Goals for 2012

I'm a big fan of New Year's resolutions - not so much because I'm on a quest for constant self-improvement as I just really like to make lists. In fact, the satisfaction of crossing a task off of a list is probably the only reason I'm not living in a cardboard box.

So, without further blah-blah-blah, here's my list of goals for 2012.


1. Get my body fat down to 10%.

I didn't want to tie myself down to one activity (mountain climbing, swimming, martial arts, whatever) with my fitness goal this year, so I decided to focus on the results rather than the process for getting there. I've had weight loss goals in the past, but after accidentally reaching my goal weight of 185 after a stretch in the hospital last year, I realized that this weight (which is supposedly perfect for my height and build) was not a good look for me. Part of that, though, is that a lot of what I lost was muscle mass. So we're focusing on body fat this year. I'll post my current percentages later.

2. Finish writing one novel and 12 short stories

2011 was a pretty fallow writing year for me until the last couple of months. This year I'm AT LEAST going to finish the current novel (which is more than half done already) and write 12 short stories besides.

3. Level up at the day job.

I've never been a career-minded guy - probably thanks to my midwestern upbringing, where I was surrounded by adults for whom a job was just something you had so you could pay for electricity and beer. This year, though, I'm going to focus on getting promoted and taking on some new work-related responsibilities and, hopefully, skills. I've got a very specific promotion in mind, but I'm going to keep it to myself because it would probably be meaningless to anybody who doesn't work at my company.

4. Finish my bachelor's degree.

Considering how many degrees there are between most of my friends and co-workers, it's embarrassing that I haven't even finished my first bachelor's yet. I've got six more classes and a couple of CLEPs to go, and I'm done. I'd hoped to finish it last year, but work was so crazy that there was never any time. I'll make the time this year.

5. Get into a bigger house

This is the most important goal of 2012, the one that all the others are going to have to make way for, if necessary. With another baby on the way in July, there is just no way that this tiny, tiny townhouse we've been in for the last 12 years is going to be able to contain all the Andersons that are going to be living in it. We've been talking about moving out for years, but this is the year that we have to do it. That's going to mean fixing the things that need to be fixed and prettying it up as much as possible, which is going to take some time.


That's a lot of stuff to pack into one year. I'd better get to work.