2020 Goals in Review
Jan. 1st, 2021 12:31 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithI have reviewed my goals for 2020. Out of 31 goals and one blank, I met 29 plus three extra fills in the blank. I did a lot better than I expected. \o/
Let's take a look at what worked ...
* A goal of looking at the goal list definitely raises the chance of actually meeting more goals. So does keeping track of accomplishments in an updatable list. If you're making a list of goals, rather than just one resolution, I highly recommend this.
* I wrote a book actually on purpose! This is one of my biggest accomplishments. What made it happen is that I hit on the idea of writing 500 haiku inspired by kigo, which gave me a ready-made list.
* Filling in the desk calendar (which I've started for this year but not finished yet) is good because it's best done in January. Try to include some stuff you'll likely complete before you run out of motivation in a week or two.
* Making a goal to maintain regular activities is relatively easy and serves as a reminder to keep doing them, rather than skip them if obstacles interfere.
* The runaway success was "Make at least one new recipe each month." I recorded 14 in January, 10 in February, 11 in March, 17 in April, 15 in May, 12 in June, 8 in July, 5 in August, 4 in September, 6 in October, 4 in November, and 3 in December, for a total of 109 -- a vast increase over last year's 29. I probably forgot to list a few. A big reason was that my partner Doug got a Vitamix last year for Christmas. I thought we'd play with it for a couple of weeks and then forget about it. Instead we typically use it several times a week. :D
Of these, some were not impressive. However, more than a handful became instant favorites, and some others may reappear occasionally. In May I hit on the idea of marking the best recipes with a * so after that point you can identify them. I starred 27 of them, which is damn near as many new recipes as we made last year! Recipes we have already made or used at least twice: Ruby Hot Chocolate, Alan’s Going Green Smoothie (without jalapeño), spinach bacon quiche, Honey-Roasted Peanut Butter Smoothie, Cherry Ruby Chocolate Chunk Cookies, Stuffed Portobellos with Ham and Cheese, Buffalo Meatloaf, Nut'n'Seed Butter, Nut'n'Seed Butter Smoothie, Easy Egg Curry, Easy Mutter Paneer, Hawaiindian Curry, Strawberry Barbecue Pork, Bison with Blue Corn Tortillas, Mango Chicken Tinga, Spanakopita Mushroom Caps, Maple Cider Pulled Chicken. I'm sure we've repeated a lot of the fruit smoothies, but they're harder to tell apart.
That's 17 repeats, up from last year's 9. Honey-Roasted Peanut Butter Smoothie, Nut'n'Seed Butter, Nut'n'Seed Butter Smoothie, Easy Egg Curry, Easy Mutter Paneer, Hawaiindian Curry, and Bison with Blue Corn Tortillas are especially frequent. With the Patak's curry sauces on hand, we typically do curry once a week now. :D We alternate nut butter smoothies with fruit ones. This year I discovered that hamburger/chopped onion or hamburger/chopped mushroom are both a lot tastier than plain loose hamburger as a tortilla filling. We use bison when we can get it. So we've had those a lot too. Just looking for new recipes improves the rate of healthy eating, and we're exploring some interesting ethnic cuisines along the way.
.
* Fill in the blank lets me credit myself for goals that I discover and set during the year. I aim for at least one of these, and usually get 2-3. This encourages me to keep doing stuff even after I've checked off a majority of my list.
* If you do this every year, make sure to chip away the cruft of goals you no longer can or want to meet. I leave a few old ones that I may never meet but still hope to, but most of the time if I haven't met a goal after a few tries, I drop it. If you let old ones build up, they drag down your success percentage and undermine your sense of accomplishment even if you got a lot of other stuff done. However, do keep goals that are working for you. I repeat many of mine every year. I just try to add and drop a few things each time.
* Ironically, timing and numbers are my friends. I am more likely to meet goals, and remember to mark them, if they have a specific number (do X three times) or timeframe (do X once a month) attached. I am also most prone to overfill the periodic goals. Defined goals are easier to fulfill and recognize than vague or year-long ones. YMMV, but I definitely recommend this.
Related to all the gardening/wildlife goals:
* We fledged several great horned owlets in our yard. I'm not sure exactly how many, but at least 2-3, given how many directions they were shrieking from just after leaving the nest.
* We had rose-breasted grosbeaks for a couple of months in spring.
* We saw Baltimore orioles in the yard for the first time ever, although I've seen a couple elsewhere in the area long ago. There were several of them, and I fed them oranges. :D
Not actually a goal, but exciting because it's such a high-traffic venue, I got quoted:
21 Sexy BDSM Love Quotes About D/S Relationships To Make You Purr
4. "I'll give you what you're afraid to ask for."
