2012 Goals

I can't just go and tell y'all to keep to your resolutions without doing it myself.  So, according to the previous article I will list my goals for the year... and talk about it... occasionally when I'm not too distracted.
I'm not numbering them because the order doesn't matter.

WHAT: Get More Organized
HOW:
Not just clean, but put things away and create a flexible schedule.  I've found that I try to do a bunch of stuff at once, get burned out and have no desire to do it anymore.  That is neither productive nor useful.  So I've realized that I shouldn't wake up and say "I'm going to do laundry, wash my dishes, write a song, 5 blog posts AND iron when I get home from work!"  I know damn well when I get home from work, if I don't get an invite to do something from friends or have to stay late I'm going to want to come home, stuff my face, lay around while watching tv and surfing the internet and MAYBE iron a shirt.  So instead, I know that I need to wake up earlier to work out and then when I come home do some dishes , iron an outfit for tomorrow and see if I feel like writing a song or blog post.  Denying yourself things that are fun or things that relax you is what makes you so burned out.  So rather than watching 5 shows I like on Hulu or Netflix I need to watch 1 or 2 and do a few extra things.  This makes me feel like I've been productive and more importantly I DON'T feel guilty for not completing everything on my list.  Then, if I have the energy to do more, it's a bonus and something I can take off tomorrow's list.
This will then allow me to be more put together for all those other things I want to do.  Because if my clothes are put away, I'm not tripping while digging through a "fresh" load of laundry that's all over the floor when I'm running late for work and frustrated that I can't put an outfit together. 

WHAT: Get In Shape
HOW:
Some of the people at my work have joined together to do a P90x challenge.  There's a $100 buy-in and the grand prize is $1200.  That should be motivation, but the real key for me is building good habits.  So if I'm organized and decide I will get up earlier to work out, then that's the real goal.  Health studies and scary news articles have shown us that we should probably stop being fat & lazy.

WHAT: Building My Professional Network
HOW:
Linked In is a great resource to make real-person connections and find others who are interested in what you are (via groups, networks, etc.)
Learning about what's in the area (Chicago, for me) -- groups, organizations, etc.
Developing a stronger sense of what types of professions I'd be interested in learning more about (Marketing, PR, Private Events, Advertising... comparing my actual profession to what I studied and my interests.  Looking at how you spend most of your time is a good indication of what you're already learning most about.  For me this is the internet, social media, technology, politics, music, education/business stuff and needless celebrity facts.  I should probably try to network with people who work in areas like social media & internet marketing.)

WHAT: Getting a Short Story or News Article Published
HOW:
Like real published, not the published that my blog claims I've done when I hit "Publish Post."
So I should probably write some short stories and find out who publishes those things anymore...

WHAT: Writing & Recording Music
HOW:
I need to get some tools to record music including a microphone and probably some random cables I don't know how to plug in.  Then I need to actually record the stuff I write and put it on youtube or something.  It worked for Justin Bieber anyway.