Goals for 2013

As mentioned a few days ago, I've been thinking about goals for the coming year. These actually fall into two categories: work and personal. I made good use of the 6 Changes strategy a couple years ago for building some good habits, and now wish to reapply it to make 2013 a year of healthier living. Here they are:

6 Changes

1. Increase vegie intake with daily salad lunch (January/February)
2. Exercise 6 days a week (March/April)
3. Restore bedtime habits (May/June)
4. Instate planned evening snacks to avoid binges (July/August)
5. Assess weight and cholesterol and, in case further intervention is required, research the options (September/October)
6. TBD (November/December)

Salad

To break down number one more specifically, I plan to start eating salad or crudites and hummus for lunch one day a week starting tomorrow (Jan. 4) and add one day each week. To make this more fun, the third Wednesday of every month (starting Jan. 16) I will look up or invent a new salad.

At the same time I need to work out writing goals to discuss with my coach next week. I started brainstorming these in a discussion on Michelle Rafter's WordCount blog yesterday. I'll pin them down here. These are up for review and discussion:

Writing Goals

1. To keep sending out killer pitches, write at least four new query letters per month (with lenience during the fourth quarter).
2. Design one of the four queries to break into science and nature publications.
3. As soon as queries are rejected or after six weeks of no response, send them to new markets.
4. Write at least one essay every two months to submit on spec.
5. Start writing a book, fiction or non-fiction.
6. Learn to use PhotoShop for potential photo essays.
7. Continue blogging three times a week on Speed River Journal.
8. Figure out what it takes to derive revenue from the blog (this might be a good objective for the blogathon in May).
9. Take one week vacation out of every 12.
10. Travel at least once every six weeks for assignments and/or pleasure (including day trips further than 50 km, but excluding family or cottage).

Done List

My writing coach, Jodi Helmer, encourages people to write a Done List. Before even worrying about New Year's resolutions we should look back on our accomplishments in the previous year. I posted something general about what an awesome year 2012 was on Speed River Journal, but apparently neglected any specifics. Since I've already plotted some goals for 2013, it's time I gave the previous 12 months some proper credit. My memory is sketchy at the best of times, but here are some things I did:

1. Set up a vermicomposter in the basement.
2. Wove some awesome scarves.
3. Dug, planted and maintained an organic vegetable garden for the first season since 1995.
4. Participated for the first time in the Baillie Bird-a-thon, had my biggest day of birding ever, observing 90 species in my home county during breeding season, and raised some money for conservation.
5. Attended our second Men's Spring Knitting Retreat with Danny.
6. Learned to handspin and got lots of practice.
7. Finished the WordCount Blog-a-thon, blogging every day in May, and committed to blogging regularly through the rest of the year.
8. Hired a writing coach.
9. Began pitching story ideas to various editors.
10. Landed my first writing assignment in 16 years for publication in Edible Toronto.
11. Lined up three more writing assignments for publication in 2013.

2012 was a year to feel good about, and I look forward to what comes next.