Quarterly Goals Recap - March 2019

Read the original goal post here.

Phone Lock Screen Reminder; Source unknown

I'm here to write. Write I did. What I've been up to these last three months:

What Were My Goals?

1. First Draft of Shallow Seas
1. Failed. This is all on me. I wrote some +100K words. Most of that ended up in outlines that were rewritten and scrapped. One-and-a-half months spent on that. Heck, I have another outline. I learned I need to be faster on outlining and commit earlier. For now, I can get this draft done, my first draft of a novel-length work! (Almost there - another quarter should have it written.)
2. Time Efficiency
1. Won. From spending 40-50% of my time on what I categorize as time wasters (commuting, internet browsing) and chores (hygiene, food, cleaning), I'm sitting nicely at 25-26.5%! By any measure, this is a huge improvement. The goal was to get below 33% of time spent on these activities; the goal now is to maintain it.
3. Be Assertive
1. Won. I am asking more for what I want. I fear less of saying the word 'no'. There's a lot of improvement to be made here, though I think I'm on my way to... Better decisiveness? Self command? Self respect? Anyway, it's a good place to be.
4. Voice Acting Credit
1. Failed. Totally missed this. Time spent on writing Shallow Seas might have been split up to take on voice work. However, to attempt equal time for both would guarantee the mediocrity of each. I've learned a lot having two creative endeavors in one quarter.
5. Marathon Capacity
1. Failed. As soon as I posted this goal, I went for another half-marathon practice run in December. Only now, three months later, is the rough scar fading. I certainly need better shoes and socks if a full marathon is to be adequately trained for. The tangential benefit is that I spent more time on the low-impact stationary bike!
6. Play Games
1. Failed. I have an entry in my time tracking software for 'Pleasure - Games'. I have only now in the last week spent more time playing video games (six hours) than I have in the entirety of the last three months. This article sums up the paralysis I'm working on overcoming in not just game playing, but in many aspects of what is termed 'self care'.
7. Read
1. Won. Maybe. I'm doing this somewhat. Nearly every night before getting ready for bed or in the middle of a weekend's afternoon I'll settle down for an hour of physical browsing. I will do more of this, but that's a general statement of 'protect and value your time to yourself'. So for now, let's chalk this up to a win.

43% success rate. Ouch. And even after (temporarily) ending my time as a Couchsurfing host! Can I recover from that supposed failure? What are the lessons, the return, from all of this?

For one, be a lot faster in the brainstorming and outlining stages of writing - I wrote a full outline of Shallow Seas with everything but world description and dialogue, only to throw that out.

Another thing would be to have only one creative, product-generating goal in a quarter. Getting to voice acting felt as a drag on my psyche after spending two hours every morning writing on Shallow Seas. I must focus and there's only so much focus to go around.

Generally, protect my time. Really think about saying 'yes' to anything. 'No' ought to be the default; "if it's not a HELL YES, it's a no".

What's for next time? Here's a shortlist of some considerations:

• Finish Shallow Seas's first draft.
• Make a JimmyChattin.com website.
• Edit a bunch of written short stories.
• Spend a little less time on others.
• Leverage certain financial saving opportunities.

Heck, maybe I'll just hire a life coach March 1st. Do you know one?

Quarterly Goals - March 2019

Phone Lock Screen Reminder; Source unknown.

My Goals Due March 2019

1. Draft 1 Shallow Seas
1. Shallow Seas is a working title for this Hero's Journey that steps off of Campbell's wheel at times because actions have consequences. Severe consequences.
   Have an outline (8500 words), but it needs much more. Finish the outline, finish the first draft. This I'll do by March.
2. Time Efficiency
1. I am unhappy wasting time. Right now chores and what I literally categorize as "waste time" take up anywhere from 40% to 50%, mainly resting in food prep, cleaning, and commuting.
   The goal here is to get that time to be less than one-third of my weekly spending. Moving to a new office five minutes away will help a lot, but more work might be needed (or in need of being cut) to achieve this outcome.
3. Be Assertive
1. Simply put, I'm too non-confrontational. It's literally my most recognized, positive trait. However, there's a darker side, too.
   
