We’ve reached a new year – 2020 – and as I do each year, I take the time to look back on my victories from last year and the goals I’m setting for next year. I realized belatedly that a couple of my goals related to organizing around the house didn’t meet the SMART requirement – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-based. Specifically, they weren’t really measurable – “organize the shelves” doesn’t have a defined end.
I completed two project management courses as part of my perpetual goal of maintaining my certification; I started a third, which I should finish early this year. I added a new garden bed and grew delicious strawberries in it, had some delightful kale and pea crops, and lost every squash plant in the garden to hungry woodchucks. This year’s garden plan (still in progress) includes planting squash in the higher bed, where the woodchucks are less likely to eat the plants before they have fruit.
My old shed is gone, I’ve re-used most of the bricks that we found behind it, and am expecting to plant sunflowers where it used to be. It’ll be a while before that planting happens, since we’re barely into winter at this stage. My first seed catalog has arrived, so I do expect to have a plan done by the end of this month, but I don’t expect to put any seeds in the ground – not even kale or spinach – until at least late March.
I deferred a couple goals to this year, such as re-doing the master bedroom closet and testing for my hapkido black belt. I added other goals that replace them, at least in terms of me having time to accomplish everything – I think I started 2019 with 11 annual goals, and I finished with a list of 15. I’m starting 2020 with 20 annual goals and 12 weekly ones, which include a minimum number of German lessons on Duolingo each week and using something from the freezer (clearing out old harvests well before the next one needs freezer space).
What are your goals for the year?