Better late than never: My 2013 goals

I stopped making New Year’s resolutions a long time ago. I stopped because, for me, they’re just too vague. It’s easy to make a statement like “I resolve to lose weight” or “I resolve to write a book this year”. But really, what do they mean? To me, not a whole lot. They’re just words with nothing concrete and substantive behind them.

That’s why I’ve started setting yearly goals. Rather than a vague, empty resolution, goals give me something to achieve. They’re something to work towards and plan for. They give me progress to measure and track, and I really enjoy the little milestones I achieve along the way.

To make sure that I stick with my goals, I write them down along with the different steps I need to take to get to the end result. I try not to set deadlines that are too specific, although I do need to give myself some sort of time frame (if I don’t, I feel like they’ll linger forever and I’ll never actually get anything accomplished). And I make sure that I share my goals with others as a way of not only holding myself accountable but hopefully to inspire others to do the same.

This year is no different. And, so I hold to my own rules, I’m going to share some of them with you (that way, if you feel like it, you can ask me how they’re going):

• Complete my pioneer project. I have become rather…fond of the pioneers of the 1800s. So much so that I’ve decided to sort of live like them (even though, at my core, I know I’d make a terrible pioneer). I’m not giving up some of my beliefs nor do I plan on wearing prairie dresses and sunbonnets but I am going to try to hone some skills and adapt some of their ways of life. I’m not blogging about it but rather, I’m keeping a journal. How pioneer-esque is that? And, when it’s all over, I’m going to write a book about it. Or not.  I haven’t decided yet.
• Grow the Bloggers Helping Bloggers Mentoring Program. I have lots of ideas and occasionally, one of them is a good one. I feel this way about my BHB program and, with the help of J. Money from Budgets Are Sexy, the program is starting to take off in the way that I had hoped. We have some crazy good mentors lined up for this next round and I’m hoping they stick around (and recruit some of their friends). I plan to figure out ways to grow the program outside of the personal finance niche and maybe (and this is a big maybe) figure out a way for the program to make money. There’s also something else on tap for BHB that I don’t want to share just yet but suffice it to say, it’s a pretty big deal.
• Pay cash for all of our trips. This one shouldn’t be too hard since we stopped using credit cards a long time ago. But this is the first year that we’ve planned more than one trip. I’m going to Nashville with my husband in June, I’m going to FinCon13 (whenever and wherever that it is), we’re taking a family vacation at a place TBD, and my husband is going on a golf trip with some friends. So that’s a lot more than usual and our income is much more limited than in the past. But with some careful planning and budgeting, I’m certain we can get it done. Or we readjust our plans.
• Read all the books on my list. For as long as I can remember, I’ve maintained various lists of books I want to read. This year, though, I condensed them all into one master list and put it out there on Pinterest. I have a board—Books to Read in 2013—that has 34 pins. My goal is to read every book on that list unless I hate it. I’ve instituted a rule for my life: Life is too short to read books that suck. So if any book on that list sucks, I won’t finish it but I will replace it with something else. This list does not include any of the Little House on the Prairie books I’m working my way through nor does it include cookbooks. I’m also open to recommendations in case I finish these books or for 2014.
• Edit my NaNoWriMo novel. One of my long standing life goals is to be a published novelist. I took the first step this past November when I participated in (and won!) NaNoWriMo. But I need to do more if I want the book published. So this year, I plan to make the major edits that are desperately needed and then send that draft off to some friends for their suggestions. I also need to research finding an agent and look into the self-publishing arena. I also need to carve out time to get this all done. But it’s a goal so I’ll make sure to get it done.

So those are the major goals this year. I think it’s just enough to keep me busy and focused but not overwhelmed (which, incidentally, will be the topic for my first “how-to” guide on DMS. Coming in February).  They’re also completed doable. Which is kind of the point.

What are your goals? Either leave them in the comments or, if you wrote a post, place the link below: