ROW80

TIME TO RE-VAMP THESE GOALS.

We’re about halfway through the first round of ROW80 2012, and life is happening, people.  With a little one on the way, nesting hormones kicking in, prenatal exhaustion taking its toll, and three other kids who not only need attention, but education as well…I think I need to re-adjust a little, and form my goals into something a little more organized than when I started.  :)

WRITING:

*Work on the WIP after the kids go to bed in the evening.  Trying to do any serious work while they’re vying for my attention just doesn’t work.

*Stop beating myself up for not getting to it during the day.  That’s just the way my schedule is.  It’s not good or bad; it just is.

BLOGGING/SOCIAL MEDIA:

*Read and promote other folk’s blogs 1 hr/day in the morning while the kids are working on quiet projects.  This is Monday through Friday only.  Cut myself a break on Sat and Sun.

*Write one blog post/day 4 days a week in an effort to stockpile blogs for baby’s arrival.  Write these during SweetZ’s naptime.

*Schedule guest posts for when baby arrives. *cough* Any volunteers out there?  :)  *hugs*

*Reduce blogging to three times a week (not counting ROW80 check-ins), and switch my ROW80 check-ins to Wednesdays.  No blogging on weekends anymore.

HOMESCHOOL:

*When it’s homeschool time, focus on that.  Social Media and Blogging and the WIP are on the farthest burner during that time.  Family first.

EXERCISE/HEALTHY EATING:

*Go back to the five minute ‘test mile’ theory.  I’m in the last trimester energy drain, and it’s okay that my body is tired and demanding rest.  *mantra* I am not a wimp.  I am not a wimp.  I am not a wimp…

*Allow myself to nest, and make lists, even if it drives the rest of my family nutso.  :)

*Continue with the whole foods breakfasts, and add in lunches.  This goal is so very YUM!

That’s it.  My revamped list.  Not sure that I actually whittled anything out, but it feels good to have it laid out in a little more of an organized format.  When I’m feeling stressed out a nice, neat, organized list can make all the difference.

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ROW80.  Round One.  January 2 – March 22, 2012

Truthfully, I’m terrified.  It’s not the setting of goals that’s the problem – that’s never been difficult for me.  It’s the follow-through that sets me on a well-worn path to FreakOutVille.  You now, the place you run to when you’re being chased by the What-If’s – nasty little buggers with foaming mouths, razor-sharp teeth, and scary, scary questions like:

What if I set a goal and fail?  What if my goals are dumb?  What if I set a goal and succeed? (The What-If’s have incredible talent in making even success seem scary.)

Thanks to the What-If’s chasing me down that path, I’m very familiar with FreakOutVille.  It’s kindof like a second home to me.  I wasn’t born there – I was actually born in Dreamfordshire.  You’ve probably heard of it – it’s that place where dreamers with lofty goals are born.  That’s home.  But I often vacation in FreakOutVille.  If you can call it that.  Folks don’t really go there to relax, to get away.  It’s more of an torture-yourself-mercilessly-over-all-the-What-If’s kind of getaway.

Anyway…

Here I am, a writer staring at the vast expanse of a brand-freaking-new year, and I’m at a crossroads.  I could take the stroll back home, to where I came from.  And why not?  Dreamfordshire is awesome.  You get to spend your days doing things like laying on your back, staring up at the sky, making shapes out of the clouds that pass by while coming up with stellar ideas that can only be described as pure genius.  In Dreamfordshire, everybody is euphoric and breezy because they’re all consumed with a greatness that hasn’t been had yet, but feels so darn close that it’s almost as good as the real thing.  I could go back there.  I’m sure at some point I will…everybody goes home once in awhile, right?  I’m just not convinced today is the right day for that.

I could take the well-worn path to FreakOutVille.  That’s a comfortable place for me, too.  Not comfortable like a fluffy pair of slippers; comfortable like a bed of nails.  Not really comfortable at all I suppose, but I’ve learned how to settle into the pain the What-If’s inflict well enough that I hardly notice it anymore.  I know how to behave in FreakOutVille.  How to fit in.  How to blend in.  It works for me.

But this year there’s a path I haven’t ever really noticed before.  It’s hidden by tall, unruly grass, but if you look close enough, it’s unmistakably there.  Looking at it makes me feel fidgety and anxious – I’m pretty sure it’d be easy to stray off that path and get lost.  But I’ve heard there’s a town down that way.  If I squint, I swear I can almost see it, just on the edge of the horizon.  Some folks call it Get’ErDone Village.  Supposedly it’s full of people who work hard, play hard, laugh hard, love hard.

I think I want to go to there.  (*cough* Liz Lemon reference)  Yeah.  I want to go to there.

I know it’s gonna take some time.  I’m gonna have to take small steps, otherwise I’ll get disoriented, discouraged, lost.  But I’d really like to see what Get’ErDone Village is like…

*squares shoulders*

*draws in deep breath*

*nods to self*

Okay.  I can do this.  Baby steps.  Eat the elephant, one tiny bite at a time.

Directions to Get’ErDone Village or Manger l’Éléphant dans les Piqûres Miniscules

*I will work on my WIP, every doggone day, for at least 30 minutes.  30 minutes, unplugged – no TweetDeck, Twitter, Facebook, Texting noises beeping in my ear or popping up on my screen.  I will leave my phone turned off in the other room for those thirty minutes.

*I will plan before I write, so that when those precious 30 minutes come, I’ll be ready to go.  I won’t be unprepared when I go to the keyboard.

*I will move every day.  In January, I’ll move 5 minutes a day.  In February, I’ll move 10 minutes a day.  In March, 15 minutes a day.  These may seem like short times to an outsider, but coming to the end of a pregnancy that had me laid out for the first four months, getting back in the habit of exercise will only happen if I’m taking baby steps.  And I know I can always find a spare five minutes in every day.  If I add an extra five minutes to every month from January on, I will have developed a habit of working out an hour every day by December.  I’m totally good with this long term goal. CHANGE TO THIS GOAL: The second week of round one of ROW80, I went ahead and upped this time to 10 minutes, five days a week, instead of 5 minutes every day.  I’ll maintain this pace through Feb, then add five minutes to it in March.

*I will do something good for myself once a week.  Be it coffee alone, a bubble bath, stargazing, a pedicure, painting a room, whatever…something outside my normal routine that helps me feel re-energized.

*I will read, every day.  Even if it’s for a scant ten minutes, I will open a book and do the thing that’s been my favorite and my best ever since I was four.

ADDITION OF GOAL SIX: Will be making some changes in the way our family eats, moving toward eliminating all processed, refined foods from our diets.  This is a big undertaking, so we’re doing it little steps at a time.  From mid-January to mid-Feb, we’re tackling the way we eat breakfast.  After good habits are established there, we’ll move on to snacking.  After snacks comes lunch, and finally, dinner.  This process will likely be lengthy, but that’s cool.  We’ll get there.

There they are.  Five goals.  Five things to take me a little closer to Get’ErDone Village.  They look doable to me. *determined smile*  I think I’m ready to ROW!

*If you’re a writer interested in ROW80, or a passerby just wondering what the heck it is, check out this link.  It explains everything way better than I could!