30 Day Trial: Daily Goals

[Joachim]

One big goal I currently have is to increase my productivity. So far I had a lot of good intentions, however I didn't do much. To change this I want to do a 30 day “Daily Goals” trial.

Every day I will post a list with my goals for the next day in this thread along with a list of what goals I achieved the day before.

So here are my goals for day one:

1. tidy up my room to create a better working atmosphere
2. 30 min on the elliptical
3. learn the basics of fluid animation in Blender
4. work through at least one box of old stuff from the cellar and decide what I don't need anymore
5. practice shorthand for 30 min
6. program my learning card index with 100 new vocabs
7. make a list of goals for tomorrow

[Charly]

You might find that setting too many goals can be counter-productive. That seems like a lot to me for one day.

100 vocabs and learning the basics of rather complicated software...

I'm curious to see how it goes, but good luck to you! I don't want to rain on your parade or discourage you with my negativity

[FreelanceWanderer]

That's a good point, Charly, but I'm guessing that the first few days of the experiment are really experimental, and if Joachim finds out he's taken on too much, he can adjust his goals list going forward. I agree, though, that's a mighty full day! I hope you knock it out of the park, Joachim!

FW

[Joachim]

Originally Posted by Charly

You might find that setting too many goals can be counter-productive. That seems like a lot to me for one day.

100 vocabs and learning the basics of rather complicated software...

I'm curious to see how it goes, but good luck to you! I don't want to rain on your parade or discourage you with my negativity

I didn't feel discouraged, but rather wanted to show that it's possible (even if it wasn't that much work after all)

As for the 100 vocabs, they aren't that much of a problem, since I don't have to know them by heart in one single session. The great thing about the Leitner system is, that you can add new cards on a daily basis without getting overwhelmed with unnecessary repetition. I also didn't have to write the index cards, since I have a couple hundred I wrote some time ago.

Regarding blender, I wanted to make a scene where some wine is pouring into a glass, however the whine always leaked from the glass, so I can only show you one of my earlier tries:
http://files.better-tutorials.com/pub/div/fluid.mpg
[Edit:] http://files.better-tutorials.com/pub/div/fluid2.mpg

So here's my list for day 2:

1. get old exams for practice
2. hit the gym
3. work at least three hours on biology project
4. learn biology for at least two hours
5. practice shorthand for 30 min
6. program my learning card index with 100 new vocabs
7. draw for one hour
8. make a new list of goals

[Charly]

Pretty promising result with the wine! I'll come by and root you on occasionally.

[findinginspiration]

Originally Posted by Joachim

I didn't feel discouraged, but rather wanted to show that it's possible (even if it wasn't that much work after all)

As for the 100 vocabs, they aren't that much of a problem, since I don't have to know them by heart in one single session. The great thing about the Leitner system is, that you can add new cards on a daily basis without getting overwhelmed with unnecessary repetition. I also didn't have to write the index cards, since I have a couple hundred I wrote some time ago.

Regarding blender, I wanted to make a scene where some wine is pouring into a glass, however the whine always leaked from the glass, so I can only show you one of my earlier tries:
http://files.better-tutorials.com/pub/div/fluid.mpg
[Edit:] http://files.better-tutorials.com/pub/div/fluid2.mpg

So here's my list for day 2:

1. get old exams for practice
2. hit the gym
3. work at least three hours on biology project
4. learn biology for at least two hours
5. practice shorthand for 30 min
6. program my learning card index with 100 new vocabs
7. draw for one hour
8. make a new list of goals

Keep it up! After a few successful days you prove to yourself that you can do it and that it is actually fun. I've had bouts with self-discipline in the past and often find that these 7 day, 10 day, 30 day etc. experiments are good to learn how you work best and how you can be productive.

[free spirit]

Hi,

You may find it useful to outline your larger goals so your mini/daily goals can work towards them. Otherwise if I do something like this it starts to feel aimless after a while.

For example, you mention exercise. Perhaps you could set yourself a fitness goal to achieve by the end of the month. Running 5k or whatever. Or setting yourself the goal of finishing your biology project.

It also increases the feeling of achievement when you hit the end of the month.

Otherwise - good luck! I love these kind of 30 day trials. They are very rewarding however you choose to conduct them!

[Joachim]

First of all thanks to everybody for their support, it really is appreciated!

1. get old exams for practice failed (I was there, but the exams were not )
2. hit the gym done
3. work at least three hours on biology project failed (when I sat down to work I noticed, that I didn't have the materials that I needed)
4. learn biology for at least two hours done
5. practice shorthand for 30 min done
6. program my learning card index with 100 new vocabs done
7. draw for one hour done (nothing worth showing)
8. make a new list of goals done

Goals for day 3:

1. write email to make sure that the exams are there the next time
2. learn biology for 3 hours
3. complete one old software engineering exam
4. 30 min on the elliptical
5. program learning card index with 100 new vocabs
6. practice shorthand for 30 min
7. draw for one hour
8. make a new list of goals

[freewheelnat]

Rather impressed by the number of goals you have succeeded in achieving, very well done

[Joachim]

I'm pretty tired right now, so here's just a short update:

1. write email to make sure that the exams are there the next time done
2. learn biology for 3 hours done
3. complete one old software engineering exam done
4. 30 min on the elliptical done
5. program learning card index with 100 new vocabs done
6. practice shorthand for 30 min done
7. draw for one hour done
   01
   02
   03
8. make a new list of goals done

Goals for day 4:

1. learn biology for 3 hours
2. complete one old software engineering exam
3. hit the gym
4. program learning card index with 100 new vocabs
5. practice shorthand for 30 min
6. learn python for one hour
7. make a new list of goals

[Joachim]

Goals for day 4:

1. learn biology for 3 hours done
2. complete one old software engineering exam done
3. hit the gymdone
4. program learning card index with 100 new vocabs done
5. practice shorthand for 30 min done
6. learn python for one hour done
7. make a new list of goals done

Goals for day 5:

1. get proper rest, I'm toast right now done
2. 30 min on the elliptical
3. complete day one of the "hundredpushups" program done
4. program learning card index with 100 new vocabs
5. complete a hair rendering tutorial for blender done: furball.jpg
6. practice shorthand for 30 min done
7. make a new list of goals

[Joachim]

Day 5: complete
Day 6: complete
Day 7: in progress