Andrew L. Van Slaars

I linked to Joe’s Goals in a previous post, but I felt it deserved another mention.

Joe’s Goals is a goal tracking application with a simple, intuitive interface. It does exactly what it needs to do and nothing more. Rather than try to explain it with words, I’m going to recommend that you check it out for yourself.

I have been using it for a few weeks now and I have found that the desire not to break the chain is enough to keep me on track. Give it a try.

Productivity goals, Productivity

Did you make any resolutions for the new year? Have you decided to change something in your life just because the date has changed?

I used to make new year’s resolutions. Like most resolutions, they were effective for about a month, maybe two and that was the end of it. I resolved to quit smoking for years before I actually did it. When I did, it was in February and had nothing to do with a resolution I had made in January.

For 2008, I’m trying something different. I am setting goals for the year. I have a list of things I want to accomplish by the end of the calendar year. Most of these things will require time and effort, so my plan is to spend the year working towards those goals. If I need to make changes(big or small) in order to accomplish those goals, then I will, but any changes made will be part of the process.

So instead of feeling the pressure to make a major change (or several) today, I have a year to accomplish the items on my list. I have essentially traded pressure in for motivation and have set myself up for success, rather than failure. Read more…

Productivity, Thoughts goals, Productivity, resolutions

The most common advice I see pertaining to improving your writing skills is to write something everyday. I have tried unsuccessfully in the past to do this and I am going for it again. I have set several goals for 2008, which I will discuss further in another post, one of which is to write something everyday. That doesn’t mean I will be posting a new entry everyday (although I would be thrilled if I could really come up with that much to write). I will be writing at least a little bit for this blog, another blog that I will be writing for in the near future, for my book or for an article everyday.

With all of this writing happening, the odds are pretty good that I will post shorter but more frequent (and hopefully better written) posts here than I have in the past (and I am including the blog I had at vanslaars.com when I say past).

In order to help me keep the chain going, I have signed up for an account at joesgoals.com. Now I get to place a check mark on each day that I write something. Right now, I have a 3 day (including today) chain going. Hopefully, it continues for a long time.

Writing goals, Writing