100 Days Left to Reclaim Your 2009 Goals

Statue of woman climbing ladder in Grand Junction, CO (photo by Warren Talbot)

So, how are you doing on your New Year’s Resolutions? Yeah, me too.  They started going south when the weather was still cold, and here we are at the end of summer already.

Do we just cross them off the list and say we’ll do better next year?  Give up all together?

One thing I learned during the 3-day Novel Contest was that you can sustain even a very big effort if you put a boundary around it.  We all think we can do something when there is an end in sight.  A lot of people make it through Mondays by thinking about Fridays.

We can all get back on track with our goals for the year by doing the same thing.  Today marks 100 days until the end of 2009, and if you are anything like me you probably need a little “Friday” mojo to get you started on your “Monday” to-do list.

Here’s what I’m proposing:  Set up 1-3 reasonable goals for the remaining 100 days of 2009.  Make a plan to work on them in some way every day for the next 100 days.  You may find that having a shorter deadline gives you more motivation than the thought of a brand-new year.

• Need to get your credit card spending under control?  Freeze your cards (literally) for the next 100 days.  You can always thaw them if you have an emergency.
• Want to shed a few pounds?  Take your lunch to work 4 times a week instead of eating out, or double your servings of veggies at dinner every night while decreasing your meat intake.  You can do it for just 100 days.
• Want to start saving for your next big trip?  Go on a 100-day financial diet and see how much money you can save.
• Need a little more va-voom in your relationship?  Spend the next 100 days as if you were falling in love all over again.   Say all the things you used to say but now assume he or she knows.  Do things your mate likes to do and make  sure you have some conversations that do not only include work, household chores, or family issues.
• Does your business need a boost?  Think of the one thing you want for your business, then work down from there to make a daily plan of action.  If you want 10 more regular customers by the end of the year, you have to do more than just wish.  What does it take to earn a new customer, and how can you accomplish those tasks x10?

As for me, my goal is to recommit to fitness and do some form of exercise for 30 minutes every day for 100 days.  After all that time, I’m hoping it becomes a habit!  Wouldn’t that be a great way to start the new year?

What are you going to do with the final 100 days of 2009?  Let me know in the comments.

Betsy Talbot writes about carving the lifestyle you want out of the life you already have. When she’s not writing, she’s paring down, saving up, and getting ready for a year of travel with her husband Warren.