Deliverable

I’m looking back at a post that I made on January 1st, 2006. It’s a list of things that I said that I wanted to complete by the years end. I suppose you could call it my “Bigger Picture” goals of 2006. As I type this it appears likely that I will not accomplish all of these things. As I read down the list I realize that I made progress in some areas, but not in others. It’s no surprise that I was most successful with the goals that were the most clearly outlined. I was not successful with the goals that lacked clarity and planning.

Having said that, I come to the list of “Things I (said I would) complete before years end, 2006.”

• Publish the book with a “real” publisher and get paid for it. I will more clearly define what I mean by “the book” and “real publisher” as the year goes along. Stay tuned. (incomplete) – I did not publish the book with a real publisher. I got a lot done on the book over the summer.
• Be in a play (complete) – I did one play this past year, and auditioned for several others. I was called back for some of these but ultimately did not get the part(s).
• Get paid to act… either in a film or tv or a play. (incomplete) – I wasn’t paid to act this past year.
• Take a real vacation. I’ll more clearly define “real vacation” as the year goes along. (complete) – I took a weekend off with M.
• Create a nurturing home environment… one that provides a safe haven from the chaos that is New York City. (mostly complete) – This was the goal that I was most successful with. My living space is a hell of alot better now than it was 12 months ago. The amount of clutter than I’ve removed is breathtaking. I’ve moved beyond that, and living that way is no longer palatable to me. I have a couple of projects planned for the beginning of 2007 that should put the finishing touches on my space.
• Accumulate one month of living expenses in savings (incomplete) I made some progress in this area, and I do have a better handle on my income/vs/expenses than I have had in the past, but I have not accumulated one month of living expenses in savings.

Habits

• Cook for nutritious meals for myself consistently. (”Consistently” to be more clearly defined as I go.) (incomplete) – I never had a plan for achieving this. I never clearly defined “consistently”.
• Maintain a consistent sleep schedule. (”Consistent sleep schedule” to be more clearly defined as I go.) (incomplete – See “Cooking Nutritious Meals” above.

I’m not writing this post to beat up on myself. I simply want to be honest about what I have and have not achieved this past year in these areas. I feel as though I’ve grown a great deal in the past 12 months. I know why I did not meet these goals in 2006, and feel like I am better equipped to set clearer goals for 2007 that I will successfully achieve.

Ok, I know that it’s way the hell over 90 Days. I acknowledge the fact that I’ve put off coming to terms with this project for a good while now. In a lot of ways, coming to grips with this project means coming to grips with all that I’ve learned over this past year, which is probably why I’ve been putting it off.

For my own benefit, let’s refresh our memory as to what the heck this whole challenge was about.

It started way back in June of this year with a 30 Day Challenge. The way I stated it back then was:

For the next 30 days I’ll spend a minimum of 50 uninterupted minutes a day either working on one of my projects, or engaged in active “Me Time”.

I was trying to use the “30 Day Challenge” tool to make myself spend more time getting things done on things that mattered to me (essentially “The Book”). I was successful in that first 30 Day Challenge. I extended it another 30 days and also hit that mark. Now that I look back at my project tracking for that time, I’m remembering that yes, I actually did technically complete the 90 days of working on my project(s) successfully. In one sense I suppose I won one battle and lost another in that I didn’t meet the timeline that I’d set for myself for completing the book. (The engagement is ongoing in the larger war though… I WILL finish this damn book!)

It’s good that I keep this blog. It’s so easy to forget things that may seem terribly vital in their time. As I look back on how far I’ve come with “The BooK”, I realize that missing those last 2 release dates in August and not having a bound copy for all of my students when I came back to teach was ok. It didn’t make sense to continue to spend money on the symbolic gesture of binding a copy every 9 days. It wouldn’t have made sense to spend alot of money binding (incomplete) copies to give to every one of my students for the first week of lessons. Ultimately I gave my students the content that I had in folders (my first year students received loose leaf notebooks of the material.) This wasn’t an ideal solution, but at least I had something to give them. I’ve spent a hell of a lot less time copying this fall than I have in the past.

So, what have I learned from all of this and what the benefits been? For one thing, I have a hell of alot more done on the book than I did back in June. Having the material that I did to start the year has helped alot, especially with my new students. I feel like I’ve finally been able to get them started in a way that feels consistent and honestly their playing is reflecting the more organized approach I’ve brought to the table. I wouldn’t have had that had I not worked on the book all summer. Also, my way of thinking about projects has deepened and matured over the past months since “failing” to release a v.1 of the book. I’m glad that I went through the process of tracking my work for that 90 days. Ultimately I think it’s the shifts in perception that have come in the last 3 months (of frankly avoiding working on the book on a daily basis) that will serve me better over the long term. I have a greater clarity now about how to use the tools of GTD (especially next actions) that I think will serve me well over the coming year. I’ve also discovered more about my habits and tendencies and hopefully am learning to hack my brain in such a way that I am more focused and more able to do the things that need to be done to move my life forward in a positive way.

It’s taken almost three months to get this “90 Day Challenges” post complete, but hopefully it was worth it! : )

I just finished installing (finally) the other closet door in my living room. I’m not going to lie to you… It was a real pain in the ass. (Only took about an hour and a half-ish, but it was difficult to get it to hang correctly…)

Not sure why I’ve let this project languish for so long, but I’m glad it’s done. I still have to paint it, but I figure I’ll do all of my painting in one shot to avoid having to do all the set up and cleaning up of the paint several times.