The 2014 year in goals

Before I get to the present, let's take a look at the past. The following were my one-year goals for 2013.

• Compete in a Hearts tournament. Nope. Have you ever tried finding a Hearts tournament? Impossible.
• Participate in National Novel Writing Month (✓). Participated, did neither finish nor fare particularly well.
• Get organized, live simply (✓). Removed a lot of clutter. Gave a lot away. Still have a lot more to remove and give.
• Manage the budget. Check transactions monthly. Nope.
• Read Positive Discipline: Zero to Three Years (✓).
• Have a game night/afternoon with friends at least once a month. Nope. Played more board games on the iPad though.
• Write a book – any book (✓). Wrote an e-book that I can't remember the name of right now.
• Attend a Steelheads game. Nope.
• See Scott and Hannah (✓).
• See Nicholas (✓).
• See Joshua and Lori. Nope.
• See Casey and Alyssa. Nope.
• Wish lanterns on the beach (✓ sorta). We did wish lanterns in the back yard, almost burned the neighborhood down.
• Ask for at least one gift from KickStarter (✓). Bought myself a gift from Kickstarter: $3 for Coin Age, a map the size of a business card that someone turned into a game.

And here's the to-stop-doing list of 2013:

• Working. Still working on that (see what I did there?).
• Watching movies / TV shows I don’t like (✓).

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Now, onto 2014…

Life list update, 2014

Life list / bucket list: Spend an afternoon, or even just half an hour, listing out a range of activities and experiences you’d like to have sometime. The typical life list contains a wide variety of goals, ranging from the trivial (“try 100 fruits”) to the difficult (“camp on Antarctica”).

• Compete in a Hearts tournament
• Write a book about my dad
• Learn to play the piano
• Learn Spanish
• Participate in National Novel Writing Month
• See a U.S. soccer game live
• Attend the World Cup
• See a hockey game in Europe
• Get access to Boise State practices and skybox
• Visit Park City, Utah
• Work from home, remotely, be my own boss, etc.
• Manage the budget
• Give to charity: Pets, brain cancer, SPU
• Volunteer at the local animal shelter
• Read the whole Bible in one year
• Memorize the book of James
• Play more board games
• Write a book – any book
• Attend a Steelheads game
• See Scott and Hannah
• See Nicholas
• See Joshua and Lori
• See Casey and Alyssa
• Visit Seattle
• Kayak the San Juans
• Be involved in football
• Wish lanterns on the beach
• Get a Master’s degree in something
• Teach at a college
• Move to Boise
• Drink more green tea
• Write daily
• Exercise daily
• Pray/Bible/meditate daily
• Do five pull-ups a day, twice a week
• Build a draft board with Evan for a Madden game
• Ski more
• Mountain bike more
• Own an iPad
• Go through dad activity books with Evan
• Be a one-car household
• Smoothie month
• Meatless month
• Unprocessed food month
• Cook Pad Thai
• Attend a Presbyterian church regularly
• Play on an organized sports team / start a game night at church
• Catch up on Adventure Time
• Contribute to Edward Jones accounts
• Clean up the piles in the bedroom

Take the overall list and break it down into measurable goals with an approximate deadline.

• Compete in a Hearts tournament (∞)
• Write and publish a book about my dad (2015)
• Play a song by ear on the piano (2017)
• Listen and understand a Spanish soccer telecast (∞)
• Participate in National Novel Writing Month (2014)
• See a U.S. soccer game live (2017)
• Attend the World Cup (∞)
• See a hockey game in Europe (∞)
• Get access to Boise State football practices and skybox (∞)
• Visit Park City, Utah (2017)
• Work from home, remotely, be my own boss, etc. (2014)
• Check the budget/transactions at least once a month (2014)
• Give to charity: Pets, brain cancer, SPU (∞)
• Volunteer at the local animal shelter (∞)
• Read the whole Bible in one year (2016)
• Memorize the book of James (2014)
• Play board games with friends or family at least once a month (2014)
• Write a book – any book (2014)
• Attend a Steelheads game (2014)
• See Scott and Hannah (2014)
• See Nicholas (2014)
• See Joshua and Lori (2014)
• See Casey and Alyssa (2014)
• Visit Seattle (2014)
• Kayak the San Juans (∞)
• Coach special teams for high school football (∞)
• Get a Master’s degree in something (∞)
• Teach at a college (∞)
• Move to Boise (2017)
• Drink green tea at least once a week (2014)
• Write 500 words daily (2014)
• Exercise five times per week (2014)
• Pray/Bible/meditate daily (2014)
• Do five pull-ups a day, twice a week (2014)
• Build a draft board with Evan for a Madden game (∞)
• Get a skiing season pass (2017)
• Go on biking trails five times or more (2017)
• Own an iPad (∞)
• Go through dad activity books with Evan (∞)
• Be a one-car household (∞)
• Substitute a smoothie for a meal every day during one month (2014)
• Do not eat meat for one month (2014)
• Do not eat processed food for one month (2014)
• Cook Pad Thai (2014)
• Attend a Presbyterian church regularly (∞)
• Play on an organized sports team / start a sports night at church (∞)
• Watch all available episodes of Adventure Time (2014)
• Contribute to Edward Jones accounts (2014)
• Sell and donate all items in the bedroom piles (2014)

Radical goal-setting, 2013

One-year goals: This list gets reviewed a few times a year, and I create next year’s goals each December. I break this list down into further specific categories. Some of mine are Writing, Health, Business, Friends, Family, Service, Travel, Income, and Giving.