— Elizabeth Barrette, "What You're Afraid to Ask For"
Let's take a look at what worked ...
* A goal of looking at the goal list definitely raises the chance of actually meeting more goals. So does keeping track of accomplishments in an updatable list. If you're making a list of goals, rather than just one resolution, I highly recommend this.
* I wrote a book actually on purpose! This is one of my biggest accomplishments. What made it happen is that I hit on the idea of writing 500 haiku inspired by kigo, which gave me a ready-made list.
* Filling in the desk calendar (which I've started for this year but not finished yet) is good because it's best done in January. Try to include some stuff you'll likely complete before you run out of motivation in a week or two.
* Making a goal to maintain regular activities is relatively easy and serves as a reminder to keep doing them, rather than skip them if obstacles interfere.
* The runaway success was "Make at least one new recipe each month." I recorded 14 in January, 10 in February, 11 in March, 17 in April, 15 in May, 12 in June, 8 in July, 5 in August, 4 in September, 6 in October, 4 in November, and 3 in December, for a total of 109 -- a vast increase over last year's 29. I probably forgot to list a few. A big reason was that my partner Doug got a Vitamix last year for Christmas. I thought we'd play with it for a couple of weeks and then forget about it. Instead we typically use it several times a week. :D
Of these, some were not impressive. However, more than a handful became instant favorites, and some others may reappear occasionally. In May I hit on the idea of marking the best recipes with a * so after that point you can identify them. I starred 27 of them, which is damn near as many new recipes as we made last year! Recipes we have already made or used at least twice: Ruby Hot Chocolate, Alan’s Going Green Smoothie (without jalapeño), spinach bacon quiche, Honey-Roasted Peanut Butter Smoothie, Cherry Ruby Chocolate Chunk Cookies, Stuffed Portobellos with Ham and Cheese, Buffalo Meatloaf, Nut'n'Seed Butter, Nut'n'Seed Butter Smoothie, Easy Egg Curry, Easy Mutter Paneer, Hawaiindian Curry, Strawberry Barbecue Pork, Bison with Blue Corn Tortillas, Mango Chicken Tinga, Spanakopita Mushroom Caps, Maple Cider Pulled Chicken. I'm sure we've repeated a lot of the fruit smoothies, but they're harder to tell apart.
That's 17 repeats, up from last year's 9. Honey-Roasted Peanut Butter Smoothie, Nut'n'Seed Butter, Nut'n'Seed Butter Smoothie, Easy Egg Curry, Easy Mutter Paneer, Hawaiindian Curry, and Bison with Blue Corn Tortillas are especially frequent. With the Patak's curry sauces on hand, we typically do curry once a week now. :D We alternate nut butter smoothies with fruit ones. This year I discovered that hamburger/chopped onion or hamburger/chopped mushroom are both a lot tastier than plain loose hamburger as a tortilla filling. We use bison when we can get it. So we've had those a lot too. Just looking for new recipes improves the rate of healthy eating, and we're exploring some interesting ethnic cuisines along the way.
.
* Fill in the blank lets me credit myself for goals that I discover and set during the year. I aim for at least one of these, and usually get 2-3. This encourages me to keep doing stuff even after I've checked off a majority of my list.
* If you do this every year, make sure to chip away the cruft of goals you no longer can or want to meet. I leave a few old ones that I may never meet but still hope to, but most of the time if I haven't met a goal after a few tries, I drop it. If you let old ones build up, they drag down your success percentage and undermine your sense of accomplishment even if you got a lot of other stuff done. However, do keep goals that are working for you. I repeat many of mine every year. I just try to add and drop a few things each time.
* Ironically, timing and numbers are my friends. I am more likely to meet goals, and remember to mark them, if they have a specific number (do X three times) or timeframe (do X once a month) attached. I am also most prone to overfill the periodic goals. Defined goals are easier to fulfill and recognize than vague or year-long ones. YMMV, but I definitely recommend this.
Related to all the gardening/wildlife goals:
* We fledged several great horned owlets in our yard. I'm not sure exactly how many, but at least 2-3, given how many directions they were shrieking from just after leaving the nest.
* We had rose-breasted grosbeaks for a couple of months in spring.
* We saw Baltimore orioles in the yard for the first time ever, although I've seen a couple elsewhere in the area long ago. There were several of them, and I fed them oranges. :D
Not actually a goal, but exciting because it's such a high-traffic venue, I got quoted:
21 Sexy BDSM Love Quotes About D/S Relationships To Make You Purr
4. "I'll give you what you're afraid to ask for."
— Elizabeth Barrette, "What You're Afraid to Ask For"
(no subject)
Date: 2021-01-01 09:35 am (UTC)Thank you!
Date: 2021-01-01 11:39 am (UTC)