Monday, November 28, 2011
Project 52: Week 49
I spent the holiday at my dad's house. My younger sister flew home from the east coast, which was not the original plan, so it was great to get a chance to see her and hear all about college life and all the zany things she's been up to.
There was feasting and midnight Black Friday shopping with the siblings. I tried to talk my sister into seeing The Muppets with me, but she has it in her head that the Muppets are before her time. I think she called me old.
Whatever. I waited until Saturday and saw it with my roommates instead. And laughed my head off and went home and downloaded the soundtrack that I've now been listening to practically non-stop because I love it so much.
Anyway.
Where was I?
Oh, yes. It's Monday, which means it's time for more Project 52 goodness.
Last week, I talked about how I go about creating a list. And Amanda from Teasingly Diverse reminded me of two sources of list ideas that I'd forgotten about.
So, to recap, Step 1: Brainstorm The List.
- Write down a whole bunch of things you've been meaning to get around to.
- Think about where you want to be a year from now and what it will take to get there.
- Look at uncompleted goals from the past and consider trying them again.
- Step it up. If you tried 10 new local restaurants last year, make it 20 this year.
- Check out other peoples' lists. There is all kinds of inspiration to be found in what other people are doing.
By the time you're done with Step 1, you should have a really long list with way more goals than you need. And now you're ready for...
Step 2: Pare down The List.
Now you have a list of 60 or 70 (or more) possible goals. But doing 60 or 70 things in one year is going to be next to impossible. Unless 10 or 20 of those goals are things like "wear shoes for a whole day" and "brush my teeth at least once a week."
So whether you are going for 65 or 52 or 10 or 3 goals for the year, now you get to take that long list of possibilities and turn it into something more manageable.
But how?
1. Think about what's possible. If you're 8 or 9 months pregnant right now, chances aren't so high that you're going to be in any condition to be trekking across Antarctica in the near future. Scratch that off and consider moving it to next year. Basically, consider your reality and cross off anything that is truly impossible. This isn't a list of wishes, but of things you are going to actually try to do.
2. Find a balance. If everything on your list is hard, you're going to get frustrated and burned out by January 2nd. And if everything is easy, you'll be finished by February and wondering what to do with the rest of the year. Choose a few goals that will be quick and simple to get done, but that you just haven't gotten around to. Those will be for the times when you're feeling frustrated about the state of your List and need to see some momentum. And choose some that are hard so that you have something really big to work toward. And then fill the rest in with stuff that's somewhere in between.
3. If it's not something you want (or have) to do, it doesn't belong on your list. I know it sounds silly, but it's surprisingly easy to write something on your List that sounds cool, but that you actually have no real interest in doing. Everything on your List should be be something that you have to do or something that you want to do. Because otherwise you won't do it. If you aren't truly interested in bungee jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge, then why is it there?
So those are just a few ways to create a list that is manageable, and full of things you can get done.
Any other suggestions?
And how did things go this week? Link up and share.
You are awesome. And if you share this post, you'll be even awesomer!
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If she thought you were old, then she'd think I was ancient!
ReplyDeleteToo bad she missed a fun film.
Awwww, so you DID see the Muppets :) Awesome. I'll have to pick up that soundtrack, too.
ReplyDeleteAlso it's great you provide ways of making these lists manageable. I think that's why I'm terrified to start them--I just keep thinking there's no way I can get everything done. Mind over matter, always.
I like your advice. I love lists, but sometimes a list of goals is a hard one to pare down. It's good to have a manageable method of figuring it out.
ReplyDeleteSuch awesome advice! I've been thinking about my New Years resolutions, and this will be super helpful. Thanks, Karen!
ReplyDeleteOne thing I think is really important to remember is that this is suppose to be fun. It's not bad to add things to your list that may seem a bit selfish. It doesn't all have to be about organizing, cleaning or losing weight. For example, I want to have more "me" time next year. Whether that's a night out with my friends, husband or just time by myself, it's all important, and I believe will make me a better wife and mother. So, I'm going to be keeping that in mind when I make my list for 2012. :)
ReplyDeleteI keep it simple. I just don't make any goals. Then I don't feel bad about not reaching them.
ReplyDeleteGreat advice and well said. I should copy and paste all that for next weeks post! Another thing would be to make your goals still possible even if something does happen, like say, break a wrist. :)
ReplyDeleteYou're seriously telling me the Muppets was that good???
ReplyDeleteI'm dying to see the new muppet movie. I must be old too. :)
ReplyDelete