January.

I'm a firm believer in that old adage:

"shoot for the moon.. blah blah blah .. land among the stars." 

I'm also a firm believer in boiling things down to simple terms that often sound so easy that your eye glosses over the text and you nod in agreement without really letting the information sink in. So I repeat, and emphasize .. read this next bit aloud if you must.. setting goals for oneself yields ridiculously higher outcomes than not doing so. 

Easy. 

Oh, and incentives help, too!

The word 'goal' often sets people off straightaway.. goals don't have to be huge.. studies would show that it's actually better when they're not! Have you ever written yourself a list of things to do for the day and then added things in there like "drink coffee" and "get the mail" just so that you had an obvious daily task to put that glorifying strike through? If so, you know what I mean. If not, try it! Psychological dark chocolate for the over-achiever...

One more thing before I get off my motivational soapbox. Goals need to be measurable, specific, and achievable. I have typed that phrase so many times to my graduate students that I can do it with my eyes closed, but what does it mean? 

Examples 

Poorly worded goal: "Understand how to bake bread with yeast." 

'Understand' is tough to measure

Better: "Bake loaf of yeast bread."

Poorly worded goal: "Spend more time with family."

What is 'more'? Once per week? Once per month?

Better: "Visit at least one family member each month."

We've never really been into "New Year's Resolutions" per say at the RedDoor house, but we are into small, measurable, achievable lists. My such list for January:

-Take vitamins and fish oil daily.

-Cook, Sit, and Enjoy five family dinners (1/5)

-Cook with fish at least once. 

-Email to my daughter once per week (more on this later, stay tuned..) (2/4)

-Orchestrate Interactive Dinner Party 

-Make and Attend an Eye Appointment

(Red: Not Started/ Yellow: In Progress/ Green: Complete)

Short. To the point. Keeps you easily accountable. Avoids overwhelming weight of huge New Year's Resolutions.

Easy. Now you try! What is your January list?