In my previous post, you saw how my passion bucket runneth over in excitement for the coming year, and learned about a smarter strategy to attack our 2013 New Year’s resolutions.
Well, it’s January and naturally, we’re geeking out at the starting line. The gym is packed, junk food is tossed in the trash and – after we’ve cleaned up and recovered from all the New Year’s Eve shenanigans – we find ourselves pointed in the right direction.
Showing up is a crucial step to accomplishing our goals for the New Year. And since we’re here, with full passion buckets in hand, we can check that off the list.
But the next two steps are the big ones: finding your one thing, and mapping out the routine.
So I wanted to capture this pivotal moment of 2013 and post my list of goals for the year – or as I’m calling it: Awesome Bucket v2013.
Doing so not only got me organized and focused, but it helped map the route to the finish line(s), which is – in my opinion – the most important part of the process.
I’ll reference this post throughout the year, which will hold me accountable, and post updates on the progress of my 2013 New Year’s resolutions.
This process also helped me practice what I’ve been preaching and reminded me to focus on finding my one thing. When I sat down to start my Awesome Bucket v2013, I fell into the same trap that I always do: I crammed too much into the bucket.
Once I came to my senses I trimmed down the original rambling list to the one you see below. And when I mapped out the route and scheduled my upcoming weeks, I repeated to myself, “Do less, accomplish more.” I scheduled mandatory chill nights to zone out and be strategically unproductive by watching Archer, Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead or whatever else is streaming on Netflix.
I hope this article gives you some ideas on how to organize and attack your own Awesome Bucket. Here we go.
Awesome Bucket v2013
I’ve broken my Awesome Bucket v2013 into four general categories: Fitness; Writing, Travel, and yes, Awesome.
Fitness
- Goal: Finish the 2013 Ironman Arizona triathlon in 12 hours or less.
- Route: Complete an olympic triathlon in March, a half-Ironman in the summer, another olympic in the Fall before the big race on November 17.
- Back burner: Take a Krav Maga class
Writing
- Goal: Blog once a week on TriforLes.com or Fuller Creative
- Route: Schedule three days of mandatory blog work in Google Calendar every week
- Back burner: Research long-term writing projects (book, e-publishing, contests)
Travel
- Goal: Hike the Grand Canyon rim to rim
- Route: Make lodge reservations in January; hike once a month; buy gear; keep training
- Back burner: Research long-term travel opportunities; save up for an international trip
Awesome
- Goal: Play guitar 30 minutes a day, every day
- Route: Set timer, sit down, and play within five minutes of getting home from work
- Back burner: CPR certification
- Back burner: Fundraising event for an animal shelter or the AZ Humane Society
*Note: This is a personal list of goals for my life outside of my day job. Some of these items do touch on my professional social media world, however I’m keeping this bucket separate from my Cog Career Bucket v2013 – though I may post about those goals at some point.
Update: See my mid-year report card and the progress made after six months