Goals...again

I seem to be really good at making goals. Achieving them...well, I'm certainly not at 100%, and probably not even at 50%. But I am getting something things done, so the whole notion of writing things down seems to be working, at least a little bit.

As part of a Stake church reading, we were encouraged to start making goals: goals for every week (short term) and for every 6 week period (longer term). I had never considered making goals for as short a period as a week. I have written to-do lists, but I've never really thought of them as goals.

So yesterday evening, I found a notebook (I have a notebook fetish; I always have at least 4 or 5 on the go at a time!) and sat down and thoughtfully considered some goals I'd like to accomplish this week. I ended up with seven:

1. Transcribe music for the next choir performance.

2. Make a quilt with my friend Emily

3. Paint the last 3 feet of the stairwell trim

4. Quilt one thread line in my jeans quilt

5. Think of 3 ways to interact with people outside my current circle of friends

6. Study Dallin H Oaks' talk on "The Mission of the Holy Ghost"

7. On my chosen attribute to develop (knowledge), write down scripture verses to do with worldly knowledge versus spiritual knowledge.

The result so far? Well, I closed the book after making the list and went upstairs to read. After ten minutes, I felt this little nudge inside to go downstairs and start to transcribe the music. I had between 10 and 30 minutes before James returned from his rehearsal. I thought to myself, that isn't much time. Then I thought that I could at least get a good head start on it.

So I went back downstairs, and managed to get all the music into the computer. Just like that, the first goal was pretty much done. If I hadn't written it down, I might not have used that time to my advantage like that.

Then, today, I ran into an acquaintance I met last year at a baby class. She asked about a workout class I mentioned last year, which I just so happened to start again just this very morning, after a 9 month hiatus. I invited her out for Friday.

Perhaps these things might have happened anyway, without my having written them down as goals. But because I did write them down, they not only got done, but I feel a wonderful sense of accomplishment.

So my new goal is to make goals each week.