Achievable Goals

Mini-goals seem to work for me. I have this little chart, just like the job charts my kids used to have. I have four daily tasks:

1. Write 750 words

2. Clean or organize for at least a half hour

3. Do something creative (other than writing) for at least an hour

4. Walk a mile

Since last Friday, I've managed to do at least three of the four every day. If I know I'm going to have trouble doing all four, I try to manage it so I don't short-change the same goal two days in a row.

So what have I got to show for it? Well:

1. I have a dozen new scenes in a new short story

2. My kitchen floor is cleaner, I have a clean bathroom, and I found a newspaper article I wanted to put in my scrapbook.

3. My granny square afghan is getting bigger.

4. My knees hurt like heck. But I guess I've eaten fewer snacks - it hurts too much to get up and grab them.

I guess I'm going to print out another copy of the sticker chart. Maybe I'll use stickers on it this week instead of check marks. And I guess I'll treat myself to a Starbucks if I manage to earn more than 20 stickers - because I found a Starbucks gift card with $5 still on it!