Next Practices

It’s time again for a monthly status update on how I’m coming with my goals for the year.  I first published them here on January 1 – eleven goals divided into the categories of body, mind and spirit.  I share my updates here monthly as a public way of holding myself accountable.  I color-code the goals with green indicating that I am on or ahead of schedule, orange if I am slightly behind schedule, or red if I am dangerously behind schedule.

July was a good month in that I caught up a little bit in some areas where I was behind, but I still am woefully behind in a couple of others.  I’m hopeful that a week of vacation later in August when I will stay at home and do as I please will allow some much needed time for more catching up, especially in the reading-related goals where I’m lagging the most.

That said, here is where I stand after seven months of 2013.

Goals related to body:

1. Keep my weight at or below 150 pounds.  I celebrated my 1-year anniversary of reaching my weight goal on July 26 and blogged about it.  All is well on this goal.

2. Walk/jog/run a total of 10,000 steps per day three days per week – COMPLETE.  As of today, I have completed this goal for the year nearly five months ahead of time!  It helps that I’m averaging over 17,000 steps per day for all of the 100 days in my company’s 100 Day Dash campaign through September 11.  I’ll still keep at the 17,000/day pace through the campaign and 3 days/week thereafter just because it’s good for my health.

3. Average at least six hours of sleep per night.  I don’t measure this, but more nights than not I believe I get this amount of sleep.

Goals related to mind:

1. Read a book every other week.  I have only completed seven books this year.  I should have fifteen completed by now to be on pace.  Apparently, I set a goal for a lot more than my available time allows.  Reading one per month has been possible and I may just have to live with that unless multiple vacation weeks between now and the end of the year change the picture.  I read a LOT daily online by following article links and other links to resources through people I follow on Twitter and elsewhere, so I know I’m reading more than the equivalent of the goal I set for books – it just isn’t in the form of books.  If I set a goal like this next year, it will not be for more than one book per month.  That was simply too ambitious for my work schedule and lifestyle.

2. Blog every other day (at least).  I’ve posted 104 blog posts this year, but an every-other-day schedule would have me at 109 already.  This time last month I was ten posts behind schedule, but now I’m only five behind, so I’ve made up some ground.

3. Continue to follow My 3 Words: Ground, Stretch, Reflect.  All is well here.

4. Double the blog’s readership from 10,000 views in 2012 to 20,000.  July was the best month I’ve ever had on this blog for views with over 3,000 for the month, so I continue to be well ahead of the pace needed to reach this goal.  With over 15,000 views through early August, there should be no problem reaching the 20,000 point in the next 2-3 months, thanks to you, dear readers!

5. Continue to write hand-written letters to my sons.  While I’ve decided on the topic for my next letter, I need to write them in August so that I don’t write the two per year too close in time to each other.  One is always given at Christmas, so the other needs to be in the summer.  Time is running out on that.

Goals related to spirit:

1. Finish reading the ESV Study Bible and read half of The Apologetics Study Bible.  I’m far, far behind on this goal.  It will take a few vacation weeks of reading to catch up and there is no guarantee that will happen.  If this goal gets adjusted, it may be to finish the ESV this year and then start the next one in January.

2. Review 100 Bible memory verses weekly.  This is one of the easiest goals I maintain, requiring less than an hour per week, so all is well here.

3. Come to some resolution regarding an unsettled situation where I worship – COMPLETE.

With seven months of the year behind me, I can say with confidence that I was too ambitious in the goals I set for 2013.  I’ll reach most of them, but I’m beginning to accept the possibility that I may not achieve them all.  I’m not giving up yet, especially since I have about six weeks of vacation due me that I can take whenever I want.  I’m inclined to take one week per month the remainder of the year, giving much of those weeks to making up lost ground on the reading goals.  Stay tuned.

That’s my report after seven months of 2013 on my goals for body, mind and spirit.  What about you?  How are you doing on your goals for the year?