Setting New Goals For A New Year
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In a bold attempt to increase my general productivity — at work, in freelancing and hobbies — in 2008, I took to utilizing resources around me. Books, websites and mentors helped tremendously. What came about was a more motivated, efficient me, with a few more kinks to iron out — but who out there is perfect, really?
Using Twitter, I followed my favorite Web Designers — Jason Santa-Maria, Chris Coyer, Cameron Moll, Jeffrey Zeldman, to name a few. Their tips and links to resources on their Twitter updates and websites have been incredibly helpful in working on the craft.
Using Facebook, I found a way to keep up with hundreds of friends from both yesteryear and yesterday, from this continent all the way to the one on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.
Thanks to Amazon and Barnes & Noble, I managed to compile a quite lovely book collection of all sorts of genres — from Web Design, to Non-fiction to Fiction, to literary classics to language books — for reasonable prices. (Double thanks to the family and friends who passed along books as gifts!)
Using the tips from Zen Habits, I managed to work my finances into a manageable level of order, unclutter my desk, work on the minimalist approach to Life Hacking, and set goals moving forward. (Hence, this particular post on the 2009 outlook.)
One of the tips from ZH was to make goals known outright, so those around you can help motivate and keep you in check if focus is temporarily lost. Here we are, looking into 2009 and setting a few main goals:
Write weekly. The goal is to keep up writing, even about nothing. Though Twittering is essentially a bunch of persons writing 140-character Seinfeld story plotlines, at least ideas and thoughts are expressed. Practice makes perfect, although I’m not sure where on the 10,000 practice hour scale I am on — In Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell’s latest book, the 10,000 hour number is given as how many practice hours it takes to be a true certifiable expert in a particular field — I do recognize repetition will help in the long-run.
Stay far, far away from credit cards. While the instant gratification of having a certain stylish, entertaining electronic devices in-hand immediately is great, there is a reason we are in the current financial crisis. Credit cards are part of the problem. Self-discipline, in spite of what the “burning desire of want” is, needs to be contained. Work on saving for necessity first, then the want-items last. Leaving the plastic cards out of the equation makes life much easier.
Increase freelancing business. Available to write, create e-marketing campaigns and websites, the work I completed in 2008 was a learning experience. Worked on invoicing and time management, coordinating deadlines with both paying and pro-bono clients. The goal here is to market better once a full portfolio site is completed. I will announce that site everywhere once it is live.
Keep reading. Last year, I read more books than ever before. In college I had a few textbooks a year and the occasional leisurely read. In 2008, I managed to skim through books with topics like: biographies, web design, marketing, literary classics, even down to the random “6 Word Memoirs” book worth mentioning because of its many great one-liners.
Keep happiness at the forefront of all things in life. Be it work, play or family, happiness is the key to prosperity. Finding what it is that makes you happy — including working at a place you enjoy — and focusing on how positive internal happiness and positive thinking translates into success is key. I have not read The Secret, though I hear its topic is essentially what those first lines just mentioned. I’ve lived by this mantra for a while, had those moments where focus was lost, but found my way back and continue to maintain smiles throughout. I recommend this for all, but this is a key goal in sustaining all of the others.
Using those goals, 2009 should be prosperous and full of joy. Through the process, I expect fun and the occasional hurdle. The biggest hurdle we tend to encounter is self. Allowing distractions to veer you off the path happens if you allow it. But good self-discipline will push you through to attaining a clear, victory-filled bigger picture.
Plenty of cheesiness in this list, but I will quote my least favorite saying and retire it from this point on: “It is what it is.” Take from this what you will, and trash the rest! But you know where I am focused at moving forward, and I appreciate any motivation and assistance through the process.