• Participate in National Novel Writing Month (2014)
• Work from home, remotely, be my own boss, etc. (2014)
• Check the budget/transactions at least once a month (2014)
• Memorize the book of James (2014)
• Play board games with friends or family at least once a month (2014)
• Write a book – any book (2014)
• Attend a Steelheads game (2014)
• See Scott and Hannah (2014)
• See Nicholas (2014)
• See Joshua and Lori (2014)
• See Casey and Alyssa (2014)
• Visit Seattle (2014)
• Drink green tea at least once a week (2014)
• Write 500 words daily (2014)
• Exercise five times per week (2014)
• Pray/Bible/meditate daily (2014)
• Do five pull-ups a day, twice a week (2014)
• Substitute a smoothie for a meal every day during one month (2014)
• Do not eat meat for one month (2014)
• Do not eat processed food for one month (2014)
• Cook Pad Thai (2014)
• Watch all available episodes of Adventure Time (2014)
• Contribute to Edward Jones accounts (2014)
• Sell and donate all items in the bedroom piles (2014)

Five-year goals: This list gets reviewed once a year and contains some of the “big things” you hope to do in the near future. Note that as some of the goals on the one-year list are completed, other goals from the five-year list shift down.

• Write and publish a book about my dad (2015)
• Play a song by ear on the piano (2017)
• Listen and understand a Spanish soccer telecast (∞)
• Participate in National Novel Writing Month (2014)
• See a U.S. soccer game live (2017)
• Move to Boise (2017)
• Visit Park City, Utah (2017)
• Read the whole Bible in one year (2016)
• Get a skiing season pass (2017)
• Go on biking trails five times or more (2017)

Lifetime goals: This list gets reviewed once a year and includes everything that you want to do, but either don’t have a timeline for or will take a long time to accomplish.

• Compete in a Hearts tournament (∞)
• Listen and understand a Spanish soccer telecast (∞)
• Attend the World Cup (∞)
• See a hockey game in Europe (∞)
• Get access to Boise State football practices and skybox (∞)
• Give to charity: Pets, brain cancer, SPU (∞)
• Volunteer at the local animal shelter (∞)
• Kayak the San Juans (∞)
• Coach special teams for high school football (∞)
• Get a Master’s degree in something (∞)
• Teach at a college (∞)
• Build a draft board with Evan for a Madden game (∞)
• Own an iPad (∞)
• Go through dad activity books with Evan (∞)
• Be a one-car household (∞)
• Attend a Presbyterian church regularly (∞)
• Play on an organized sports team / start a sports night at church (∞)

To-stop-doing list, 2013

The best way to stop spending time on unnecessary distractions is to make a “to-stop-doing list.” This is better than a to-do list, because it helps you see what’s bringing you down. Your to-stop-doing list is exactly what it sounds like: a list of things you simply don’t want to do anymore.

• Working in the office
• Eating refined sugar and bleached flour

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Lindsay’s lists, 2013

First, a review of last year …One-year goals: meteor shower, spend time outside (✓), plant new vegetables in the garden (✓), make gifts, join a mom group (✓ sorta), attend library kids’ reading (✓), P90X, consignment (✓), raspberry patch, new glasses (✓), get a passport (✓)+Bonus: Five-year goals: sprinkler system for garden (✓), Evan aquarium (✓),To-stop-doing list: clothes shopping in stores  (✓)Lindsay’s updated life list, 2013

• Get a master’s degree in counseling
• Own a dog
• Travel to the East Coast
• Watch a meteor shower
• Pergola
• Make at least one gift for everyone
• Paint/redo Evan’s play room
• Go paddleboarding
• Grow a raspberry patch
• Cut her hair very short
• Move to Boise
• See more plays
• See a Broadway show
• Visit England
• Visit the Caribbean
• Own an SUV
• Go snowshoeing
• Do a snowshoeing/yurt getaway
• Learn to swim

One-year goals: Get a master's degree, make at least one gift for everyone, paint/redo Evan's play room, visit the CaribbeanFive-year goals: Travel to the East Coast, go paddleboarding, grow a raspberry patch, move to Boise, see more plays, see a Broadway show, own an SUV, Go snowshoeingLifetime goals: Own a dog, pergola, haircut, move, visit England, learn to swimLindsay’s updated to-stop-doing list: