To hold myself accountable, I post my progress on my yearly goals at the end of each month on this blog. The following are the results through March.
1. Don’t die.
Don’t mean to jinx things, but I kicked ass with this goal in March.
2. Lose ten pounds.
Three pounds down and holding annoyingly steady.
3. Do at least 100 push-ups and 100 sit-ups five days a day. Also complete at least two two-minute planks five days per week.
Done.
4. Launch at least one podcast.
Preliminary work has officially begun.
5. Practice the flute for at least an hour a week.
The broken flute remains in the back of my car. One of my students loaned me a flute because he wants to play a duet with me. I haven’t taken it out of the case. I don’t think any of this counts as progress.
6. Complete my fifth novel before the Ides of March.
Done! Huzzah!
7. Complete my sixth novel.
I’m deciding which book will be next. I have eight choices, and I’m equally excited about each one. I’ve started discussions with my agent and my wife.
8. Sell one children’s book to a publisher.
I have three manuscripts in various stages. I will share these drafts with students and adults this month to determine the one that I should focus on first.
9. Complete a book proposal for my memoir.
Work will not begin on this goal until the summer.
10. Complete at least twelve blog posts on my brother and sister blog.
I haven’t written any blog posts yet this year.
11. Become certified to teach high school English by completing two required classes.
I am now just one class and an inexplicable $50 away from achieving certification. I’ll take that class in the summer.
12. Publish at least one Op-Ed in a newspaper.
I had a second piece published in the Huffington Post in March and another in Beyond the Margins. Both outlets are online but may offer better audience reach and publicity than a newspaper. I may need to rethink this goal.
13. Attend at least eight Moth events with the intention of telling a story.
I attended three Moth events in March. I told a story at the GrandSLAM Championship in The Music Hall in Williamsburg and placed second. I told a story at The Bell House in Brooklyn and placed third. I told a story at the New School in Manhattan and placed a surprising fifth (it was one of my best stories, I think). That brings my total to five Moth events in 2013.
14. Locate a playhouse to serve as the next venue for The Clowns.
The script, the score, and the soundtrack are now in the hands of even more necessary people. Fingers crossed. We also plan on applying for a New York theater festival in 2014, though that application process has not yet begun.
15. Give yoga an honest try.
Though I’m ready to try this whenever possible, the summer might be the most feasible time to attempt this goal.
16. Meditate for at least five minutes every day.
Done.
17. De-clutter the garage.
Progress continues. The garage may be empty by the end of April.
18. De-clutter the basement.
No progress. Summer job.
19. De-clutter the shed
No progress. Summer job.
20. Reduce the amount of soda I am drinking by 50%.
My plan was to begin recording my soda intake in March. I failed. I also failed to begin recording in April, so I will have to wait until May to begin this project.
21. Try at least one new dish per month, even if it contains ingredients that I wouldn’t normally consider palatable.
In March, I tried a curry chicken dish that I liked a lot and sugar snap peas (as part of a rice dish) that were palatable.
22. Conduct the ninth No-Longer-Annual A-Mattzing Race in 2013.
No progress. Summer job.
23. Post my progress in terms of these resolutions on this blog on the first day of every month.
I am four days late.
