Step 1, crib from last year’s list, repeat successes with continued appeal, delete anything unappealing & edit things that are appealing but didn’t work.
Step 2, add new brainstorming list.
Step 3. Get it down to 100 so those extra 18 are flexible. (Nope. But I’ve giving myself latitude to change out 18 at will across the year.)
Step 4. Incentivize rollovers more than one year overdue.
New. Rollovers. Insanely overdue rollovers. Repeats. Tally-able. Trackable Routine. Monthly routine. .
New rule: No more than 7 routines (so, trackable in the planner!) I’m changing many of the monthly, etc. ones (things that actually have no reason to be regular) number counts. That way if I want to bang them all out at once, I can, and I don’t add any pressure to my routine load. Hopefully that will help me get better with routines.
- SANITY:
Spend more time with other adult humans (Spinsters, dinner with friends, etc.) Started great, but blew it when preschool ended.
Visit friends in Austin. Did visit Sue on the drive home, but I meant for more than just a day when I wrote this.
Call or write legislators/agencies monthly on key issues.*
Keep working at keeping my shit together/improving.
Respond quickly with emails and thank yous, even if I don’t have time to answer thoroughly and thoughtfully, because a quick answer is better than putting it off until it’s overdue and awkward.
- THE BEST NEST:
Paint the pony wall color(s) I love.
Paint my office
Install or return shower hoop
Reverse doorknob and see if that solves Freddy Problem
Hot tub time machine!
Devise a very basic Home Routines plan + important seasonal tasks. Keep it super simple.
Use Home Routines daily
Get rid of that old Dish receiver and dumb cable outside the Math room
Remove old, unused cords and cables in basement
Figure out laundry room.
Move wardrobe and dresser and inspect floor to be sure there’s no new termite damage. Knock out damaged bits so there’s a clear boundary. Before I got to this, there was a termite swarm! It’s been treated, so I guess that had the same result ultimately.
Knock out broken glass from gym window
Divide rug in half for bedside.
Clean under bed
Scrub upstairs hall
Fix stroller tire
Clean Gertrude house
Replace broken windows: Gertrude, garage,
grade school. One third doesn’t really pass muster.
Replace gas line to water heater before restoring gas
Experiment with plaster repair
Clean ceiling fan
Cover raggedy spots on pipe covers in basement
Assemble gas grill
Add drawers to office or bedroom cabinets
Soak the cat fountain in vinegar to delime
Scrape the old tape gunk off the lobby glass
- A FRIEND IN TECHNOLOGY:
Figure how to get off Facebook personally but leave business page, or get off altogether if that’s impossible
Fix naughtyneedlesknitting.com issue or kill site.
Move Flickr photos to Amazon, then delete Flickr pro before renewal (March). Didn’t move the photos to Amazon, but I’m conflicted about that anywya. I did get rid of the pro account and download all the photos, so I’m giving myself credit.
Set up Amazon photo backup for devices. Like I said, conflicted.
Back up everything, then set up Daddy’s old phone
- MAKE:
Make one wine kit by March; if not, give it away.
Make one beer kit by March; if not, give it away.
Gather all old WIP. Dispatch albatrosses and finish stuff I still like.
Mend 20 things. 1. Ron’s jacket. 2-8 sheets
Make a list of new recipes/techniques I would like to try and post it on fridge
Actually try 10 of them.
Keep a list of favorite dishes on fridge so I remember to make them
Craftsy bread class.
Choose and make 10 things I’ve pinned.
Finish Planned Parenthood mitten pattern.
Build Georgie’s new dog house
Reinforce and insulate it
Watch free videos and save recipes from Cook’s Illustrated newsletter
Make weighted hand pillows
Make a milk jug skeleton
- HEALTH & LOVELINESS:
Run or full yoga 3x/week
Increase step goals by 500 steps after each successful month.
General husk maintenance/improvement (use beauty sub samples!).
Breast self-exams
2 dental cleanings.
30-day arm challenge.
Zyrtek at bedtime without fail 2 solid weeks to see if it improves general snot levels
Weight Watchers goal.
