I’m a little afraid to share these, because I know I’ll be accountable for them. But I want to put my money where my mouth is. So here we go:
- Read through the Bible; memorize Scripture (and maintain it) every week.
- Lose 10 pounds a month (120 pounds total); this means my goal weight on 1/1/16 is 344 lbs or less.
- Take 4 weekend/overnight trips with my wife (1 per quarter, if possible).
- Pay off $25,000 in debt this year. (This one’s gonna be tough.) That comes out to $2,084 a month.
- Keep my promises to have dinner with people and catch up with old friends.
- Read only* books I currently own; read at least 2 per month (even during school).
- Produce 2500 words each week, either on this blog or offline, working on my own projects.
- Get all A’s in seminary this year.
Whew. Quite a list. Especially when you factor in marriage, work, ministry, and school. But I really feel like I’m ready to stretch myself this year. And I know I’m not going to hit them perfectly. Some weeks and months I won’t be able to hit these marks. But these will be the goals I’m shooting for and the benchmarks I want to surpass.
Your encouragements and prayers would be appreciated. I look forward to sharing this process with you. So…LET’S DO THIS!
=====
Your Turn: Any new goals you want to set for the year? Share them below!
*The one exception is a book I got from the library on Saturday about procrastination and productivity. I think I need to read that one, even if I don’t own it.
The4thDave Blog 
Continue my daily reading on a more consistent basis.
Better daily prayer. I’d really like to make a list to help me remember certain things to pray for.
My goal weight on 1/1/16 is 210-215 lbs. That’s about 4 lbs per month. So doable. Yet so hard!
Take 4-6 date nights with my wife (1 per quarter at least) and at least 1 overnight.
I’d like to pay off or down our van loan, at least well past the point where the van’s value > loan amount. Combining this with a possible need to replace other car…help me Lord.
Learn JAVA and create my own website in JAVA.
Read more of the books I currently own.
Become proficient with LOGOS 6.
Street preach about 2 dozen times and lead a team evangelistic outreach at least 12 times.
These are solid, Michael! Keep me posted!
Those are all great, valuable goals… and yes, quite an intense list for one year! Praying that God will strengthen you to accomplish what is most important for His glory and your future!!
My main goals for 2015 are:
1. Pick one person each week to pray for and tangibly encourage in some way.
2. Lose a grand total (counting this year’s starting point) of 77 pounds by the end of the year.
3. Write a book and send in a book proposal!
4. Get eight hours of sleep most nights!
5. Set one mini-goal at the beginning of each new month!
Lindsey, best of ‘luck’ with #3 and #4. Not sure those are possible in the same time span!
I was telling Heidi–I feel like I have more motivation to really get some things done this year. Crazy. And I love your list! Keep me posted, especially on your mini-goals! (That makes me think of videogames–how your character fights these “mini-bosses” in the middle of the level before facing the big boss.)
I just got a Franklin Covey and I’m all inspired now about how much I can get done. I’m assuming you have one of those…. because you’re like 10x busier than I am.
No Franklin Covey, though I know those are pretty tight. I have a basic week-by-week planner that contains all my startdates and deadlines for school, as well as other events I need to be aware of. This week, I’ll break down my big goals month-by-month into small ones, and attack them that way. And yeah, I’m a little busy these days, but things are going well on the planning/time-management front, at least at the moment. (He says, three weeks before his class starts. We’ll see how I’m feeling about it in a month.)
Oh yeah, any ol’ brand works. I took a Franklin Covey seminar in high-school. Just another crazy thing that homeschooled kids get up to. So, that brand was the path of least resistance. It’s interesting to hear how other people organize their lives! I’ll probably have a 6 month goal. Well, one. Finish first draft of novel. Just putting that in writing will motivate me.
My goals for 2015:
Write my first children’s book.
Finish the script for the next film planned by my friends and I by May.
Read through the whole Bible this year (my first time!).
Take advantage of the discipline and grace of prayer more than just “help me’s”
Eat healthier and exercise more, even if that doesn’t mean I lose weight.
Spend at least one weekend with my wife away from town, doing something close to nothing, but different from the day before.
Call my friends and family more often.
Or just answer the phone when your friends call…
🙂
I tried that once…
Once.