By the Numbers

While it may be cliche to have goals starting the new year, I'm okay being cliche. Re-evaluating your journey and destination is important, and usually I go into every year aiming for something specific. Once I finished my graduate degree this past summer, I narrowed my focus to two areas: writing and relationships. While there was a lot that I wanted to accomplish with my new-found free time, I knew I would do little of anything well if I didn't maintain a narrow focus. That focus helped me to avoid taking on good opportunities that would have become mere distractions.

I begin this year with the same tight focus. I want to purposefully plan and use the time I have control over to commit to writing and relationships once again. It's easy, though, to simply say those are good priorities and try to stay "focused" on them while actually doing nothing concrete. I had to sit down and specifically indicate what I wanted to do to build those areas of my life. Three activities I'm committing to for the year are reading books, writing blog posts, and writing letters. That's not all I'll do to build writing skills and relationships; however, these are practical, simple to plan for, and easy to count.

I add that they'll be easy to count because I've decided that this year I've got to shoot for certain targets. Saying I want to read more books, write more blog posts, and write more letters is too ineffective. That's the type of thing I say when I know something is a good idea that I would love to get to if I get around to it. Putting a number on my goals, however, gives me a plan, or a workout program, so to speak. Instead of saying "more," I can say a number and check my progress as the year progresses. And I can make those numbers public, here, in order to place a little more pressure on myself to stay on top of those goals.

My 2013, by the numbers, is as follows:

1. Read 25 books
2. Write 75 blog posts
3. Write 25 letters

I read 18 books last year, wrote 56 blog posts, and wrote fewer than 10 letters. These numbers are both an improvement and completely doable. The number 25 is simply two a month +1 somewhere else. That shouldn't be too tough if I really want to get it done. To write 75 blog posts will require me to average about 6 a month, which is three every two weeks. If I can't do that, I probably shouldn't be blogging anyway. 

There's one more statistic that I'll be tracking as well - mindless television hours. There is no greater obstacle to accomplishing my goals than this. Not all television watching is mindless. Last night the football game was on my TV, and the ten people in my living room had a good time watching it. Relaxing with my wife watching the Best of 90's Hip Hop on VH1 is also not a bad way to spend time. But Wednesday night, when I meant to write this post and read a little, was a bust because I got caught up watching Jerry Maguire on AMC alone on my couch for two hours. Full House reruns, while absolutely adorable and nostalgic, aren't necessarily improving my life. Now, every time I make the decision to watch mindless television, I also am making the decision to write down that choice and count up the time lost.

I'll be reporting out at the end of each month my progress on these goals on this blog. I'm not sure how much any of my readers will care about my progress, but it is a way to hold myself accountable and to be public about my professed priorities. I invite you to do the same. If you're willing, in the comment section of this post write down your numbers for the year. For your stated priorities, what numbers do you hope to hit? If you want to participate throughout the year, at the end of each month post your numbers in the comment section when I post mine. I believe the journey for all of us will be more successful if we're doing it together.

So this is your invitation: pick some "stats" you want to hold yourself to, and begin chasing them. Whether those stats deal with health, finances, reading, phone calls, or resumes sent, make sure they matter to you. Post them here if you're willing. You can always adjust them if you find them unrealistic. If you aren't ready to publicly declare your direction, have a direction anyway. Put a number on what you want to do, whether it's for the week, for the month, or for the year. 

Stats don't lie. Join the numbers game.