Wishes & Goals for 2010

I've read enough "Happy New Year!" and New Year's resolution-related posts to know that I'm a little late on this entry, but I figure hitting the first work day of the New Year can't be too bad, no?

I'm usually not one to set New Year's resolutions - like most people I've forgotten them by the second week of January! This year, however, I am co-hosting a few goal-setting workshops at work and needed to think of a few "sample" goals/resolutions to share. One of the keys to having a successful goal is being accountable to it and tracking your progress in some way - there are some great blogs out there that are based around this concept, and although I won't be posting every week about my "resolutions", it'll be nice to have them posted somewhere so I can go back and look at them (though I'll try to make sure they don't suffer the same fate as my "Foods I've Tried" lists!)

Wishes vs. Goals
One of the premises behind my workshop is that the goal-setting process is crucial to success. The SMART criteria is a good place to start - if your goal does not meet all the SMART criteria, then you probably haven't thought it through enough and are therefore less likely to achieve it. You can still make resolutions like "eat better" or "marry rich", but since it's not really specific or measurable (how do you measure eating "better"?) and you've set a pretty broad time frame, etc., then it's not a goal, it's a wish.

My Goals for 2010
Get at least 7 hours of sleep for at least 3 weeknights per week by the end of January. I will achieve this by setting controls to limit my computer access in the evenings and will track my progress on a calendar. (I set this goal because I know I truly do not get enough sleep - I average about 5-6 hours/night - and I would probably be a more energetic, productive person if I did.)

Have scheduled snacks (particularly an afternoon snack on Mondays and Wednesdays) every weekday by the end of January. I will achieve this by setting “appointments” on my calendar to have a snack at 10 AM and 4 PM, and by having healthy choices available at the office. I will track my progress on a calendar. (I set this goal because I'm usually very hungry by kickboxing, which happens to be on Monday and Wednesday nights. And although I generally blame my lack of energy on my lack of sleep, I'm guessing every little bit helps.)

Be able to do 100 full, proper pushups without stopping by December 2010. I will achieve this by following the one hundred push ups program after I get the ok from the kinesiologist. The program tells me how frequently I need train and built-in weekly checkpoints. I will track my progress by doing the "tests" that are built into the program and by using the iPhone app that comes with the program. I will be accountable for my results by reporting them on a calendar and in the monthly newsletter we send out to clients. (I set this goal because I have a very weak upper body aka "spaghetti arms", and hope that doing this program would motivate me to try more body weight exercises/strength training exercises that require minimal equipment.)

Buy a house/condo within walking distance from my work by fall 2010. I will achieve this by saving at least ⅓ of my paycheque every month, looking into investments that will allow me to make more interest than the pitiful 0.8% I'm getting from my savings account and taking the steps necessary to acquire a home (i.e. getting pre-approved for a mortgage, looking at properties, etc.) I will track my progress by asking myself every month what I have done to work toward buying a house and re-evaluate my goals as necessary. (I set this goal because I miss certain things about living "on my own" after being in Montreal for four years - I miss doing groceries, I miss cooking, heck I even miss doing laundry! And it would be much better to do all those things without feeling like I'm being judged every second of it.)

My Wishes for 2010 (could eventually be moved up to full goals)
Do a thorough "room purge" - A lot of the stuff in my bedroom hasn't moved since I "moved out" five years ago. I did a fairly successful closet purge over the summer, but then haven't been good about purging anything much else since. Key Spots: Washroom, Nightstand, Desk, Shelves, Dresser.

Recipes/Techniques I want to try this year:

• Homemade Raincoast Crisps
  
• Homemade Lärabars
  
• Homemade Cheese
  
• Homemade Yogurt (now that I read this entry, I realize that I've read about this technique somewhere before... now where was it?)
  
• Vegan Hash Brown Loaf
  
• this cake
  
• My own chai blend
  
• Canning/Pickling
  
• Recipes from blogs I haven't cooked from yet
  

Blog Stuff (Neither wishes nor goals, because they're not particularly exciting)

• Continue upward trajectory of posts per year.
  
• Include nutrition information to recipes (including archives!) whenever possible.
  
• Reorganize blog tags (particularly those that fit in the "other" category)
  
• Link up all restaurant reviews to Urbanspoon.

Rewards Although the warm fuzzy feeling of achieving your goal and the benefits that you will get from it (more energy, non-spaghetti arms, a house, etc.) are wonderful rewards, sometimes having a tangible reward in mind just gives you that extra push to go to bed before midnight. If I achieve any of my goals/wishes, I have a list of books I'm prepped to spoil myself with - I'm stoked! Best of luck on all your resolutions for the new year (and decade?) We'll be getting back to our regular programming of recipes and reviews now :)