I used to let people know my goals all the time. It was almost impossible to keep them to myself. When I was an undergrad student, I met regularly with my peer counselor she/he often asked me what I wanted to get done that quarter or year. It was a good exercise that I continued when I started working as director of the same program.

When I was a counselor, I knew all my students’ goals… and I had a lot of students on my caseload. Every quarter, I’d go through the “goalies” worksheet and ask about their short- and long-term goals. I knew what grades they wanted and expected in their classes, that they wanted to secure a summer internship, whether or not they wanted to grad or professional school, or that they were really working on saving more money. The goals weren’t limited to academics, as you can see. The idea behind going through the
“goalies” worksheet in counseling sessions was that it gave me something to check in with the student on in the next few sessions that quarter/academic year.

I filled out the “goalies” sheet too and shared them with the four other directors. They were the people who were most supportive when it came to work (and often personal issues). They knew what staff development goals I was working on, or that I wanted to read more, apply to graduate school or fix some of my messed up relationships.

The whole process worked well for me, and I think it worked well when getting to know my students better. I kept doing these periodic goal-setting exercises. I’d write a plan of action after each goal. If my goal was something like “move toward financial independence and save more money,” I’d make a list that looked like the following.

1. Increase monthtly contribution to Roth IRA by 25% for a total of $125.
2. Pay off credit card(s), discontinue use.
3. Check in quarterly with financial advisor (aka Dad) about the status of my savings.

It’s been a while since I set goals like these. I set 10 at the beginning of 2005 and by the end of the year, I could no longer remember them. I wrote them in a journal I no longer write in because I filled up all the pages. At first, I was good about checking in on the goals and assessing my progress. But for the latter half of the year, I completely changed. (Scoring key: 1 = good progress or completed; 2 = attempted, made some progress; 3 = no progress, not attempted).

1. Write at least one haiku per day (2)
   Assessment: I did this up through May and some of June. After that point, writing haiku felt too forced. Also, I felt like I needed to post them to my blog and in spring and summer, I wrote many that I didn’t want to share online.
2. Eat breakfast daily (3)
   Assessment: I ate breakfast maybe one or two times a week. I improved in the latter half of the year, but that was only because el Venado made me oatmeal, which I like
3. Save money and decrease debt (2)
   Assessment: I restarted my Roth IRA contribution and plan to increase the amount I contribute. However, I had some money issues in the summer, increased my credit card debt. I paid off one credit card. However, I got another student loan that I don’t need but am using to pay off car and credit card (it’s subsidized).
4. Be more fit (3)
   Assessment: Nope. I gained weight, which really sucks because some of my favorite jeans don’t fit me anymore. I did go to danza in the summer, but stopped once the school year started.
5. Attend more Dodger games (than in 2004) (1)
   Assessment: I missed opening day, but still attended many games this season. I’d go to one every few weeks. Too bad the season sucked.
6. Go to Zacatecas (1)
   Assessment: Check. Too bad I didn’t go to Zacatecas (the city). It was a good trip and I need to post more of what I wrote while I was there and in Guanajuato.
7. Write more education and culture related blog posts (1)
   Assessment: My blog became less personal as the year progressed. I definitely wrote more of the types of posts I intended with this goal, but now I find that I’m trying to strike a balance with my blog. I feel my more intimate and honest voice is hidden and needs ro re-emerge.
8. Organize my photos (2)
   Assessment: My photos on Flickr and computer are pretty well organized. However, anything that I have developed is all over the place. I need to put many in albums, and some in frames. The fact that I moved from one to another in October made this one tougher.
9. Re-decorate my room (3)
   Assessment: This one stopped being a priority as I realized in the fall that I needed to move out of my old room. Now, I just need to really move in to my room and make it a more livable space.
10. Pledge to KCRW, again (1)
    Assessment: Check.

The tally: 4 goals I unequivocally completed or made good progress on; 3 goals I started but did not complete; 3 goals I failed miserably at.

This all gets to what I want/need to do in 2006 (and beyond). I’ve set some goals already. Some are based on those above that I really sucked at, but others touch more on my relationships (good, bad and nonexistent), school/my program, my student government position, and writing. Even if it’s tough for me, I will share them. This attitude that I can do it all my own isn’t good for me, I need someone to help keep me on track.