After messing around with the five and one year goals threads for a few years, i don't think those are helping as much as they could. Even a year is a big chunk and my life changes it seems several times a year. If my life was more stable i think yearly goals would be more useful for me.

So I was thinking for me and perhaps for others, quarterly or seasonal goals might be a better place to start. It might be worth trying this.

What are your quarter year goals?

I'll start. Over the next three and four months, I'd like to have these things done -

have food stamps
Make the small trailer safe for the road
organized my lean-to
Sold my recyclables
sold some silver
have utilities help with catholic charities
back on track with NACOG
have had a mammogram
everything off my huge porch (it looks like something from hoarders)
everything out of the rv, inside of RV cleaned
firepit made
have a financial plan for spaying my kittens before they become fertile

I think that is doable. These are high priority things that need to get done. I think my next step is breaking these things down into unintimidating components.

Done -
firepit

mammogram

doing -
utility help (call back monday and make appt)

spaying the girls (call vets monday and get prices)

bring in one load of recycling this week, bring coupon for extra 10%)

baby steps in the lean-to (some sections cleared already out, take a 'before' photo, think about getting ground cover in there, fold up tarps so they are out of the way, bring more recycables out)

Next -

food stamps - make date to go in and apply again

That's as far as i can take this timeline right now.

Dear Jilly -

That is awesome that you're making progress! Absolutely a year list provides direction, but the short term list provides actionable items to give you specific steps to move forward with! Those are great!

Hi Everyone!

Jilly,

I hear what you're saying, not all of us are long term goal people. So what we can do is what you're doing, breaking the goals down into actionable items.

I wrote about this recently What's Your Task Type?

Huh.
Setting my goals by season? That is truly an awesome idea.

One of my (long-term, haha) goals is to stop procrastinating. It's funny on sitcoms, but not in my everyday life when I have so much to accomplish each day. I really dig this idea Jilly - thx for sharing!

Keep us posted on yours... in the meantime I need to think of which goals I can work on this winter...

I'd like to have long term goals but with all the crazy that my DH throws at me, I can't even plan to be in one state or another past a few months.

This is why I am trying to have my own place, completely independent of anyone else or their timelines or ideas. The hope is that I can get stable enough to have a realistic chance that any goal i set from one year out will actually happen. Otherwise I just get upset when a year goes by and i look at the things I optimistically thought i might do.

Leah, that is a very interesting article. Thank you for linking to it for me.

I don't know what kind of task satisfaction i get. How do i figure that out? I don't think either long term or methodical is exactly me.

Rayna, please do list your seasonal goals! Just start with something. You can always change it as you go along.

This method is already taking some of the anxiety away re: not getting my garage cleaned out by 2012. I might still make it, but if I don't, it's okay.

Over the next three months, I'd like to:


Redesign my daughter's homeschooling schedule

Obtain (make or buy) a new bookshelf and add it to the living room

Write 6 articles in advance

Organize my garage

Give @ least half of what's in my garage away on FreeCycle or to family/friends

There. I feel pretty good about those being totally doable. I've actually made a longer list for myself and tacked it to my bulletin board. It's quite motivating. Woohoo - that was fun!

Rayna, this is a great list! I think you can get all these done.

the garage organizing might end up being the most complex task - it depends on what you have in your garage. But within three months is very doable. What are your first steps? With a multistep project I like to break it down into smaller steps.

Okay, so here is where I am at today -

utility help - I have an appointment for the 22nd - let's hope i manage to bring everything in this time.

spaying the girls - after many phone calls I managed to find some voucher situations. I need to make a few more calls and fax in my applications.

bring in one load of recycling this week - my car is still full of scrap metal. This is unsafe for driving.

baby steps in the lean-to - took a before photo [below]

food stamps - i would like to go in on wed. some people offered to go with me. I hope i can manage to do this.

Jilly,

I love it, you're taking an action for each of your goals.

One action at a time. One step at a time and eventually you get where you want to go!

take care and keep us posted!

Hi Jilly,

I know what you mean. I'm not referring to jumping for joy happiness at completing these methodical or short term goals. It's just a mild feeling of positivity. Like tonight I helped my 13 year old son conduct his first interview as a student journalist. It took all of 15 minutes. Things went well and I felt a few moments of satisfaction afterward. I hummed while I was washing the dinner dishes.

Other times when I complete something short term�like a dreaded dentist appointment-- it's just a "whew, glad that's over with" feeling of relief.

Satisfaction, relief, tiny bursts of triumphs etc these are all positive feelings that I try to experience several times a day. Today I was able to renew my library books for another two weeks without having to bring them in. That little burst of positivity gave me the momentum to tackle a larger problem.

I think sometimes we�re just tearing through life tackling one problem after another and we�re not taking the time to acknowledge our good, our value and all of our hard work.

