Goals for 2009

2009 has arrived and it’s time to start looking forward to what I want to accomplish and improve in my life this year.

I’ve cut down on the number of goals because, one, some are going to take longer to accomplish and, two, I don’t want goals to get in the way of enjoying my free time. That was probably the biggest lesson I learned about myself after last year.

I’m excited for all of these and pretty confident that they’re all achievable. Check ‘em out!

• Use Traineo.com to track diet and exercise for one month

  They say those that weigh themselves regularly and count their calories are more likely to lose weight and be in generally better health.

  I’m not terribly unhealthy; I eat fairly well and hit the gym 3 or 4 times a week. I’ll admit, though, that my diet and workout routines aren’t all that organized. This is an experiment to see how hard it is to measure those things so that, eventually, I might be able to single out what factors to change in order to get in even better shape.

• Finish functionality on JoshMock.com

  I got the site up and running, but there are still a few things that need to be built: a contact form, a portfolio, that podcast link that does nothing and plenty of other things. I have a big list and I will have everything done by the end of June.

• Write 5 blog posts a week

  I write for Buzzgrinder so I already do this somewhat regularly. But a lot of stuff that crosses my mind wouldn’t work there so I should be writing it here. Plus, it’s a good way for me to practice writing and perhaps even create some dialog rather than have all those rogue ideas bouncing around in my head. We’ll see how long I can keep this up.

• Practice using my recording/DJ gear for one hour a week

  I have a fair amount of sound gear that gets little to no attention. I have songs and sounds that I need to get out of my head, friends that ask me to DJ weddings and parties and a few potential band opportunities. I want to know how to use all the stuff I have better so I don’t have any trouble when I need to put those skills to use.

• Learn five songs on piano

  I’ve wanted to learn piano for a long time, so this is a good way for me to start. I need the practice. I also wouldn’t mind having a keyboard/synthesizer to flesh out some of my musical ideas, so deciding to learn piano is a good excuse for me to buy one.

  The songs I want to learn:

  • Radiohead – Videotape
  • Radiohead – Karma Police
  • Ryan Adams – The Shadowlands
  • Eluvium – Prelude for Time Feelers
  • Sufjan Stevens – Redford

• Read all the books on my reading list

  I have more books on my list than last year. Let’s see if I can do this.

  • Searching for God Knows What, by Donald Miller
  • Through Painted Deserts, by Donald Miller
  • God’s Debris, by Scott Adams
  • John Dies at the End, by David Wong
  • A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L’Engle
  • Best American Nonrequired Reading 2002, compiled by David Eggers
  • Best American Nonrequired Reading 2003, compiled by David Eggers
  • Killing Bono, by Neil McCormick
  • Digital Fortress, by Dan Brown
  • Wuthering Heights, by Emily Brontë
  • It’s Not News, It’s Fark, by Drew Curtis
  • Rule Breakers, Rule Makers, by David & Tom Gardner
  • Jesus for President, by Shane Claiborne
  • Musicophilia, by Oliver Sacks
  • The Lamb’s Supper: The Mass as Heaven on Earth, by Scott Hahn
  • Four Witnesses: The Early Church in Her Own Words, by Rod Bennett
  • Reasons to Believe: How to Understand, Explain, and Defend the Catholic Faith, by Scott Hahn
  • Provocations: Spiritual Writings of Kierkegaard

  And a few I want to re-read if I have the time:

  • 1984, by George Orwell
  • Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
  • Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
  • Mere Christianity, by C.S. Lewis
  • Orthodoxy, by G.K. Chesterton

So there we have it. Let’s see if I can do this.