Last year I was a complete failure. I’m convinced that part of the reason was because I didn’t check in. Setting annual goals, breaking them into small chunks and checking in every month is pretty much the only way I’m able to stay on track. So this year, I set family, work and “me” goals that, for the most part, lend themselves to monthly checkups. Let’s dig in!
Family Goals:
- Take one family vacation of at least one week and shut off my phone and Internet. Not done yet, but my wife and kids were away for 3 weeks with family, so this wasn’t expected yet. My in-laws go to Florida all winter, so each year my wife and kids go and visit for 2 or 3 weeks. It’s a great, cheap trip to Florida when it’s freezing here (they drive down with my in-laws and stay at their house, so it’s super cheap). And my wife gets a lot of help. I join them if and when work permits. This is not counted as a family vacation.
- Take at least one vacation with just my wife and me, leaving the kids with family. Same.
- 44 date nights. Zero. Again, not expecting many so far (they were gone from January 6 through the 29th). But we have a few planned over the next couple of weeks.
- Be home at least one hour per day with the phone and TV off and computer closed. So far so good. But it’s only been a few days…
- BONUS Goal: Read at least 12 books about being a better father and/or husband. Halfway through one. Need to catch up.
Grade: Incomplete. Family was away, so it’s pretty tough to grade.
Work Goals:
- Lead at least two projects. So far so good. I have two projects that I’m leading. There’s someone watching over me in each of them, but that’s company policy for people my level. These are big tests for me.
- Work less but focus on performing higher-level functions. So far so good. I worked a little extra trying to get ahead when my family was away, but I’ve definitely been working “less” than before and have focused on higher-level stuff.
- Become cash flow positive even without considering the value of my work. Not. Even. Close. But it’s still early and I have a few things brewing.
- Read at least 12 books about work. Working on the first one. Not yet halfway there.
Grade: A-. Things are moving in the right direction. Most people work with generic “company customers.” My “new customers to justify my existence” goal would put me in really elite company in my world. So the “fail” so far is ony a one-level deduction from A+ to A. I knocked myself down another level for not reading enough.
“Me” goals:
- Lead Step Away from the Mall to a top 250,000 website. As I’m typing, my Alexa rank is 729,957. That’s down from about 1,300,000 in just a month and only three and a half weeks since I joined the Yakezie Challenge! That actually changed my goal to top 200,000 by July 8. That’s going to be pretty tough. Plus, I’m pretty sure it gets more difficult to move up from here. We’ll see. I really could use your help with this one. If you enjoy this blog, share it on Facebook or e-mail it to a friend and encourage them to spread the word!
- Stats: Post at least 260 posts here. So far so good. I posted 31 times in January. Good stuff. 229 to go. Don’t worry, even if I hit 260 by June I’ll keep writing at least every weekday!
- Track and increase my net worth by 50%. I’m being a little secretive about this, using Evan’s zero-based net worth tracking system instead of revealing the actual numbers. I’m also just focusing on my side of the ledger. But I will say that my net worth is positive and higher than my salary, which means that a 50% increase in net worth is a lofty goal. I’m hoping for a combination of increased income, standard-of-living management and investment returns gets me there. January was a HUGE month for me – up 9.8%. That monthly gain will almost certainly not continue throughout the year. But I have a few things brewing that could help. January is always a huge month for me because if I get a bonus at work it’s paid in January. This year I got a pretty hefty bonus.
- Exercise no less than 130 times and no more than 182 times. Zero. Yes, big fail. Saturday morning I’m going back. I had big plans for January. Fail. If I’m going to hit 130 that means I have to exercise 12 times per month on average from here on out.
- BONUS Goal: Create at least two streams of significant income online, at least one of which involves designing and selling a product online. Decent job on this one. I had two sponsored posts in January and collected a few bucks there. (Don’t worry, I’ve never been censored here, even in sponsored posts. And I’ll let you know when a post is sponsored or a guest post or whatever.) No product though. I have a concept I’m planning on developing that I think fills a nice void in the personal finance world though. Top secret for now.
More on that later.
Grade: B+ (If exercise wasn’t zero I would bump myself into A- territory. But I get a full letter grade deduction for skipping the gym.)
Overall January Grade: B
Not too shabby. I had a couple complete failures and a few hits. February’s going to be a key month to stay on track and get my butt in the gym!
This is very, Very, VERY important: Thank you for reading all of my posts. You’re very motivating and make me feel all warm and fuzzy, especially when you leave me a comment on a post. I love interacting with you, so don’t forget to check in every once in a while. I really appreciate you taking a minute or two to stop by and read what’s on my mind for the day. So thank you, again.
How are your goals going?
Until next time, put your credit card down and slowly step away from the mall!
Like what you see here? Tell your friends by sharing it with one of the buttons below. Post this to Facebook or Tweet it to help your friends and family, too. And don’t forget to send me an e-mail or comment to say hello. I love hearing from you.
Also, please join our recently-started Facebook community where I hope to build a place where we can all share thoughts, successes and support. And don’t forget to follow me on twitter where you’ll find most of the posts, random thoughts by me and more. See you there!
Image: renjith krishnan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
{ 0 comments… add one now }