Reader Challenge: Make Your 2008 Resolutions!

[hollyvangogh]

There are some good goals on here. But may I offer a little advice? I took a college class once that had a unit on goal setting (and achieving). Some important things to consider:
Goals need to be personal (do it for yourself, not someone else).
Goals need to be time oriented (don't say you're going to lose 5 pounds or learn the guitar, say you're going to lose 5 pounds by August, or learn to play 3 songs by June).
Goals need to be worked down into smaller tasks (i.e. to learn 3 songs by June break it into tasks...pick 3 songs you want to learn, find the music for them, and determine how much to practice each day...15 minutes a day goes a lot farther than it seems btw).
Just some helpful hints.

Some of my goals this year include:
Learning 3 Christmas songs, and two other songs on guitar by December.
Going down a size by June by burning an extra 100 calories a day and going to the gym 2x a week.
Start saving money for one of my goals per month starting in May (i.e. a Dyson vacuum).

[jscommitment]

Where I live in the Northeast, there is a company called Northeast Mobile
Shredding. They come to you and for $45, they shred a huge load into their truck and take it to a sheep farm for bedding. I love that truck!

Originally Posted by Will

I have the exact same problem.

I wonder if there are industrial-level shredding companies that will shred boxes of document for a small fee. My little Fellowes shredder just doesn't cut it.



We will of course, love to see an Youtube video of you singing as proof.

[aaffleck@gmail.com]

My goals for the year are to get back into the arts. Specifically, drawing/watercolors and music (I want to learn to play the guitar). I am dividing my year into mini-projects. January is working through Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain and I'll take each month as it comes and work on chunks of this project as I move along.

[leftcoastmike]

1. No more alcohol!
2. No more pop
3. No caffeine after 12 noon
4. Up at 7, down at 1 am - EVERY DAY
5. Drink lots of water DAILY
6. Take the family out for dinner every 2 weeks
7. Eat healthier
8. Stop biting nails
9. Pack lunches
10. Have outings with my daughter 3 times a week (I'm a stay-at-home Dad - www.domesticateddad.com)
11. Keep a daily journal
12. Schedule a writing time and keep it
13. Finish 2 scripts
14. Edit my short film
15. Keep cleanliness and calmness at home
16. Maintain the outside of our home
17. Read a work of fiction per month
18. Give back
19. Take better care of myself
20. Work out daily
21. Plan every day - the night before
22. Plan my week every Sunday
23. Read a script every 2 weeks
24. Keep the lines of communication open with people important to me
25. No unnecessary expenditures - preach and walk the walk of frugality
26. Look over finance/budget every week with my wife
27. Go on a trip with my wife
28. Meditate daily
29. Stay focussed and driven

I'll do my best to make these stick - they're REVOLUTIONS after all!

[amandajane]

Mine are:

*Complete my third year of a four year photography degree with a b+ average for practical stuff and an A- for theory.
*Apply for a grant from the lotteries commission for a new computer and video editing software. If you don't ask you don't get :0)
* Drop some weight and start walking three times a week.
* Apply some new frugal principles to increase my cashflow and feel good about myself.

If I do those four things I'll be more than happy :0)

[Joanne]

2007 was an emotionally rough year for me so I'm hoping for a more stressless and peaceful 2008. One thing I'd like to do this year is get a totally different haircut. I used to have a mohawk (back in my punk rock days), then it was shoulder length, now it's long....it's time for a change. Oh, that and keep up with my garden.

[sloria1]

I want to remember people's birthdays this year. So I'm going to ask around and keep my friend's birthdays in my calendar.

I also want to talk to a stranger each day. I have to get out of my shy shell!

I don't think I need to diet because I eat pretty healthy, but I want to reduce my amount of "sweet days" to just one. I tend to eat too many sweets throughout the week, so now I'll just have one day to eat all the junk I want.

[Cziki]

1. Be more focused at work and in life in general
2. Save as much money as I did in 2007
3. Eat healthier and more frugally
4. Drive less -- walk and use public transportation more
5. Work out at least 3 times per week.

[Will]

Originally Posted by hollyvangogh

Goals need to be worked down into smaller tasks (i.e. to learn 3 songs by June break it into tasks...pick 3 songs you want to learn, find the music for them, and determine how much to practice each day...15 minutes a day goes a lot farther than it seems btw).

Great advice Holly.

Originally Posted by jscommitment

Where I live in the Northeast, there is a company called Northeast Mobile
Shredding. They come to you and for $45, they shred a huge load into their truck and take it to a sheep farm for bedding. I love that truck!

Get rid of my guilty documents and help out cute little lambs? It sounds too good to be true.

Originally Posted by leftcoastmike

1. No more alcohol!
2. No more pop
3. No caffeine after 12 noon
   

Mike is taking no prisoners!

[Prince of Thrift]

I have mine posted at:
Becoming & Staying Debt Free: Are my Resolutions Realistic for 2008


in addition to the list on the referenced site, I would like to:
1. read more - at least 1 non-fiction book month.
2. increase my blog traffic
3. at least triple my blog income in 2008