It's important that every time you make an appointment and keep it or when you handle a phone call you've been dreading etc, give yourself a little pat on the back. You deserve it.

Rayna,

I like your approach. Taking part of your longer list to work on right now.

Stephanie Winston in her book the Organized Executive talks about slowly "feeding" your daily or short term list with things from your master list.

*Feeling* good about what you are doing right now and being okay with what you're *not* doing right now is half the battle I think.

Leah, I agree. I do forget to pat my back. So i will do so right now - I got my guidance clinic to fax in my application for a spay voucher for Cameron today! YAY!

I love what you say here - "It's just a mild feeling of positivity. Like tonight I helped my 13 year old son conduct his first interview as a student journalist. It took all of 15 minutes. Things went well and I felt a few moments of satisfaction afterward. I hummed while I was washing the dinner dishes."

I can relate to that. I can try to see life as a strand of little happy pearls of things being accomplished. Instead of a heavy, rusty chain of failures.

Good news! The animal voucher charity approved my application for my kitten, Cameron. I have an appointment monday to take her in for a spaying. It will only cost me $25 (most places charge $80-130) after the voucher.

I am so pleased, as I keep thinking she will come into her first heat every day.

Then next month i can take in my other girl kitten, and in Feb, there is actually a free spay clinic for the remaining male.

That will come to $50 for the three of them, which is still a lot of money for me, but far, far better than dealing with endless litters of kittens!

This worked out fairly well. I made a lot of frustrating random vet and shelter phone calls, and was feeling defeated. Then I called a woman with an informal cat sanctuary and asked her what SHE does. And then I simply did what she told me.

This is a huge weight off my shoulders.

Bummer, I did not take the cat in. Need to try again. They want me to come too early in the morning and I can't seem to get up before noon.

Lol - okay, I actually got up today and took the cat in...and turns out Cameron is running a fever. So they deemed it best to wait until she is not sick.

I know it's better to wait...but I see what is going on here. The universe doesn't want me to get Cameron spayed. That must be it.

Updates on my seasonal goals -

have food stamps - will be putting all my effort into this after getting the catholic charities help.
Make the small trailer safe for the road - I might have some roadblocks with this.
organized my lean-to - it's getting better, and i need to find some flooring for it before putting stuff back in.
Sold my recyclables - i have someone helping me with this on the 19th.
sold some silver - i have made calls and just need to do it. I should set up an errands day where I go to cottonwood once a week.
have utilities help with catholic charities - I have an appointment on the 22nd to get this done.
back on track with NACOG - i won't touch this one until i have the food stamps and catholic charities help done.
have had a mammogram
everything off my huge porch (it looks like something from hoarders) - i can't get things out until i have some kind of flooring in the lean to.
everything out of the rv, inside of RV cleaned - getting closer. I take a few things out here and there.
firepit made
have a financial plan for spaying my kittens before they become fertile - i do have the plan, now need to get them all spayed.

Now putting this in order -

Sold my recyclables - i have someone helping me with this on the 19th.

Cameron hopefully spayed on the 21st, if she is not sick. Otherwise take in MeiMei.

Have utilities help with catholic charities - I have an appointment on the 22nd to get this done.

Have food stamps - will be putting all my effort into this after getting the catholic charities help. I need to make a date to show up there with all my information, and hopefully have someone go with me for moral support.

Sold some silver - Need to set aside an errands day. Flylady suggests thursdays.

Organized my lean-to - I made calls about gravel. Need to make a few more and then decide where to purchase it from and how to get it here. The gravel step is key - everything else is waiting on that.

------------------------

Make the small trailer safe for the road - I might have some roadblocks with this. I think the best I can do right now is get it registered and then deal with the ticket I got driving it down here.

Everything off my huge porch (it looks like something from hoarders) - i can't get things out until i have some kind of flooring in the lean to.

Back on track with NACOG - i won't touch this one until i have the food stamps and catholic charities help done, and have everything off the porch and out of the house.

So these last three things will be the very last things to happen in the 'winter season goals.'

I can start thinking about my "spring season goals next." Not to stress myself out; just to have fun playing with some ideas for getting things in order.

Spring goals...just brainstorming. Get on Disability. Install wood stove in house. Have a date for NACOG to work on house. Shore up bad wood in lean-to. Set goals for daily running. Make a plan to sell my various items, including jeep. Have a dutch oven. Have a system set for the recycling. Oil change and maintenance on car. Clean and organize kitchen. Clean RV inside. Paint house parts - bathroom, inside kitchen cabinets, front of shed, inside studio. Have small bedroom suitable for guests. Set up composting toilet. Write 100 things in camp verde. (March-May goals)

Yes, yes, yes, YES! I got one of my cats spayed today!!! I no longer have to worry about Cameron making kittens, ever. This is such a good feeling.

