I've been thinking about my goals for the year most of January, but due to the regularly scheduled pressure from work, SMWM getting sick and dealing with her father's death, and everything else, I really haven't done much with writing anything.

But, I'm a goal oriented person. I found that deadlines and projects work a lot better for me because I have a purpose. But, a generic goal is a terrible thing (for me), which I've repeatedly learned when I failed.

Accountability

No one really keeps me accountable with my goals. But, I feel that if I write them down (and post them), it sets them in stone and reminds me that they have to be done. Plus, for a number of people, they see my every week or every day and occasionally point out where I'm gone. It helps, so that's why I'm posting.

Limited Goals

A long, long time ago, I was sitting in a doctor's office reading Readers Digest (the only place I ever read Readers Digest). There was a little quote that when something like this:

You only have time in your life for three things. It can be family, work, or anything else. Any more and you stop dropping them. The key part is to figure out what are those three important things.

I happen to take that recursively. I try not to ever have more than three projects at any time. Likewise, I'm going to keep to a limited number of goals for the year.

Writing

I'm not going to make any goals about writing this year. For the most part, I've written (or rewritten) a novel every year since 2001. I'm not going to stop doing that, so it isn't really a goal. I plan on finishing FIL (sequel to Becoming a Man), but I'm going to do it anyways.

Programming

I have one programming goal I've been aiming towards for over a year now: Author Intrusion. I've written the basic framework three times, but each time it started to crumble under design flaws.

I want to get a basic version of Author Intrusion done by the end of the year. Since I like goals that lead to something more, I want Author Intrusion so I can finish FIL.

Health

The other major part of my life is my health. In specific, I need to lose more weight. I've lost weight for the last five years, but it was about a kilogram each year. Which, given that I'm 145 kg, that isn't exactly the best of things.

This would have been the first year I gained weight except for that short period in August where I was losing 4.5 kg a week for almost a month.

At work, there is a health initiative. They were asking for goals for the year, so I decided to commit to something a lot more publicly than my website.

Those two goals are to walk 200 km during my lunch breaks and get my weight under 135 kg. Both are doable, but I think I'm going to consider them my two goals for the year.

Family

You might notice I haven't mentioned family. Those are such a high priority that it isn't a goal. If I know I'm going to write a novel, I know I'm going to take care of EDM and SMWM. Just a fact of life.

Three Things

So, those are the three things I'm planning this year.

• Get Author Intrusion usable
• Get my weight under 135 kg
• Walk 200 km during my lunch breaks