goals, revisited

Looking back at this post from January, I thought I'd bring you up to speed:

I've also set two important goals for the year. They're not resolutions, they are goals. They are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and have a completion date attached:

1. Lose 100 pounds by December 31, 2008. This year, I'm going to limit myself to two meals out per week. I'm going to walk at least 10 minutes continuously a day, and do other exercise for at least 20 minutes for 4 days per week. I will eat at least two servings of fruit and three servings of vegetables per day. I will drink at least eight glasses of water a day. I will consume no more than 4 servings of dairy (excluding eggs) per week. I will enter my food daily onto fitday.com as best as I can remember until I have lost 50 pounds. I will take at least one cycle of hCG this year.

2. Pay off half of my debt (excluding auto and home). I will negotiate balances and payoffs with all of the creditors I can and will be current with every creditor by year's end. My list of creditors will be reduced by two thirds.

Ouch. January doesn't seem like that long ago, but here it is, the end of June. I'm not 50 pounds lighter, I'm probably about 30 pounds heavier. I'm not sure. My scale caps out at 380 pounds. Since my "plan" hasn't been going so well in regards to weight loss and fitness, I've enlisted the help of my folks. We've outlined a plan for me to lose 50 pounds by the end of the year, and I know I can do it. More on how I'm going to do that in a later post.

As for the debt, I'm on track or not far off. Of course, I'm not looking at the hard numbers to make that assertion, but I've been paying down the debt quite steadily over the past 6 months. Several small bills have been paid and I am making significant progress on the larger ones. I haven't sat down to recalculate balances and numbers of outstanding debts, but I will do that by week's end.

So what's been going on with these goals?

27.1.08

more goals

I said that I would post the rest of my goals in the categories of fitness, mental/educational, spiritual, relational, and domestic here.

Fitness: I will be able to run one mile in under 9 minutes before the year is through. I will be able to climb the Manitou incline in under 60 minutes before October 31. My first time up the incline, I finished in 48 minutes. My goal that day was to make it halfway. My best time up the incline was 34 minutes, and I made the whole trip (up the incline, down Barr trail) in under 60 minutes.

Ummm, you can probably figure this one out by seeing my lack of progress on my first goal. It's ok, my new fitness goal is to walk for 30 minutes continuously 6 days a week. I'll be kicking the incline's butt in due time.

Mental/Educational: I will read one fiction or non-fiction book (I prefer non-fiction anyway, frankly) per month. No more 7 or 8 months without reading, then reading 5 or 6 books all at once. At least 6 books this year will be about sales or the health insurance industry (not including my monthly HIU [Health Insurance Underwiter] trade magazine). I will also begin my first RHU (Registered Health Underwriter) or REBC (Registered Employee Benefits Consultant) class through The American College. Which track I take depends on if I will continue to specialize more and more in group health insurance or individual market insurance at work.

Ok, so I haven't met my goal of reading 2 books per month, but I have been reading with greater frequency. Progress in this area, at least.

Spritual: To read through the Bible by year's end. I've read through it completely only once, and that's not nearly enough for a believer of over 21 years. This will take 4 and a half chapters per day. I'll also begin church "shopping" in February, and I'll get plugged in before Spring.

Convicted again. Reading the Word is part of my revised plan to get healthy. I need to remember to ask my folks to keep me accountable in this area, too. I haven't been to church, either. I have been in a guys' accountability-type group through Pulpit Rock Church, called Real Men of Genius, but I haven't started attending PRC or any other church.

Relational: This goes hand in hand with being at a new church. I'll gain at least one new friend this year.

This one is coming together.

Domestic: This may sound like a stupid category for you, but I think it's appropriate. I will thoroughly clean my bathroom and kitchen, vacuum, wash my sheets, and do two loads of laundry once a week. I will dust the house once every two weeks. I will also finish my 3 year old baseboard project by touching up with paint and caulking. I will replace the kitchen and bathroom linoleum and install new baseboards. The baseboards will be completed by March 31 and the new flooring will be installed by December 31.

March 31 has passed and the baseboards are in the same sad shape. The house is cleaner and I keep a running list of what to clean each day to maintain the organization of my home. I also would like to refinish the kitchen and bathroom cabinets and add hardware to them this year.

I'll keep you updated on the progress of these goals here.

And I'll do my best to do it more often than every six months.