I never really used to be one for goals or New Year's Resolutions, but since blogging I've started setting some for myself each year and giving myself an end of year (and sometimes mid year) review. This being the case, I thought it was about time I tried to keep a bit more of a regular eye on my progress - and let you, dear reader, keep track of it too while I'm at it.
So, for 2011 they are:
Resolution 1: Work out what I want to do when I grow up
Resolution 2: Live a life less ordinary
Resolution 3: Stop living small
Those are the big things I want to aim for, but I've also got some smaller goals or targets for 2011 as well. They are;
Goal A: Blog more regularly
When I first started blogging in 2007 I managed a whole 13 posts. Not too bad when you consider I only started blogging during the year but certainly not stellar. 2008 was particularly poor - a measly 16 posts for the whole year and 2009 wasn't much better at 62. I seem to have got into my stride during 2010 with 173 posts - approximately one every 2 to 3 days by my reckoning, although that average will be exaggerated by my holiday blogging which is daily if not more often.
For 2011, I'd like to keep up a minimum of 4 posts per week, which should put me at 200+ posts for the year. Should make next year's printed blog pressie from big sis much more expensive!!
January: a whopping great 33 posts. Yay!
February: a still pretty good 24 posts
March: sadly, a measly 8 posts - not a good month in so many ways
April: picking up a bit with 10 posts, still not great though
May: 16 posts - averaging one every 2 days. Not bad.
June: 19 posts - picking back up again.
July: a pathetic 5 posts only. But nowhere near as pathetic as....
August: 0, zero, zip, zilch. Wow! Really bad. Must must must do better...
September:
October:
November:
December:
Goal B: Get back to writing my book
'My book' sounds really grand. It's actually a collaborative online project started last year at the prompting of one of my friends - who has since failed to contribute (ahem, are you listening Diane?). The collaboration is currently between me and Frances but I'm ever hopeful that other people may join in too.
For this year, my intention is to try to contribute at least once per fortnight - which will be a vast improvement since I last contributed in September!
You can keep an eye on it yourself if you're interested at All Write Now - you can even join up if you want. Contributors don't necessarily have to write chapters (but I'd love it if you did) - even plot ideas or critiques are welcome. Plot ideas, come to think of it, will be really welcome since I seem to be having a bit of a writer's block at the moment!
Having posted a chapter in May, none of the group has had any inspiration and our book is still stuck in the opening throes. Which way will it go? Hopefully not straight into the dustbin of uncompleted projects that I seem to find around and about the place. Frances, tells me I need to bring the heroine back from Spain, but I'm not so sure. I think she's having fun out there in the warmth and sunshine - even if she is twiddling her thumbs waiting to see what happens to her next...
Goal C: Rediscover poetry
One of the things I found myself going back to a bit during 2010 was poetry. I blogged a few poems towards the end of the year, and I'm really keen to discover/rediscover a bit more during 2011. One of my ideas is to try to post a poem a week.
Goal D: Learn new stuff
They do say that learning new things helps to keep your mind young and your neural networks sharp. And since it now seems that there's a goodly chance of living to very old age, I intend to be compos mentis enough to enjoy mine for as long as possible.
The target for this goal is to learn something new every month.
January: Moebius knitting and freeform crochet
February: Boleos, colgadas and volcadas (tango, since you ask)
March: Da Dialect
April: Hmm, not sure. How to run further than 10k perhaps?
May: What 13.1 miles feels like (Answer: sore!)
June: The fun of a Photo Scavenger Hunt
July: How to mix a vodka martini
August: All about broadband
September:
October:
November:
December:
Goal E: Do more travelling
In 2010, I finally cracked travelling and holidaying on my own with 2 fantastic breaks in Wales and in Spain. It reminded me just how much I loved travelling and in 2011 I want to carry that on. I used to have an ambition to visit every continent on the planet and to complete a geographical A-Z. I'd really like to make progress with that in 2011, and that means visiting new places. I'm not sure if I'll manage to increase the continent score during the year but I'd certainly like to find some new favourite places.
January: Not a new destination, but a new attraction in an old haunt - Vancouver Art Gallery
February: FAIL
March: The fabulous Shetland Islands. Definitely not the last time I'm going there!
April: The Balfron 10k route (ok, it's a stretch but...)
May: Gibralter Barracks - hmm, long story!
June: Various running routes round Stirling
July: Glasgow's new transport museum
August: Lulea, Sweden
September:
October:
November:
December:
Goal F: Live more sustainably
Since moving into my own pad in 2009 I've been able to adopt a slightly more sustainable lifestyle, prompted in large part by my good friend Rachel Nunn, founder of and leading light for Going Carbon Neutral Stirling.
So far I've managed to reduce my car use, reduce my food waste, have lower carbon holidays, recycle more and have great fun in the process. I've vastly increased my knowledge of sustainable and low carbon issues and I'm helping others to do the same.
If you want to keep track of my efforts during 2011, try clicking on the 'low carbon living' tag in the 'What I Blog About' box to the right of the page.
Goal G: Exercise more
During 2010 there were pluses and minuses in my fitness efforts - I ran a 10k road race (my first ever) and achieved a very creditable time, but I also stopped going to the gym. I was possibly the fittest I'd been in a long time, but by the time I visited my sister at Christmas, I'd got really out of condition. I also managed to be laid low by 'flu (and other nasties) for most of December.
In 2011 I want to be more consistent about my exercise and fitness. I'm seriously contemplating signing up for a full marathon in October and taking a leaf out a friend's book and signing up for a series of 10k (or more!) races during the course of the year to keep my training routine on schedule. I'll let you know how I'm getting on as the year progresses.
Work in Progress me (WIP-me)
Now that it's all written down, it looks like a scary amount to be committing to but let's see how I get on with it all. As well as updating here, I'll be blogging about it (of course) throughout the year. I'll try to remember to tag all my posts so if you want to get a round-up at any stage, just click on WIP-me (Work in Progress Me) in the 'What I Blog About' list to the right.