Just going to sit with that for a moment.

In January I will take care of Meimei's spay, and I will do the boys in Feb.

SO RELIEVED.

YAY again, this is done:

Have utilities help with catholic charities - I have an appointment on the 22nd to get this done.

So in seven or eight days I will have monies to help pay my electric bill! That's awesome.

Then I can focus on....

Have food stamps - will be putting all my effort into this after getting the catholic charities help. I need to make a date to show up there with all my information, and hopefully have someone go with me for moral support.

I think my behavioral worker will be going there with me next week to help me fill this out. I think that is what we are doing on the 29th.

So my seasonal goals are moving swiftly along!

You are doing a fantastic job Jilly, that's great!

Thank you, Lisa. We ended up going to the MVD instead to get my registration for one of my vintage camping trailers - but that is also good.

I am actually feeling hopeful and content about this coming year - that I will get through my applications and then really dig in to higher levels of Maslow's hierarchy.

This week-
Today - at home catch up and plant week/month/year(?)
Tues - Meet clinician, fax in Morningstarr pet application for reduced spay, evening go to food pantry
wed - morning food pantry then meet case manager to work on either food stamps or disability applications
thur - behavioral health worker and Stress Reduction Group
fri - Self Esteem Group
weekend - I would like to plan a camping trip of some sort.

I could not get meimei spayed because she caught the bug all my cats are passing around, so i will try again this coming week.

I am also reading through some excellent websites about applying for disability and it is encouraging to see that with enough effort, I am sure I will be accepted. It could take from three months to two years to get it going, though - you have to appeal the decisions a few times, apparently.

Update - Meimei is now spayed. I am so pleased. I now have to find the applications for the feb free neuter clinic in sedona for my two boys, and THAT will be THAT. Said the cat in the hat.

And I did go camping.

I am working on my disability application right now. It's fairly complicated. I had a little meltdown/cry over it with my case manager today. But then I went home and found some excellent backup/supporting documentation with doctors and counselors - that was very encouraging. And if felt good to know I have been solidly working on getting mental health help since 2004. Documented help. What a relief that I was able to track the years and phone numbers down! I need to sit down and make a timeline with numbers, names and outcomes.

I also realized I can use my 2011 1099 for proof of income, so that is very helpful. I hope with all this that the upcoming 'official phone call' will go by smoothly. I have that on the 2nd with my case manager - supposed to be a 90 minute phone call. Yeesh.

Once that is done I need to dive right into my third attempt at a food stamp application, which i keep failing because my income is so weird to track. I hope with this 1099 that things will go more easily and the third time is a charm.

I also am still waiting for my eye exam authorization from the Lions Club to arrive. They had to resend it. They don't know where the first one went.

So, for Feb:
- boys neuter application
- boys neutered
- get lions club eye exam approval
- get eye exam, hopefully also lenses and frames
- part two of disability application in (part one was done last week)
- food stamps app in for third time with proper documentation

In GOOD news, the catholic charities utility help is going along wonderfully. My last two payments were done automatically! This is wonderfully helpful - it will help a half a year's worth of electricity. And I think i might be able to apply with Salvation Army for some more help after that runs out.

I will be documenting the frugal eye exam and help with utilities processes in the Frugal Living forum. The eye exam one is already started. Hopefully i can help a few people.

I did the ssi application and yesterday had the 1.5 hour phone call with the assessor. That was highly stressful, but tis done.

Called the Lions Eye place and asked a second time for them to resend my letter.

Have not done a thing about the free boys neuter application and I HAVE to get that in! It's free only this month this year. I need to get to sedona...but am going to vegas this week for a family gig....stress stress stress.

Food stamps is going to have to wait until after the eye thing and the boy cats and vegas. This is going to be a very short month.

Thank goodness the SSI phone call is over though. They will send me booklets of papers to fill out and send me to a shrink for testing, but hopefully not immediately. Either that or they can be treated to me sitting on the floor in a ball with the stress.

The Lions Club people sent me my eye assistance letter! now I can seek a free exam and then move on to getting new lenses and glasses. It's only been about six years.

My current lenses are so scratched and foggy. I abuse my stuff. I can't wait for fresh clean lenses!

Sooo. The next thing to look into is the free neuter clinic applications for the boy cats. There was a girl in heat yowling outside last night, so this does need to get done soon. No more kittens!!!

Many of my most important things are underway.

Getting disability - this is done as much as i can do at this time. waiting on paperwork from them now.

Food stamps - I need to work on this next. Once i figure out what to do about my trailer ticket and mortgage issues, I can focus on that.

Getting the boys spayed at free clinic - waiting on the clinic to get this up and going at this point; they will call when it's time. Nothing else I can do right now.

