June 19, 2012

The end of June is a month of reckoning. And I’m not satisfied–not even close–with what I’ve accomplished the first half of this year.

I’m great at making goals, writing them down, setting deadlines, posting them on my bulletin board, and getting to work.

Until fairly recently, I was also very good at accomplishing whatever I set my mind to. Throw me an obstacle? I’d climb over it, tunnel under it, or go around it to meet my writing goals.

Hmmm… So what happened?

I’ve been reviewing my 2012 writing goals this past week, and (it’s embarrassing to admit) I only accomplished three of my nine goals. I think at least six of them were do-able too. I truly was puzzled by this. It is so NOT like me. Admittedly, I had added a writing project that lasted six weeks, but that wasn’t enough to make so much difference.

Luckily I journal a lot, so it wasn’t hard to go back over the year and see where my time went. Some of it went to paid critiquing, but not enough to account for my dismal showing. I babysit grandkids weekly, plus extra weekends, but it didn’t account for the failure either. Even the new community volunteer job didn’t explain it.

It explained the fatigue, I suppose. But not one of these activities actually caused my failure to meet many writing goals.

Lightbulb Moment #1

Then I realized that although none of those activities took more than 7-10 hours per week, when I added them up, it came close to 20 hours per week of “extras.” Sometimes it was more, when I did some special event.

I need to remember in the future to add up EVERYTHING I’m doing already before taking on something else, even if the solicitor promises the job will only take one hour per week. I need to add prep time, travel time, and time to answer email from people–and factor it all into the equation.

Lightbulb Moment #2

Several years ago I signed up for Mark Joyner’s free Simple’ology course, so I read through the workbook again. One thing struck me forcefully. “The Law of Clear Vision states that in order to hit a target, you need to see it clearly.”

The author had you do an experiment where you stand in the middle of a room and try to reach a targeted object on the wall. In the first try, you close your eyes, turn around five times, then (still with eyes shut) guess at the target’s location and wander toward it.

The second time you do the same turning around, only you keep your eyes open and head to the target. “It’s obvious that Method #2 will get you to your target 100% of the time. Method #1, on the other hand, will get you there only rarely.”

Bingo! Regain a Clear Vision

As soon as I read that statement, I realized why I hadn’t met too many of my goals. I had written them all down (much like hanging the target on the wall). But instead of keeping my eyes open and on the target, I blindfolded myself and twirled around, hoping that I’d somehow hit the target by accident when I was wandering around doing a lot of other things.

I learned (again) that it does no good to write down your goals or even post them on the wall if you don’t look at them. I lost that “clear vision” of what I wanted to accomplish this year and why. I did accomplish many good things for some very deserving people, but when I lost the clear vision of my own goals, things got way out of balance and off track.

Time to polish the glasses, get clear again, and face the rest of 2012 with better understanding and more resolve to stay focused.

How about you? How are you doing on your 2012 goals at the year’s mid-point?

11 Comments »

1. 

   We must be long lost souls. I’m not doing so well either. I don’t need to RE-gain a clear vision; I need to GAIN a clear vision. And quit procrastinating and getting sidetracked. I’ve been suddenly sucked into a new venture attempting to start up a side business.

   Comment by Christie Wild — June 19, 2012 @ 8:44 am

2. 

   Christie, I hope the side business is something YOU want to do and will be a good income. Otherwise…is it too late to get out? I’ve been there and done that half a dozen times!

   Comment by Kristi Holl — June 19, 2012 @ 10:25 am

3. 

   Your completing three out of nine goals by now sounds pretty darn good to me. I can’t even find my list of goals. My year was out of the ordinary because of the May 2011 tornado in our town. However, there was plenty of time to achieve goals. I didn’t focus properly. But we still have six months of 2012 and I plan to do much better about working toward my goals. I am pretty sure that you can get your other nine goals achieved by the end of the year. Or maybe they don’t belong on your list after all. I have a new book called “The Willpower Instinct” by Kelly McGonigal. I’ll let you know if it has any miraculous insights.

   Comment by Bonnie Hinman — June 19, 2012 @ 12:19 pm

4. 

   Bonnie, my three goals were rather the smallest of the goals. I had to laugh that you couldn’t even find your list. I felt better then–and I LOVE your honesty. I didn’t recall that you were from a town so badly hit. Joplin, wasn’t it? What a year you’ve all had! But yes, we still have the last half of the year to go. Let’s fall back and regroup!! DO PLEASE let me know if your willpower book turns out to be helpful!

   Comment by Kristi Holl — June 19, 2012 @ 12:29 pm

5. 

   EXCELLENT post.

   I recently had a similar discussion with myself. I broke down my big goals into bite-size ones(daily, weekly, monthly). And wow! The cloud of dread went poof! and I was free to get back to work, knowing precisely what I must accomplish today to reach the goal for tomorrow.

   Thanks for the reminder. =)

   Comment by Brittney Breakey — June 20, 2012 @ 11:39 am

6. 

   Thanks, Brittney! I have also decided that instead of periodically “regaining” my vision, I had better review my goals several times per week and MAINTAIN my vision instead. It would save a lot of angst!! Glad you were able to get back to work. Me too!

   Comment by Kristi Holl — June 20, 2012 @ 3:47 pm

7. 

   Hi Kristi,

   Great Post as usual!

   I think that there is nothing more important than taking stock in the middle of the year. That way, at least a whole year doesn’t go by before we determine how we are doing.

   I am doing not too badly with my goals. I am allowing others slip in by a back door, so to speak, but I am mostly trying to stay on track. I am just finding that things are taking longer to do than I first anticipated. So, that is frustrating me a tad right now.

   Thank you for the reminder to refocus. I will be doing that this weekend so that I can start July on the right foot.

   Take care,
   Irene

   Comment by Irene Roth — June 21, 2012 @ 12:17 pm

8. 

   Irene, that was much of my problem too…a few extra things sneaking in, and one project taking nearly three times as long as I had estimated. Does throw one off a bit! But refocusing has helped a lot, and it feels like a breath of fresh air!

   Comment by Kristi Holl — June 21, 2012 @ 1:21 pm

9. 

   Bite size chunks (or tasks) really help. A good book I’m reading (ironically, or very fittingly) is titled Eat That Frog! 21 Ways to Stop Procrastinating.

   The side business is definitely something I want to do. It’s a fund raising operation created completely by myself (it’s not Amway, or Avon, or something else like that) to raise money to help my son pay to serve a 2-year mission when he turns 19. (We have 11 years to go. It never hurts to start early, right?) I’m creating a website and everything. It’s just a lot of initial work getting started in it. As far as being a good income? I doubt it. That’s why I’m calling it a side business. Wish me luck!

   Comment by Christie Wild — June 21, 2012 @ 2:06 pm

10. 

    Makes sense, Christie! Good luck with it! And yes, you can never start saving too early for big future expenses.

    Comment by Kristi Holl — June 21, 2012 @ 2:49 pm

11. 

    When I was looking at my goals mid-year, I found that I hadn’t even tackled two big projects I was hoping to do this year. This happened mainly because two writing opportunities presented themselves that I wasn’t anticipating, and also because the revisions on the book I’m working on are becoming more in-depth that I’d hoped. I’ve opted for accepting this (though this is hard for my type A personality). I want to take on the writing opportunities that have come my way and I want the current book to be really good. So, I’m modifying my goals a bit. I also made a new category for my 2012 goals–unexpected writing accomplishments. These are things that I didn’t plan for but I’m happy they happened.

    Comment by Marcie Atkins — June 28, 2012 @ 12:18 pm

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