Not To Be Trusted With Knives

Goals for 2014

January 1, 2014 by Beth

As you know, I love setting goals. And what better time than New Year’s Day to do some goal setting! As usual, I have a bunch of fitness related goals, as I find having a SMART goals ((specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound)) really motivating as I know what I have to do when it comes time to do it ((I tend to suffer from decision fatigue, so I prefer to make decisions like “what exercise should I do when and for how long/how far” in advance so that I don’t fail to do stuff because I can’t make a decision when the time comes to do said thing.)). I’ve also got a couple of financial related goals and then a bunch of other stuff that I just want to do.

Health

1. Complete Rick’s 90-Day Fitness & Accountability Challenge! I’ll blog about this soon, but essentially it’s about setting a fitness goal for 90 days and there’s a group of us who will be doing this starting on Monday.
2. Run two half marathons. I’m planning to do the Hollywood Half Marathon in April and then I’ll pick a fall half as well. I like doing two half marathons per year, as it gets me out on the road for 8 months of running (if I do all of the training).
3. Run a sub-2 hour half marathon. This has been on my list of goals since 2011 and though I’ve run several half marathons since then, I’ve not really come close to this time. But then again, I also haven’t really put forth the training effort. I’m going to change that in 2014
4. Run 800 km. This would be a 33% increase from last year, but since I did 600 km last year while doing relatively minimal training for the two halfs I ran, if I do proper training for my two 2014 halfs, this should be easy.
5. Bike 800 km. Though last year I did very little biking, I’m planning to change that. Since moving to my new office, I’m now a reasonable distance to bike to work – and there’s a reasonable bike path that I can take to do so. If I bike to work just once per week, I’ll do 780 km, so I think 800 km is a reasonable goal.
6. Lose 10 lbs. I lost 7 of the 15 lbs I gained after starting the MBA. If I continue with focusing on eating better ((Though I don’t have specific eating better goals listed, it is something I’ll be looking at.)) and exercising, I should be able to reach this goal.

Wealth

7. Return to freelance work. Before I started my MBA, I did some freelance management consulting-type work on the side. I put that on hold as all my “spare” time was taken up with school, but now is the time to get back to it. I’d like to pick up at least one contract this year. I’ll also keep my eye out for any new classes to teach ((I’m teaching my online stats course again starting on Monday, but if I could find a class in the summer or fall, I’d like that. After two years as a student, I’m ready to be back on the other side of the classroom again!))
8. Set out a new investment plan. The past couple of years, my investment strategy changed as I had quite a different financial situation (tuition fee tax credits, extra expenses related to school). Since school is done ((My last tuition payment is due on Monday)), now is the time to reassess my financial situation and goals ((Note to self: time to book an appointment with my financial guy!)).

Misc.

9. Write 314 blog postings here on NTBTWK. This would be 101 more than last year and would involve writing most, but not all days. I’ve missed blogging regularly and am looking forward to getting back to it!
10. Write 52 blog postings on drbethsnow.com. I re-started my “professional” blog for an Internet marketing class I took in November and I’d like to keep that momentum going. One blog posting a week should be good.
11. Knock 28 items off my list of 101 things to do in 1001 days. If I can do this by July (the end of the 1001 days), that would give me a total of 51 of 101, so I’d at least get a passing grade. If I get it done by the end of December, then I’ll have a good start on my next 101 list (because you know there’s going to be a next one.)
12. Make 14 new food items that I’ve never made before. This can be meals or baked goods and they must be blogged about!
13. Find a reliable cleaning person. I’ve not had any luck with finding a good cleaning person for my apartment ((I’ve tried two different services and one individual and they were all terrible.)), but my quest for 2014 is to find one! If you know someone who does good work, charges a reasonable amount, and will come to New West, let me know!
14. Find a solution to my spice situation. I love to cook and therefore have a tonne of spices. Right now, they are mostly in bags piled in two plastic tubs in a cabinet in my kitchen ((I have a cool test tube spice rack, but it only holds a fraction of the spices that I use.)) and they drive me crazy whenever I try to find the spice I need for a given recipe. In 2014, I will find a spice organizing situation that works for me.

So there you have it – 14 goals for 2014. And now I think it’s time to head out for a run – goal #4, I have my eye on you!

Image Credit: From Stock.Xchng, with a royalty-free license.

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