts
- TASK - Cancel one credit card
- TASK - Refinance rental property
- TASK - Complete move to credit union
- Write A Book For The Kindle – Nothing special, I just want to see “published author” next to my name.
- TASK - Find a topic I enjoy
- TASK - Write!
- Career – I have several goals for my career this year, but they are confidential and have to do with the company I choose to work for. More on this later.
Personal Growth Goals
- Health – By the end of 2012 I want to be under 200lbs. I also want to be running marathons at a 5 hour pace and benching more than 300lbs in a 10 rep set.
- TASK - What changes am I going to make in my eating?
- TASK - What changes am I going to make in my exercise plan?
- Marathon – This is actually part of the health plan above but since it’s a pretty cool experience in and of its own, I called it out as a separate project. I want to run two marathons this year, both under 5 hours.
- TASK - Which marathons?
- TASK - When? Do I have time to train?
- TASK - Who do I want to run with?
- Camping Trip – I’d like to go on a camping trip with Julie and Friends. I’ve never really been camping before and it’s something I’d like to try out.
- TASK - When?
- TASK - With who?
- TASK - Where?
- Build something from scratch – My wonderful wife got me the beginning of an entire wood shop for Xmas. I’d like to put all these new tools and books to good use by building something from scratch.
- TASK - What am I going to build?