   A few events have happened in this last quarter where not practicing assertiveness has caused negative outcomes not only for myself, but for others. To reduce how I hurt others, I must serve myself with the favor of expressing directly my wants and needs. Here is where I'll start.
4. Voice Acting Credit
1. From last quarter, I have a demo reel. It should be changed, but I have the knowledge to do that, too. It's fun to make voices, to act with play emotion, and I will be unhappy to not have tried being an accredited voice actor, at least once.
5. Marathon Capacity
1. I want to be able to run a marathon. Do I actually need to compete in one? No. The goal is to be able to do a practice marathon (this is nearly universally not recommended), if not dip my toe into a competition this Spring.
6. Play Games
1. A very important conversation with a very important person helped me realize I need to enjoy life. From that, there are four areas I revel in, those being: Do well, daydream, be present, and serve.
   
   Games can accomplish two, possibly three, of those for me. Four, if by 'serve' means serving my future self, not burning out on the non-consequential tedium of the day-to-day, but to glory in this thing called life.
   
   How am I going to measure this? Not sure yet - heck of a SMART goal, right? But I will track time spent enjoying myself, possibly scheduling it in and defending it (#Assertiveness!).
7. Read
1. I've stopped reading. Yes, there are audiobooks, and yes, I browse articles and the like. But what of a thing I must take in with my eyes, to focus my hands and gaze and mind on?
   Books are going to start appearing at my bedside and novels will appear on my phone, accessible within two clicks. I will not give up on reading, nor, dare I say, should you.

Let's see about accomplishing more than 50% of these seven plans for myself. What do you want to give your future self?

Listening to Kaszimir's Flag while putting this together. While on YouTube, checkout Jenna Moreci, the inspiration for these quarterly goals.

Original photo; Source unknown.

P.S. Picked this quarter's image based on having a 'vision' of a new story premise, a combination of 1984 and Fahrenheit 451, the theme being that knowledge is a terrible thing. Robots, lots of fire, loss of innocence, sexy firefighters, the pitch may need some work :)

Quarterly Goals Recap - December 2018

Where have the three months gone!? Truly, time flies.

Just as truly, 2018 has been the year of self-discovery and definition. Between flexing my capabilities in software development, getting a better taste of project management, traveling abroad, writing, and putting pen-to-paper when it comes to what I want to accomplish in life, possibilities are both growing and solidifying.

Of the extreme danger of sounding more vague, simply put, I am.

Enough of that for now. Let's talk about what we set about to do three months ago and where we are now, three months hence.

What Were My Goals?

1. Stream 100 Days
1. Won. Verbatim, a stream didn't happen consistently for 100 days, nor did a schedule get strictly adhered to. Why? Two things: First, I liked engaging with viewers, but they weren't the reason I showed up on stream; they were a passive byproduct of me merely making public work that interested me. Second, spending two weeks in India with followup on either end of the trip put the nail in the coffin of "is streaming for me".
2. Voice Work
1. Failed. Did I learn how to voice act? Yes. Did I study, making a sample reel of voices? Yes. Did this get sent out, or myself apply to even gigs for free to try for accreditation? No.
   
   I really enjoy acting with my voice, so will I pursue more voice acting ventures? Most likely.
3. Creative Writing
1. Won. A story on my mind for awhile has been outlined. Certain fluid parts have solidified. That, and a balance-sheet of the stories I'd like to write has been put together. This sheet, which includes things other than writing, will be where future goals get drawn from.
4. Say No!
1. Failed. The (spectacular) failure here involves other people. I need to remove that weakness, being more assertive, and feeling more compassion for my future self more often than for the needs of others. Assertiveness is feedback from multiple folks in multiple scenes of my life, so there's something to it.

Despite having only four goals laid out this time, we're still 50% for success. Hey, at least I'm consistent!

What has been learned:

• Don't fear dropping an exploratory goal (eg streaming) early if it really does not click.
• Be assertive. Become more militant in protecting time.
• I like voice acting.
• I really like writing.
• I really enjoy putting together spreadsheets!

During the last three months, a balance sheet of life goals has been put together and quantitatively evaluated. My five purposes in life have been distilled into four. Four 'buckets' of enjoyment have also been defined, though singular activities from these buckets may need to be specified for time's sake.

But what's next? It's clear more 'me' time is necessary, as well as writing. Things for the day job may be considered, including scheduling time off work. Whatever happens, we'll see more in the next post. Cheers for now!