- THRIFTY JOY:
2017 postmortem and 2018 financial goals
Weekly menu plan, fridge clean & Doomsday Pantry.
Reduce debt by 10%. If successful, some end-of-year goodie TBD.
Ebay or craigslist something each week and put it towards credit card debt
eBay sub box surplus
No non-emergency personal credit card spending. When spending on Amazon or Costco, pay sum back to card with any purchases.
Put cash in my self-control jar and record success when I resist unnecessary/impulse spending.
Contract pantry to clear guest, catering fridges and all but top shelf of gray hanging file.
Contract freezer to deep freezes only, plus sheet shelf clear in pantry freezer.
Only buy fresh produce and milk in January. Everything else from pantry/freezer.
Only buy fresh produce and milk thru August. Everything else from pantry/freezer.
Review personal & shop financials with Ron each month
- MODEST WORK AMBITIONS:
Make new stuff to sell out of existing materials.
Add new products to COGs spreadsheet. Started strong, but fell behind in the fall.
Income tax on time.
Quarterly sales taxes on time.
1099s on time.
Card enough batts to fill batt case
2019 Woolfest: Plan out Woolfest batt demos; spin samples.
Improve booth plan for Woolfest–mount signs to grids and try to set up panels without legs.
Reassemble retail displays before the end of the month and make desired changes to make next year easier.
Stop dying Woolfest fiber January 10th! No last-minute dying, dummy! Note for next year: stop the Saturday before.
Move type cabinet to basement. Clean cabinet, clean and organize type.
Clean old, dirty type.
- POT LUCK:
First of the month clearing.
Get a Lawrence Library card.
Cut down all the fallen trees or hire someone to do it
Ditto fixing the fence where they fell on it
Sort out fence path situation with neighbors. It actually sorted itself out, but I’m taking credit anyway.
Be a good executor. Not amazing, but I did my best.
Make an emergency kit, including 3 days of water.
Rosetta Stone Spanish 1ce/week. Gift for successful completion.
Desert road trip to pick up line-o-scribe
Talk to vet about something for Honeybunch’s arthritis.
- MOTHER OF THE YEAR:
Transcribe all the weird things Twyla’s said from our texts to a notebook, and record new weird stuff
Make that yardstick marker thingy for Twyla
Spend time outdoors on nice days
Make Year 2 book. Gift for successful completion.
Make Year 3 book. Gift for successful completion.
Work through reading book with Twyla (3 days a week).
Frame Santa pics and buy matching frames for the next several years. Technically, I did this. But I gave it to my mom. I still need to make one for me!
Frame school pictures and buy matching frames, or find one of those all-in-one frames that’s not obnoxious. Technically, I did this. But I gave it to my mom. I still need to make one for me!
Twyla guitar lessons, at a time that doesn’t require a separate trip.
Finish Twyla’s bed.
Finish Twyla’s room.
Monthly slow dinner together at a table, with table-setting and conversation and a proper dessert and no screens(lowered expectations to monthly)Reward: earn a restaurant dinner or movies for each family dinner. Got good at this, but then fell out again by the end-of-year chaos. But I established it well enough to resume. I resigned myself to doing it with just me & Twyla, since I got sick of feeling like a stick-in-the-mud about it (and/or not enjoying it with him, since he was resistant and I’m sensitive), and I was mostly wanting to do it to model good behavior and dinner conversation with her. It’s a nice way to slow down and reconnect with T each day.
Maintain Twyla dental routine.
Invent effective Twyla toy pickup routine.
Make and use kid book from planner file.
Assemble sand box
LESS: 2:1 Vine, same day
Finally dispatch unwanted gear with Purple Wave this year. Reward: new range, the kind with a motherfucking salamander, y’all!
Clear excess junk from hallways and move shop to hall
Relocate school desks from hall to rooms
-
Open up bottom bleacher
40 Bags in 40 Days.
Pick an area of focus for each month and concentrate on culling crap and cleaning for just an hour a week in said zone.
- OVERWHELMING REPAIRS:
Grade school roof
Master improvement plan for next 10 years