I can’t believe another year has passed in my life. Admittedly, over the last year I haven’t accomplished a lot of my tasks that I set out to do between the two milestones marked by growing older.

What I did accomplish was amazing.

I graduated with a master’s degree, which was a struggle in its own right due to technology glitches, problems with bureaucracy, financial aid problems, etc. The academic process was hilarious and easy compared to anything administrative. Afterwards, I fluctuated back and forth on whether I wanted to get a Ph.D. like I had always wanted, or if I wanted to pivot with the economic times and just work on my company and for myself.

I decided to work for myself and really build up Insanitek while I worked part-time elsewhere. While it was a great start, it wasn’t good enough. I really, really needed to fulfil my goal of being financially independent, which is something I haven’t experienced since pre-university days. I worked all summer at Rosie’s, picked up a few tutoring jobs, a homeschooling gig, and worked my ass off all summer long. (OK, not really, but I wish my rear was smaller.)

My goal was to save up money and get a car that would get me to a better paying job that I could use to pay the bills while Travis went to school and I built up Insanitek even more. It didn’t work out that way. My friend Billy gave me a car (on loan) so I could get a job that would be able to cover all these things and car insurance on top of it. I tackled the job market with a zeal, then, as I was no longer bound by the confines of a bike. I got a great job teaching environmental science as an adjunct down at Kaplan College to future local cops.

And that’s where I am today with my rather obnoxiously lofty goals. I always plan for more than I can actually pull off, but hey, you never know when you might get bored or productive enough to actually do it. I never get down on myself for not checking off the entire list.

Besides, if you don’t accomplish a goal, you should re-evaluate to see if you really want to do it anyway.

For example, on my list was joining the National Guard. It has good reasons behind it: helping others, giving back to society, student loan forgiveness, extra pay, and a great reason to get and stay in shape.

Except, do I really want to do it? I haven’t really been all that dedicated to getting in shape. Healthy, yes, but I’ve seriously not been trying to overcome my fiance’s bad eating habits to lose weight rapidly in order to crank out 2 miles in 25 minutes or 20+ pushups in 2 minutes, let alone the weight limit requirement of 153 lbs (which is reasonable, not starvation psychotic).

So, it’s time to re-evaluate and see what I really want to accomplish for this year, or if it’s time to just let an idle thought go.

Alas, I’m too stubborn to let it go until I’m past the age cut off (and this is my last year for getting in).

With that in mind, the new year’s goal list is only slightly less psychotic than last year.

(I think I’m learning.)

My goals for this year are to:

¤ Find balance and streamline processes to make everything easier.

• I need to not work 4 jobs, first of all. Which means making concessions about money and financial independence. Student loan debt just will have to take a back seat to sanity. In the mean time, I’ll be working far more diligently through Natasha’s Systematic Success workbooks and classes. After all, now that I’ve got Insanitek running, I should get it running like a well-oiled machine, right?

• I need to get systems set up within my home and personal life too. Consistency is not something that is easy to come by in this family since they value spontaneity and family above all else. I need a system in place that will allow me to work around them, as well as myself.

• Need I remind myself — and the world — that I’m human? I need a system set up so the stress is less and I can take more. More what? Hell if I know. More of whatever it is that I’m sure I’ll stumble in to from over committing myself to 5 billion chores and errands to run on top of working. You know, more life and whatever it throws my way.

I expect this to be a work in progress over the entire year until my next birthday and reflection period. Every new project that I start must have a system. I must constantly review and evaluate the systems I put in place for myself at any given time to make sure they are in functioning order and meet my needs. And, more importantly, I need to learn to say “no” to accepting another project or putting another project on my plate once I get a sense of balance.

¤ Joining the Guard.

• Either I’m incredibly daft or have stubbornness issues. However, I really want to join the Guard for all the reasons mentioned above.

• This will require much discipline, which will have to come into play while I set up systems. Discipline I’m good at, but finding the time is not something I’m good at. Then, I use lack of time as an excuse to avoid it. It’s a bullshit reason, but that’s essentially what I do — and I know I’m not the only one. So, now it’s time to publicly call myself out on the BS and get to work.

• I need to carve time out of my day to do at least a 20 minute HIIT workout. I’ve got several that give a pretty good all body workout that can help me sustain the momentum for days that I’m not so busy. Rosie’s ends next month, Kaplan takes a break for 22 weeks after the first week of November. At that time it will be Insanitek, teaching, and working out. Come spring I’ll have to make some very definite decisions on what I need to do, but I’m not going to think about that until spring.

I expect this to be done sooner rather than later. I need to fill out my paperwork and officially sign up before my next birthday, and it would be best to do it in the spring so I’m in for summer training. I have to be fully accepted before my birthday.

Did I mention discipline? Goodbye, weak-willed days. Goodbye, lame excuses and white lies I tell myself to feel better. And, if I can’t make it into the Guard, at least I’ll have developed great habits to keep me healthy till the end of my days. Either way, the process is happening.

¤ Getting Insanitek to start providing for me — not just me sinking money into the startup process.

• This is one scary proposition after spending the last several years daydreaming about it, then the last year in startup. But, now, it’s time to change hats again and make it function on its own. I even have a plan, but I’ll wait to unveil it after I put the final touches on it. Until then…

• Hire more people. I can’t do this on my own, nor do I want to. I’m not a freelancer, nor a solopreneur as the new buzzword goes. I’m a CEO, founder, leader, and cheerleader. I want Insanitek to be a company that can function without me if I take a week off for vacation.

I expect this to go slowly as things start levelling out financially, systems made and placed, and business keeps rolling slowly forward. I have plans, but those plans are expensive and going to take time.

This is going to be a busy year full of big ideas and little tweaks and changes.

The only way I’m going to be able to pull this off is with dedication to my goals, somehow keeping myself accountable, and with constant review of the processes. It’s the year to turn myself into a business. With that in mind, my four words for this year are:

Accountability – What’s more to say about keeping goals than keeping yourself accountable? It’s pretty much the heart and soul of reaching goals when you take one step at a time, but then keep moving forward.

Balance – Let’s face it, I need a good deal of balance right now, and a lot more answers to questions so I can create a balance knowing what I’ve got just down the road.

Processes – Processes are always easier to work with, so if I can’t make a process to work streamline it, the answer is “no, don’t accept that project”. I have a feeling I’ll be saying no a lot for a few weeks.

It’s going to be a great year.