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New Year’s Ritual

Posted by John on January 1st, 2008 at 12:01 am · 10 Comments

Every year, I make plans to become this:

But actually accomplish little more than this:

For 2008, I’ve decided to do something a little different. I’ve decided to a) make all of my goals measurable; and b) to report to you periodically on my progress. Not that you care, but that’s besides the point. This year Vanity and Pride are working for me.

  1. Some pansy loser said that he’d walk 500 miles (but he did so in a catchy tune). This year I’m going to run 1000 miles. That’s a modest 20 miles per week over 50 weeks, with a couple of weeks off for a bad flu or broken bones. I’ll shoot for 70 miles in January.  That’s about from here to San Diego.
  2. I’m going to wrap up that darn Master’s degree in Religious Studies. This goal has several parts:
    • I have to take one more class (I’m hoping to put together a directed readings in SF and religion).
    • I have to write a thesis.
    • Before I can write the thesis, I have to do research. By the end of January, I need to have read at 25 chapters or articles and completed a six page prospectus.
  3. I will write one page of fiction each day, and submit one story to a competition or publication each month. Also, I will write one feature story on religion each month, and submit it to a publication. So by the end of the month, you should get two stories, one that is True and the other that is true.
  4. I will read and review 100 books this year. If I get desperate, these may devolve into easy, brainless stuff by Dr. Seuss and Ann Coulter. I should have nine for you by the end of the month.
  5. This last goal will prove to many of you that I am worthy of my own little windowless room with padding on the walls. I will work to increase Mind on Fire’s traffic to 5,000 hits per day. We had an average of 75 per day in December. This is a tricky one because all I can do is consistently provide content that attracts all of you and keeps you coming back for more. Basically, MoF has to be the cocaine of religion blogs, except that every hit will be free. I aim to deliver. My goal for January is to reach a modest 100 daily visits on the average. No fair taking pity on me and hitting the refresh button–I have to earn these.

I’ll return and report on these on February 1st. Expect to see little signs of this:

So, what are your resolutions for 2008?

Tags: Goals · Personal

10 responses so far ↓

  • 1 Elaine // Jan 1, 2008 at 10:27 am

    First of all, John, if you do manage to put together that directed reading in SF and religion, you have to share…in detail. That sounds fascinating.

    Second…good luck with the 100 books goal. I shot for 52 in 2007 (one per week) and ended up falling short by 12. So, I’m shooting for 52 again this year (and privately hoping for at least 75). But, please, for the sake of your sanity…don’t resort to reading Coulter. That’s just above and beyond the call of duty. :)

    Oh, and by the way, I’ve got my Books Read list for last year up on my blog, so come visit…but I have to admit that the last half of the year devolved into a mystery tangent that I really didn’t intend. If only I hadn’t picked up Michael Connelly’s “Echo Park” at the grocery store that hot July afternoon, which is where it all started… Ah, well. I suspect that all that fiction was just a symptom of my dissatisfaction with reality.

    As for my resolutions…I try really hard not to make those. However…I’m going to try to eat more healthy foods this year. More fruits and veggies and less meat. I wouldn’t be opposed to going vegetarian, except that I have so many allergy and digestion issues with so many fruits and vegetables that it would really be impractical for me to make a complete switch. So, I’ll do what I can.

    More important…this is the year in which I push toward publication. That is, aside from my current writing gig for some websites in the UK (the one that I attempt to pay the bills with). I’ve got two projects going, one fiction and one non-fiction, and I’m already making progress, especially on the non-fiction. This is not to say that I necessarily expect to have either of them ready for submission by the end of the year. I do expect to be a significant portion of the way to that.

  • 2 xJane // Jan 1, 2008 at 1:37 pm

    You know, I checked out my post from last year to see how I’ve done & I have to say that I think I can move on to world hunger! Which is to say that I’ve definitely seen improvement. And love is one of those things you can never get enough of, but I’m much more at peace with all the kinds of things that I put up with.

    I support your goals, John & will add that I resolve to contribute more & deeper & find some obscure Carnivals to host & post.

    I’m going to try to exercise my knee more (my husband is once again taunting me with skiing, which I know I can’t do right now, so I hope to be able to go by the end of the month) if not the rest of moi.

