David Allen’s excellent book “Getting Things Done” has a chapter on defining goals prior to doing any actual work. While that would seem to be common sense, keeping that simple bit of wisdom in mind has already saved me from more than a few cases of working my ass off without having a clear finish line in my mind.
So, this post is to define for myself a few short and long term goals.
This list is by no means complete, and perhaps I’ll edit it as the year progresses, but we’ll see.
Ongoing goals, with no set duration:
- to enjoy every day and live without fear, shame or regret,
- to neither seek approval nor fear disapproval,
- to be active every day and continue to improve my physical self,
- to work efficiently and productively, smarter not harder,
- to continue to reduce my footprint towards becoming nomadic,
- to have the maximum flexibility in my free time, and
- to recognize adventure when it presents itself.
Short term goals, ie this year:
- to subtract the “home” from the “home office”,
- to find a balance between productivity and sociability,
- to automate all financial responsibilities, bills, etc,
- to sail to Desolation Sound,
- to build and perform a new live-pa set,
- to learn to do handstand pushups without the support of a wall,
- to bike around the Fundy Trail in New Brunswick,
- to get my busker’s license and busk on Granville Island,
- to learn to play my mandolin better,
- to learn to cook better and cheaper,
- to minimize my stuff and rent out my apartment, and
- to backpack around Southeast Asia for six months or so.
Long term goals:
- to build a business that provides income with minimal input,
- to own a sailboat, and perhaps live aboard it for a while,
- to learn to fly and eventually own an ultralight airplane,
- to buy property in the Gulf Islands and build a home on it, and
- to eventually settle in that home and raise a family.