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Day 2 - S.M.A.R.T.E.R. Goals

Another day brings a new challenge. Today my attention fell on a blog post titled

How To Stay Committed to Something


published by the author of 40 books (yes, 40), R.L Adams.

I googled this topic due to yesterday's accomplishments. I would like to focus on holding on to my new-found resolve and keep myself from falling into Nothing again. 

In his post, Adams talks about the three required steps necessary for anyone (who is probably like me) to be able to commit to their most desired goals. I would like to experiment with all three steps, but since my daily goal was to follow one idea at a time, I'm going to focus on step #1 today, then 2, and 3 over the next two days.

Step #1, S.M.A.R.T.E.R. Goals-- According to Adams, it's important to put your goals on paper, and to examine them using the following check-list:

  • S- Specific
  • M- Meaningful
  • A- Achievable
  • R- Relevant
  • T- Timed
  • E- Evaluated
  • R- Re-Adjusted


Today's Sense-of-Accomplishment To-Do List

  • Think of a goal that will help you improve yourself.
  • Take it through the S.M.A.R.T.E.R. checklist (on blog).


According to almost every single  one of my favorite concept artists, If you love drawing, and  you want to make a living out of it, you have to create something every day.

I have never succeeded once out of the 999 times I tried.

  • Specific-- Make it measurable. I want to produce at least one image a day. How can I be more specific here really?
    According to Adams, "If the goal is obscure, it allows the psychology of your mind to override your goals. You succumb to things like emotion-numbing activities, to easily avoid doing something that wasn’t that concrete in the first place".
    I can relate to that. The question of "what am I going to sketch today then?" is off-putting and frustrating. In that case, I will put together a list of random words, and use each word as an aid every day.

     
  • Meaningful-- You mean so much to me, I'll do anything! Until yesterday, I felt like I'd be struck by lightning if I touched a pencil. I don't want to keep falling that far. I need to get a mojo, and myself out of this Nothing Loop. Can't do that without drawing my dear.

     
  • Achievable-- Only reach for the moon if you have a rocket-ship (and a 10 year plan). I know I'm the type of person who dreads repetition. The pressure tears me down and creates an opposite reaction. I'll produce one image a day for 12 days (then set a new interval after that, probably 3-4 times a week).

     
  • Relevant-- In-line with what you want out of life. Do I want to draw for a living? I failed so many times, I'm actually not very sure anymore.
    To be sure, I'll have to go through a few loops of this process. I'll think about it every day.

     
  • Timed-- Because time allows you to measure progress. The first thing that I do when I wake up. Min 15 mins, max 1 hour.

      
  • Evaluate-- Reflection time. Reflect on whether the specifics, the measures, the values, and the time-plan are working.. on a daily basis. This is an iterative process.

     
  • Re-Adjust-- After you've done the math. Apply the changes to the list.



Today's Resolve & Outcomes

I have to say that the list sounded smarter when I skimmed through it. But I want to see things through.

Is writing this goal down using the S.M.A.R.T.E.R. checklist going to put things that I haven't put into perspective before.. well, into perspective? I'll keep things posted.

Random Words Galore


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