Eyeglasses - i got the voucher from the Lions Club now need to bring it to the Old Mission (tomorrow) and then set up an exam appointment. Deal with lenses and frames after that.

Sell things. I really can't think about this right now.

NACOG winterization project - will fill out application again after I do the food stamps. I will have to get stuff out of the house for anyone to actually work on it. So this one i will put off for now.

Dehoarding - I am working on the kitchen right now and it's coming along. It will be easier to get the area clean and clear once Dan leaves, as then i can move all the books out of the area and really get the kitchen clean. It's slowly coming along though.

Cleaning the porch area - I am working on having fires in the pit to get rid of the stacks of burnables.

Finish getting the scrap metal out of here to sell.

And it's time to do some maint on my car. Clean it out, do oil change, look at air filter and so on.

So five main things to take my energy this month:
1.Food stamps
2.Eyeglasses
3.Cat neuters
4. Trailer ticket, mortgage issues and bill paying concerns
5. Get rid of recycling!

Dear Jilly -

That is so awesome that you are getting your tasks organized! Well done! Step by step it will all get taken care of!

See, we have the steel shed in our back yard gone! It's gone! A step at a time

Lisa, major congrats on your pile of steel! Even though i was hopeful it would eventually become yard art for you.

Update on this season's goals: This week i will finally have gotten all the kittens fixed! i had got vouchers for the girls to make their spays affordable, and this made me happy because i can't deal with them having litters. And finally the free clinic came around for the boys this week - i will get them in on friday. Perfect timing! They will be FREE!

I will be so happy they will be done - esp since Charles Tucker has started to hump his sisters... :-/

So here is the update:
1.Food stamps - i have the app filled out but have been having trouble going to the office for the interview. I really hope to do this next week. I think this week is all booked up.
2.Eyeglasses - My eye exam is this thursday. Am very nervous but will be glad to have that done. It is free through the Lions Club. In April i wi9ll get my new frames and lenses.
3.Cat neuters - YAY!
4. Trailer ticket, mortgage issues and bill paying concerns - the courts finally got back in touch with my case manager about the trailer ticket, so i can work on following up on that this wed. I have the bills and mortgage figured out for this month and next month, so that is good.
5. Get rid of recycling! - Um, this one is lagging. I still have bins and bins and bags of these things everywhere. I'd love to take it in and get some cash money, but it's been so low on the priority list and then I was traveling. If I can get this stuff out within March, I will be very pleased with myself.

So all these things are looking good for March! Getting the recycling out and doing the food stamps interview should be doable within the next week.

For April:
1. get lenses in my new eyeglass frames and get glasses! I picked out the frames already. Love them. Very excited. Lens appointment is April 10th.
2. get copies of everything in my medical paper trail in prep for the disabilities determination
3. get all burnables and trash out of front yard!
4. put in application for utility repair and replacement program (URRD) or the SHARE program (decide which one is higher priority and do that one).
5. Do free tax program before the deadline.

From that last update I still have to
1. have food stamp meeting (application is filled out)
2. have eye exam (i got nervous and rescheduled for april 4)
3. take in the steel recycling

Those are the remainder of my march goals. lets see if i can these done. At least 1 and 3.

First things for april:
1. eye exam and frames to be done
2. work on taxes with free programs
3. finish getting burnables and trash out of front yard (almost finished with this!)
4. I have called SHARE and URRD and will see if I can follow up with these things

Not sure how much i will be able to do, since dan is leaving April 10 and I am not sure i will be capable of much.

I got my food stamps! I got them! I am so happy. That's another major goal happening.

That's great Jilly, one thing at a time, one step at a time - you're workin' it!!!

Yeahhh!!!! Jilly, I remember when you posted this goal. Congrats!!!

Diane and Leah, thank you so much. I have been working on this one for longer than a year. I am so so relieved.

I even used it for the first time! I went to Walgreens and then Walmart yesterday. Only places with Wal in it, heh.

Hey Jilly! K gonna join you with doing seasonal goals. I think this will help me too:).

K so for the next 3 months..that will be the beginning of June...
1. I'd like to have brochures printed for Etniq
2. I'd like to have a catalog created for Etniq and printed
3. I'd like to have had the first Salsa in the Garden Event
4. I'd like to have $1000 in savings and payment arrangements on all my bills
5. I'd like to have my car totally fixed and looking beautiful
6. I'd like to way a trim 140 pds at least.
7. My first e-book completed and for sale

Ok, I think those are good doable goals:).

Crossing fingers and intending!

Leah

Update on me: i postponed my eye exam again. I think this month i am not going to be working on much of anything. I am getting more edgy about dan leaving. the date is on friday the 13th. While I appreciate the irony in that, I am kind of useless for accomplishing anything right now.

Leah, those sound like fun, doable seasonal goals! I can help you with the savings goal in the frugal living forum.