    I’d like to eat much less meat: the Omnivore’s Dilemma has bitten me and while I think it’s a bad idea to go completely off meat, I think it’s not a bad idea to limit it to special occasions & perhaps a particular goal for the week (once or twice, maybe). I got a couple veggie cookbooks for xmas, so that will help. I also resolve not to go overboard on the tofu thing, tho. I think it’s really easy to consume an unhealthy amount of it and it’s not particularly good for one, so…

    My deep dark resolution this year is to tell the truth when I see it around my family. I see no reason to antagonize my father with my Green viewpoints, but I also don’t see any reason to sit and take insults lying down. A deep breath and a step back followed by a “actually” or a “I don’t think that’s any of your business” may damage relationships in the short term, but I hope that they will help them in the long term.

    By the way, John, are you constantly being chased by giant domokun? Because you should probably see someone about that…

    My husband’s idea for this year’s resolutions was a Five Year Plan, whose capital letters I could hear in his voice and which made me feel vaguely as though we’d just invaded Japan (or Germany). Not so much a what-I-want-to-do but a where-I-want-to-be. Which I think is a great way to approach the resolution thing. Where would I like to be at this time next year, sitting in front of a computer and typing my trackbacks to this & the other post? I’m not certain, but it’s given me food for thought. (I’d like a new computer & am awaiting MacWorld :-D )

  • 3 Bored in Vernal // Jan 1, 2008 at 1:55 pm

    you know what, wow.
    I have never in my life seen such meaty resolutions. If you accomplish half of all this, you will earn your stripes. I’m glad you’re going to report. It will be fun to go along on the ride.
    (20 miles a week????)

  • 4 Rich // Jan 1, 2008 at 4:09 pm

    I finally bit down and started a blog, so one of mine is to post something of interest on at least a semi-regular basis. I started it off with new years wishes rather than goals, but I think there’s some legit bleed-over there too. So pop on over and perhaps be the first to de-flower my virgin blog with a comment.

    Kittens are so much less threatening than tigers though, but I love BiV’s clever play on words about earning your stripes! And I agree, even 1 of your goals would be a respectable accomplishment for me for the year…

  • 5 Elise // Jan 1, 2008 at 7:28 pm

    John, I’ll shoot for 1000 miles with you! We can be accountability partners and check up with each other every so often to make sure we’re staying on track. I’d love to be able to say I ran 1000 miles in 2008!

  • 6 John // Jan 2, 2008 at 11:28 am

    Elaine, I do plan to share, if the professor is willing to run with it. And I’m excited about your goals for the year! If Elise is willing to run with me (let’s do it, Elise!), maybe we can encourage each other towards publication!

    I have a couple of “strategies” to help me achieve my book goal: 1) school texts count, and 2) audio books also count. This means I can pursue my school, publishing and exercise goals at the same time as my reading ones.

    xJane, I can take the domokun/God killing kittens meme all sorts of places. But I won’t. :P Ooh, and I hope you can go to MacWorld, so we all can experience it vicariously!

    BiV, I’m okay with shooting (not literally!) for the tiger and settling for the leopard or ocelot. *grin* I’ve run a couple of marathons (averaging 30+ miles per week late in training), and I’m running about 15 right now, so the 20/week should be achievable.

    Yay, Rich! Blogging is like vampirism, methinks, except with less blood. I’ll add your blog to the sidebar as soon as I submit this comment.

  • 7 Chris Rusch // Jan 2, 2008 at 7:42 pm

    This year, I am going to get a girlfriend. I have been single for so long it could be considered unhealthy.

  • 8 Kevin // Jan 4, 2008 at 8:46 am

    My resolutions look something like this:
    Learn Latin (and pass exam!).
    Finish all primary and directly relevant secondary readings for my thesis.
    Have a good running start on writing my thesis.
    Write more (in journal form, blog form, letters to friends… anything, just more writing!)
    I resolve to not become a hermit.
    to stay in better contact with family and friends.
    to do more hiking.
    to stay positive.

  • 9 Jeff // Jan 7, 2008 at 4:39 pm

    Damn, I’m impressed. I’m excited to read your book reviews, and your fiction. My goals are similar, but less insane :) :

    1- Read 45 books with a nice mix of fiction and non-fiction

    2- Publish (That’s a common one here)

    3- Write for 30 minutes a day

    4- Write and record one song a month

    5- Train for and run a 5K and a 10K (This would be huge for me. I love to hike, but running isn’t a passion for me. However, I need to get myself into a less round shape)

    6- Stay caught up in my teaching (I teach 8 different classes, so I sometimes fall behind. This goal is for sanity’s sake) :)

  • 10 2008 Goal Review: January | Mind on Fire. // Jan 31, 2008 at 10:25 pm

    [...] Boss Me: Front and center, Slave Boy, it’s time for our monthly review of your 2008 goals. [...]

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