RoW80 Round 4 Goals

Round 3... Check.
Round 4... Here we go again!

Now that I have successfully completed my first Round of Words in 80 Days, I'm looking forward to taking slightly larger steps into the world of writing during Round 4.  I'm going to be adding more areas to my life, and striving to make small progress as often as possible toward each of these goals each week, no matter how difficult life might be.

My writing goals for Round 3 were aggressive, asking myself to finish my first draft of my 2011 NaNo novel, which still had 60,000-70,000 words left to be written.  I'm now at just shy of 62,000 words out of an expected 110-120,000, so I still have much work left to complete this goal.

1. My goal, for this WIP, is to write another 20,000 words, reaching 82,000 (due 12/19).

I will also be participating in NaNoWriMo this November, with every intention of winning.  In order to do this, I need to complete the following goals:

2. My 2012 NaNo novel concept fleshed out (10/7).
3. Character sketches for main characters designed (10/14).
4. Outlines of first ten scenes written out (10/21).
5. Any additional preparation work for NaNo novel completed (10/28).
6. Write 50,000 words toward NaNo novel (11/30).

I also want to keep up with my blogging responsibilities, which I have really begun to enjoy (when I have the time!)  The last couple weeks of Round 3 I faltered a little, but I'm hoping to start strong in October, so I have a little more leeway in November, should I need the extra time for NaNoWriMo.

7. Write an average of 3 blog posts per week throughout the eleven and a half weeks of Round 4, for a total of 34 posts.

Reading is an area I'd really like to push forward on, as it's one of the few joys in my life, and it's such a shame that I do so little reading.  During Round 3, I managed to finish one book, and read the first third of a second book.  Here's my tentative goals in this area:

8. Pick three books to read after completing Battle Royale (10/7)
9. Finish reading Battle Royale (10/14)
10. Finish reading first chosen book (10/28)
11. Finish reading second chosen book (12/9)
12. Finish reading third chosen book (12/19)

My physical fitness needs some tuning up as well, so I'm going to focus more on this aspect of life more as well.  My week-to-week goals may vary based upon my schedule, but I'd like to make the following goals by the end of Round 4:

13. Reduce weight to 220 or lower.
14. Be able to run a 7-minute mile, and a 27-minute 5k.
15. Be able to complete 25 push-ups in 1 minute.
16. Be able to complete 45 sit-ups in 1 minute.
17. Be able to complete 1 pull-up.

Housework was a goal that I worked on in Round 3 as well, with mixed results.  My wife and I are on better terms on this, as I am making more of an effort, but I still need to try to pull more weight in this area to take some more pressure off my wife, especially since she's substitute teaching multiple days a week now.  Here's some goals I'd like to achieve:

18. Spend at least 8 hours total getting the yard and garage ready for the winter (10/31).
19. Take care of dirty (and clean if applicable) dishes at least four nights a week.
20. Make a family dinner once a week.
21. Run at least one load of laundry each week.
22. Help with bedtime for the girls at least three nights a week.

Now that I've expanded upon the categories from Round 3, I would like to add some additional goals to my list.  These rules may be subject to change as the round progresses, but these should suffice to begin the round:

23. Invite someone over for dinner once a week.
24. Contact my real estate agent to discuss starting the process of putting the house up for sale (10/15).
25. Pray every day, even if only for a minute.
26. Read an average of one chapter of the Bible per day, for 80 chapters total (12/19).

Also, my current day job position is becoming precarious, and while it wouldn't be the end of the world if I was fired, I'd feel much better about myself if I could keep it until my wife leaves for the Navy.  Here's a rough list of goals, and approximate due dates:

27. Revamp all site cleaning checklists to incorporate changes due to quality concerns (10/1).
28. Finish rough draft of 2013 annual plan goals (10/5).
29. Complete annual review of crew supervisor (10/8).
30. Complete third-quarter performance review of all employees (10/15).
31. Finish rough draft of 2013 budget (10/19).
32. Perform onsite quality audits of all external contracts monthly.
33. Perform onsite quality audit of corporate office weekly.
34. Finish all 15 store cleanliness audits (12/19).
35. Complete fourth-quarter performance review of all employees (12/19).

When I read through this list, it does look somewhat daunting, but it feels good detailing exactly what I want to do over the next three months.  Another author (whose name I simply cannot remember at the moment I'm writing this) has a motivational tool involving money.  She allots $7.50/week to go toward her goals.  The percentage of the $7.50 equal to her goals that she makes at least good progress on goes into a shopping fund, while the rest goes into a fund for the political party she doesn't like.  I'm not sure I'll be following this exact model, but something similar should work well for me.  (If I'm lucky, I'll have saved up enough money by Black Friday that I can buy myself something fun!)

If you somehow managed to make it all the way through this monstrous post, thanks!  I'd love to hear about your goals for the round as well, and if you'll be participating in NaNo this November, so we can friend each other!

Best wishes to all of you.