Numbers don’t lie…but they don’t tell the whole story, either.
— Me (I think)
WAAAAY back at the beginning of August, I reflected on my July goals and gave myself a more focused plan (i.e. fewer goals). I’ll admit, I was a little…secretive about what I was working on in August as far as writing.
So, the question is: Did I meet my goals for August?
I’d love to answer that…but first, a little reminder about who you’re dealing with here:
As far back as I can remember, I’ve always been the kind of person whose optimism exceeds his abilities. I wake up full of ambition, confident that I can tackle 20 things by noon. I usually have a productive morning, and I’m full of positive momentum, but next thing I know it’s 7PM and I have five unfinished tasks that I’m rushing around trying to do. I get stressed, I start prioritizing, and I realize too late that I didn’t start something I should have gotten to before.
In short, I overestimate my available time and underestimate my circumstances (duh–I still have to eat/work/do family stuff). I need to do a better job being realistic about my time, my commitments, my goals, and my methods. Basically, I need to decide when to work quickly (efficiency), and when to take my time (creativity).
Efficiency: Clean the dishes once a day rather than after every meal
Creativity: Take the time to write a clear chapter instead of rushing to get it done
So in August, I set just one goal for each domain of my life (family, writing, teaching, health). Let’s see how I did:
Writing Goal: Work primarily on ONE writing project until I make money from it ✅ — I did in fact work on just one writing project, and I actually made money from Kindle Vella for it (over $35, but who’s counting? 💲😆)
Teaching Goal: Be ready for school by August 30th ✅– I was physically and mentally ready for school by the first day, and the first week went really well! I am still super excited about this school year, and I’m committed to making it my best one yet (#OYTMI)!
Family Goal: Make the most of these last few weeks together ✅ — sickness threw a wrench in some of our August plans, but the Lau fam still managed to squeeze in some summer fun before the school year started. Between Lake Tobias, Port Deposit, and HersheyPark, we made plenty of memories 👨👩👧👧🤩💗
Health Goal: Continue working out, eating right, and maintaining a positive attitude ✅– I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I do best with a routine. It might sound crazy, but I look forward to working out when I wake up, I love eating the same things (more or less) for breakfast, lunch, and snacks each day, and I am getting (incrementally) more positive in my attitude and interactions. I wish I could say I never sweat the small stuff, but not quite; I sweat it less, and I look for pockets of joy as much as possible. 😃↗
Four for four? Who is this guy?
As you can see, I’m a little excited to build on this momentum (without adding 15 things to my plate and ending up back with “The July List“). With that in mind, here are my THREE goals for September (which I realize is already in progress):
- Make a realistic schedule and plan accordingly — This had to happen first. My summers are busy, but the school year is a different kind of busy. I’ve already started taking a hard look at my actual time commitments, and I will set my “free time” goals accordingly. This should explain why my other goals are worded like this:
- Use 20% of actual free time to produce/polish/publish writing — That ends up being about an hour a day during the week, two on the weekends. To make that time useful, I intend to use my existing stockpile of writing as much as possible (I already started the work…now to follow through and put it out there!) ✍🏼📄📩 This goal includes OYTMI — I’m terrible at marketing myself, but I love being creative/silly. Solution? Make goofy videos in order to reach a wider audience! 🤪🤳🏼📈 I’ve learned a lot about TikTok in the past few weeks (which will be the subject of an upcoming blog post); when I started, it took me 3+ hours to make, polish, and put out a video; I can now do that whole process in 15 minutes… creativity, meet efficiency! 👨🏼🎨🤝🏼👨🏼💼
- Use the other 80% of my free time…being free! My schedule is already packed with productivity… the best thing for my mental health and family dynamics is to not have extra goals. So yes, that means my third goal is not having a particular goal… cheating, or brilliant strategy? Only time will tell!
M. J. Lau 