Monday Motivation: Goals & Pipe Dreams

I was planning a different post today, yesterday I was planning this one but it didn't get written. That's kind of how I roll. I think I'm going to do something, I change my mind, then I change it again, then something else forces me to change it to something else and I end up arriving somewhere completely different than I expected. Good thing I'm flexible, but please don't ask me to touch my toes!

It's been awhile, did you miss me? I hope so because I've missed you and I've missed writing but I've  been so busy and then in recovery from being so busy that I've not had time to barely think about writing. I'm hoping this will get back to being a regular thing and maybe, just maybe because I'm not so good with schedules, I will have this whole theme thing going, Monday Motivation. Has a fun ring to it, don't you think? ♪Yes, I really do think.♫ Sorry, I've got this thing, where a phrase will remind me of a song, and then I start singing the phrase, then the entire song, then I find the song if I have it and play it at least five times. Drives my boys crazy, and now that I know it drives them crazy, naturally I do it even more, mwahahahaha! I know, I'm an evil mum, say no more. (Scrambling to figure out why I don't have Alanis Morissette in my iTunes list... grrrr)

I digress (hmmm, not me). Today's Monday Motivation is Goals & Pipe Dreams. I know, you're surprised aren't you? That title is very misleading. A few days ago I was reading this blog (which is not at all about goals but kinda fits and is very helpful, really) and it occurred to me that I'd always thought I had lots of goals, and while I know you're "supposed" to put them in writing and create "SMART" and "KISS" goals, I always figured, well they're in my head, I know what my goals are. I think about them enough. In fact, I think about them so much we're intimate friends. But what I've come to realise (and probably already knew but tried to ignore) is the ideas in my head, those are pipe dreams, and until I get those goals out in the open, in black in white and in my face so to speak, they will remain as pipe dreams. Pipe dreams are great, we need them, they keep us creative and give us hope but some of these things I really want to see come to fruition. So it's time to start not just thinking about my goals, but putting those little suckers down in writing.

I'm going to start small based on my priorities and creating the list using the Six Most Important Things idea (I'll blog about this later). So, yada yada, so on & so forth, here is what I want to accomplish this week:

1. Family: Play with my boys in some manner at least 90 minutes every day. Not electronic play or watching movies, but real play; lego, drawing, watching them do one of their plays, geocaching. And it doesn't have to be all at once but I do want to spend at least 90 minutes with them.
2. Health: Walk at least 4 miles outside & continue healthy eating plan. Break up the walking over the week of course and it doesn't have to be power walking or even brisk walking but something that at least gets my heart rate up a bit. Lots of healthy fluid (this does NOT have to be only water but should avoid soda pop and coffee), veggies, fruit, protein and some whole grains. If I indulge in a small treat, don't beat myself up but don't let it sidetrack.
3. Home: Plan and start 31 Bags in 31 days challenge (or something to that effect). Include the boys and find larger items to sell online.
4. Finance: Submit 2010 tax return, complete budget. (Actually got my tax return submitted yesterday *big grin* lol).
5. Business: Finalise post processing of photos & deliver. Including updating flicker, 500px, blogger & perhaps looking at business cards & website.
6. Goals: Find an accountability partner, or team. Would you like to join me?? We don't have to have the same goals, but provide encouragement and support. Come to the dark side, we have cookies ;-).

 Tag, you're it!

~ Shannon *Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ*

Source: backtoherroots.com via Shannon on Pinterest

Babysteps, Patience and Goals, oh my.....

I've been having a conversation with a lovely lady I met via an FM/ME CFS group on facebook, you can find Cynthia's very creative blog, "Creative ARTitudes", here. On Cynthia's facebook fan page she was asking her readers about methods for scheduling and tracking systems that they found effective and I thought it really lends itself well to what I wanted to post about today, babysteps.

Babysteps are VERY hard for me! I don't mean, "oh it'd be nice if I could just do it and it'd be done", but it drives me absolutely crazy(er) that I can't just do it and be done! Do what you ask? Anything and everything! A good example, I want a perfect website with the perfect URL, stunning and attractive design, pages for all the passions in my life and my blog, something that will have readers signing up in droves begging for more Ducky-isms, and I want it done YESTERDAY! Everyone likes to see their passions come to fruition, but if you throw in ADD, well patience may be a virtue but it's nearly improbable for those of us with this lovely challenge in our lives. And of course add to that I have FM (fibromyalgia) and CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) (and a multitude of other nonsense) making things (namely me) move even slower and thus increasing my frustrations. BUT one thing I have that none of this has taken away from me is HOPE and DREAMS and if babysteps will eventually get me to realise these, then I will continue to plug along despite my lack of patience.

So, step one, goals. What are my goals and what can I do to reach those goals? My big picture goal, to see this blog turn into a website that is helpful and informative for those that share some or even all of my passions (oddly enough I do find that it's true, birds of a feather do flock together - I do wish the magpies would stop pooping on my deck though - literally and figuratively). Big goals are great but all too often we set them with no plan of action and with no little goals to help buoy our spirits and keep us going along the way, then we find ourselves stuck, giving up and feeling like a failure. So my first babystep goals are, amalgamate all my blogs together in one place, publish a new article at least 3-4x a week, publish photos in at least 2 of those articles. Sounds simple enough :).

I would love to hear from my readers, what works for you to keep you on schedule and to keep track of all your ideas? What helps you reach your goals?

As always, sending my prayers and blessings,

~ Shannon *Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ*