Here are my resolutions for the new year. All of them are related to my profession and working towards the life I want to live. I don’t have a five year plan, but consider this a down payment on one.
1. Blog at least once a week.
I’ve publicly committed to this goal on the Project 52 website because, really, without the threat of public humiliation this goal stands no chance of success.
2. Clean up this damned site.
I’m a professional web designer for crying out loud and I’d really prefer it if my blog reflected that fact. This will have to be an ongoing project though because, between the day job, wife, son, commuting, chores, dogs, and regular day-to-day stuff, I’ll only have a few hours a week to devote to all the various things on this list.
3. Try to make those blog posts useful.
Hey look! I updated widget x in the sidebar! Yeah, crap posts like that have to go. Or, at the very least, they need to be relegated to a few lines each and not counted towards my project 52 goal.
4. Sell stock images and website themes.
At the tender age of 36 I’m thoroughly tired of the rate race. I wants me a lifestyle business. Seriously. The plan is to sell stock images through iStockPhoto and stock themes through ThemeForest. I’m not going to be quitting my day job anytime soon but I’ve set some modest goals.
5. Become better at project management.
This is kind of a big deal. I suck at project management and there is no way I’ll keep my resolutions if I don’t get better at it. I need to manage projects better at Spiceworks so I can carve out the personal time for my projects and I need to manage my projects better in order to complete them with how little time I’ll have. Plus, I’d like to occasionally see my family.
6. Manage my personal projects like my job projects.
This goes hand-in-hand with the above goal. While I’m on the subject, I’ve been using Things to manage projects at work but now that I’m going to be managing another web designer and working as part of a team on many other projects, I need something a bit more robust. Any suggestions?
7. Start writing short stories or even a novel.
I’m going to let you in on a secret: I’ve always wanted to be a writer. It’s the one thing I’ve been too afraid to even attempt. In no small part because of my complete lack of knowledge regarding things like grammar and sentence structure.
This goal is very personal. So personal in fact that I don’t care if anybody else ever sees it. I just need to write it, whatever it is.
So that’s it. Seven goals for 2010 and all of them about moving my life forward. Frankly it’s felt pretty stagnant for a few years now. How about you? What are your goals for 2010?
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Setting up goals and developing the discipline to work those goals is truly the first step to success. Many people ask me the hardest part of my job and I say its figuring out what to do and in what order. By sitting down and setting one’s priorities at the beginning of the year, making a list of goals and then FOLLOWING the plan you will be on the way to your greatest successes!
Right. Following the outline you set for yourself is the hard part. Formalizing your goals by writing them down is simply a first step. You don’t have to limit yourself to doing them at the beginning of the year though, you should be prioritizing, assessing and re-prioritizing throughout the year.
Thanks for the comment!
Goals Update:
1. Blog once a week: I’ve actually managed 2-3 posts per week so far and I have some ideas on series that should help me keep to that goal through April at least.
2. Cleaning up my site: Done. I’ll continue to tweak it throughout the year but it’s presentable.
3. Try to make those blog posts useful: I think I’m trending in the right direction on this one but I need more time to evaluate.
4. Sell stock images and website themes: I’m behind on this one. I haven’t had time to create the stock images to get started. But I did read iStockPhoto’s submission manual and passed their test, so I’m making incremental progress on this one.
5. Become better at project management: This is an ongoing goal. I think I am getting better but there is probably a ceiling to how far I can take this goal. What I need to focus on right now is faster project management. I’m going to slow on some tasks.
6. Manage personal projects like job projects: 50/50. I’m scheduling time and managing my personal projects, but I’m only getting the blogging done and not the stock stuff. Scheduling more time than I already have is going to be challenging though. So I think I need to become faster at both writing and project management.
7. Start writing fiction: I haven’t started, which is fine, because this was a longer term goal and I’ve given myself all year to start.