1. “You are inquisitive.”
2. “You love to learn.”
3. “You like to think.”
4. “Things happen for a reason.”
5. “Your Achiever theme helps explain your drive.”

These are definitely on target. However, I don’t think I’m quite the Achiever that I want to be. I do have drive, and I do get energized by getting things done, but I can laze around in my PJ’s and watch movies or read pointless fiction as well as the next person. Hee. I re-read the Achiever theme and part of it is that an element of discontent will always be with me because I always want to get things done.

In the text, Rath said people in my type are energized by:
1) thinking,
2) staying current with skillsets,
3) the process of learning and the journey from ignorance to competence, and
4) the thrill of achievement and getting things done.

It will be interesting to learn more about this under the Health category below.

My challenges are to focus my energies, set challenging goals, deadlines, and outcome standards.

Also, I know that I prefer new tasks and new challenges. Consequently, I have to really work at breaking things down into manageable chunks so that I can create more new tasks instead of one huge project that seems never-ending.

However, there is one theme that I’m really attracted to and it wasn’t on my list. Woo! (Win Others Over). Even before I read this book, I had been thinking about all of the little ways that I have turned away from others because of self-doubt…not talking to others when standing in line, turning away from the person using the microwave next to me, averting my eyes, feigning business, etc. I realized how sad I was because I was unconsciously shutting others out. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to engage, but that I was nervous about their opinion of me. I want this year to be a year where I turn that around. I want to talk to strangers, meet new people, make new friends, engage them all in conversation, smile more, laugh more, be inspired by the wonderful things that they do and tell them so. Bottom line: I want to build relationships with others. And, if a smart, sexy, funny guy is in that group, then so much the better.

Here are things I want to work on this year…

1. Creativity and Spirit

I’ve started buying beads and want to make some jewelry. The colors and textures are just so appealing. S. gave me a text (that she chose intuitively) about the healing properties of gemstones (link coming). It’s the perfect gift to help me learn more about different stones and develop this talent.

I want to take pictures every day this year (see my project 365). This supports my desire to notice and engage with my surroundings.

Keep a daily prayer habit.

Travel and especially take more road trips (when Spring gets here and I can get my motorcycle out of storage).

2. Continue Learning

I want to update my skillsets in CSS, Photoshop, Illustrator, iMovie and GarageBand. That means about two months on each. My goal is not to become a hot-shot expert in any of these, but just to have fun and up my skill level another notch in the process.

Research my Must See places. Could I create a side business of buying and selling beads? It could make each trip tax deductible?!

Look for ways to speak, travel, and inspire others.

Blog more. New (or re-prioritized keywords): Creativity, community/web 2.0, fun, health, humor, living with purpose, spirituality/prayer, and travel.

4. Health

I’ve started reading The Writing Diet: Write Yourself Right Size by Julia Cameron. I am committed. This year I will make better choices about the food I eat and schedule more frequent workouts, and make daily walks a part of my life. I have a number in mind that’s my goal, but I’m really all about making better choices each and every day. I’ve started keeping a food journal (Moleskine) so that I can identify problem issues and work through them. I’ve reached the chapter in the book where Cameron recommends getting a food buddy who you can check in with and talk about successes and challenges. Anybody interested in starting a group blog, discussion group, conference call (or something) to encourage each other?

Also in this category — I need to pay attention to my body’s need for sleep. Forget watching TV re-runs or movies I’ve seen before. I enjoy watching movies, but I need to learn to say no to the repeats and just go to bed if I’m too tired to do anything else. I think I’d be much more productive the next morning.

Discover what energizes me, what drains me and do more of the former and less of the latter.

5. Good reads

There are so many books and blogs on my “to read” list. I need to make some sensible decisions about what I read, scan or eliminate so that I can accomplish the other things on my list.

In the stack now:
The Art of Project Management, Scott Berkun
The Pursuit of WOW, Tom Peters
Agnes and the Hitman, Jennifer Crusie
Mosaic: Pieces of My Life So Far by Amy Grant
The Art of Power, Thich Nhat Hanh
The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini
Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Ok, that’s it…the master list. Now I need to identify what makes it on the list for January, and create some tasks and deadlines.

