Making goals that I'll keep

Yesterday, I reviewed the year that was. Only today did I realize that my year was entirely focussed on money. Not unreasonable for a blog that claims to be about finance, but still, it makes me feel very one-dimensional (not to mention a little too materialistic maybe?).

My goals for this year look at the whole me, not just money-me. I'm also keeping them down to a manageable 3 SMART goals:

1. Reduce my LDL cholesterol to 2.5 or less by June 30. My most recent bloodwork shows my bad cholesterol is very high. High is 2.5mmol/L, mine is at 5.4 mmol/L, a dangerous level, and I'm determined I won't control through medication what I can control naturally.
   
2. Spend 3 hours a week de-cluttering and organizing until all I've got left is what I use and need. I've become a pack rat inadvertently. I just never seem to get around to getting rid of stuff I don't use anymore. I think it started with environmental awareness. I know it's wrong, but I miss the days when we could just throw stuff out. This year, I plan to go through my condo inch by inch and get rid of anything I don't need/use, and sort the rest out so I can find things when I'm looking for them.


3. Develop and implement a realistic plan to eliminate non-investment debt. I'm giving myself until the end of January to work out the plan and figure out the timeline. Given my aggressive savings plans which I don't want to reduce, I may not be able to pay off all the debt this year -- but I want it gone within 24 months.

Okay, so 3 clear, measurable goals. Now, I have to start making the plans to achieve them. So, a word of warning: that's probably what I'll be writing about over the next month.

Now, I said I'd stick to 3 goals, and I will. But I also have an annual goal that I renew every year: make 1 new friend. It's amazing as you get older how easy it is to lose friends (especially those who move to other countries!) and hard to make new ones.

I started thinking about this as a goal 4-5 years ago when 3 of my close friends moved away in the same year. I found it very lonely without them, and I realized that you need a minimum amount of friends, or good acquaintances, to keep you sane. At first, it was just "make new friends" and that didn't work. Now, it's "Make 1 new friend this year" and, guess what? It's worked for each of the past 2 years. That's why I like clear, measurable goals. Somehow, they help make it happen.

If you're having trouble keeping goals too, try SMART goals. It worked for me!