Stop waving your arms around already. Get some light.

I’m starting a summer class today, the Missouri Writing Project. I’m excited to have the opportunity to focus more on pedagogy and doubly excited that the program also pays a stipend. Way cool!

Also, there are other projects I need to revise/edit/polish. (1) paper for C&W conference, (2) paper on networks, (3) syllabus for professional writing class I’m teaching in the fall, (4) order/read freshman summer reading text that’s the subject of first-year comp, writing assignment 1…. and the list goes on.

Today, after class, I really have to wade through my email inbox. There are a ton of emails that need follow up and action. Also, I must check back in with phone calls or emails to a few friends and see how they’re doing.

More later.

When I’m stressed, it’s easy to think that huge, drastic steps must be taken to fix things. However, now that I’m more rested and have some perspective, I think if I can make just some small changes that enable me to do something fun each week and take better care of myself, it will have a large enough payoff and not drain too much time from an already strained schedule. More on the how to do this later.

For now, here’s a quote from David Allen’s book, Ready for Anything. Allen is quoting Lin Yutang, who stated:

Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of nonessentials.

What is non-essential for me?
I don’t have a huge list yet. I’m going to try and identify time drains and remedy the situation.

What’s essential for me? I need to place more emphasis on working out and eating smaller portions of healthier foods. Plus, I need to add in daily prayer and meditation.

I have a bottle of Moet Chandon that has been in the refrig since y2k. I was sick on y2k and the year after, and there never seemed like a significant occasion to open it. Sad, but true. Do you think it’s still good after 5 years?

Saturday at 12:01 might be a good time to find out.

1. Sleep for at least 10 long uninterrupted hours without feeling guilty.
2. Find me a man.

Now jo(e)’s criteria are a pretty good start. Additional criteria could include: having a motorcycle and a few free hours to explore the twisting and turning Missouri roads with me.

3. Hit the gym.

That’s it for now. I must not let this one glass of wine go to my head. I’ve got papers and books yet to finish. But, I AM coming back to this list later!

Amid all my excitement, I also feel so very alone this evening. Alone. There, I said it. I’ve checked email every hour, talked with my mom for a few minutes (no, that’s not right..I was entirely too grumpy when she asked if I’d done anything new or exciting), chatted with another friend for 5 minutes on IM, but still it’s midnight and I am alone. The only people I’ve talked to since Thursday afternoon are a grocery store checkout person, a very helpful reference librarian, and two people at the circulation desk. That is it.

I know that there are things I can do to make it better, but not many at almost midnight on a Sunday evening. I also know that a lot of this is stress, lack of sleep, lack of exercise, lack of green vegetables, and a lack of other F2F people in my life.

It is times like these that I ask, what the heck was I thinking when I picked up and moved a thousand miles from home? My inner guide tells me, I must have wanted it this way. I was bored and wanted challenges. Something was missing. Now there are still some things missing, and I have so many challenges that I don’t know what to do with them all. When I’m not feeling sorry for myself, I am so excited by the abundance I have created in my life.

I guess I have to remember that learning something new (or lots of new things) is not supposed to come easy.

Would you believe that someone nominated me for EGSA vp, treasurer, and a spot on the composition committee? Damn. What were they thinking? I was trying for the comp committee, but an officer position — what’s the scoop on that?? Anyway, I need to decide quickly if I want to accept or decline any or all of the nominations. Decisions, decisions. The ambitious side of me says, “count me in!” The pragmatic side of me says, “woah Nellie!”

Well, enough of all this for right now. I need to focus… For now, I’m going to go turn on the radio, do some more reading, and darn it, feel good about all of the abundance in my life and not worry about the rest of it right now. Worrying is so counterproductive.

Besides, my coffee is ready. I’m going to use the mug with the book on it that Lillian gave me last year for Christmas.