So what personal goals am I working on? \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0I’ll share a few.<\/p>\n
- \n
- To study 64 hours for each of the two classes I’m taking this semester. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0It should probably be more, but this is the amount I feel I can actually achieve.<\/li>\n
- To exercise at least 5 days per week.<\/li>\n
- To be consistent with reading the Bible.<\/li>\n
- To avoid checking my e-mail (and looking at Facebook) before 1pm.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Lofty goals, you say? Aye, say I. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0They wouldn’t be worthy if they weren’t. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0So what am I doing to achieve these goals? \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0Well, setting them was a good start. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0But I didn’t stop there. Measuring them is the next step. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0Here’s where to tech comes in. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0I use a series of specialized iPhone apps to record my progress. (Click on each app name for a link to the Apple App store.)<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.andrewandlisa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/iGoal.png?resize=159%2C150&ssl=1\" "\\"iGoal\\"")
I use iGoal Pro 2<\/a><\/strong> to track my study progress. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0It allows you to easily set time-based goals, then run a timer track your progress. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0It allows for pretty-looking \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0charts and graphs, which are all-important to a data hound like me. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0Progress so far? I’m 6% of the way finished with my study goal for one class, and 4% of the way toward my other class. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0Not bad so far, but I need to pick it up if I’m going to hit 128 hours.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.andrewandlisa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/iFitness.png?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1\" "\\"iFitness\\"")
I use\u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0iFitness<\/a><\/strong>\u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0to track my exercises. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0(This has since been removed from the iTunes App store, but I still use it.) \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0iFitness is great for tracking both which days I make it to the gym and what I do while I’m there. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0Again, it has pretty charts and graphs. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0Pretty is important, and it helps me to make sense of the data. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0How am I doing so far? \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0Well, I’ve been to the gym 29 times (and I’ve been running twice) since January 1st. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0If you include the running, that’s just barely more than 5 days per week. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0Besides tracking, I also set out my gym clothes next to the bed before I go to sleep. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0Help me to actually get up and get it done in the morning.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.andrewandlisa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Bible.png?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1\" "\\"Bible\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nI use the great Bible<\/a><\/strong> app from YouVersion.com<\/a><\/strong> to both read the Bible and track my progress. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0They have pre-built reading plans to help you set and achieve goals with your Bible reading. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0There’s also a feature that will actually read the Bible to you, and this is what I use. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0I have a set time every day when I listen – it’s first thing in the morning. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0I listen while I get dressed, get to the gym, and warm up. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0My only beef with this app is that the audio tends to cut out about 2\/3 of the time if you change internet sources (ie move from wi-fi at the house to a 3G connection as you travel. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0How am I doing on progress toward this goal? Well, this measure is a little more tricky. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0I’ve started and re-started this goal several times. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0But I CAN tell you that I’m 24% of the way through the Bible. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0In the books of Judges and Luke, specifically.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.andrewandlisa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Evernote.png?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1\" "\\"Evernote\\"")
I’m using\u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0Evernote<\/a><\/strong>\u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0to track my fourth goal. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0Evernote is actually a note-taking program, but I’m using it because of it’s ubiquity. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0It has free apps for the Mac, iPhone, and the web. So I can pretty much always \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0able to log my progress, no matter where I happen to be working. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0This one is a little less automated, but it’s still working. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0I use Text Expander<\/a> and a keyboard shortcut to automatically insert a datestamp and timestamp. (The keyboard shortcuts are ‘ddate’ and ‘ttime’.) \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0How am I doing with this goal so far? \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0I’ve only been tracking this since the beginning of February, but here’s a screenshot of my log. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0This goal might bear some explaining. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0I’ll keep it short: I get more work done when I’m not living or working out of my e-mail inbox. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0Hence the goal. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0(Also, don’t expect a reply from me on anything first thing in the morning.)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.andrewandlisa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/E-mail.png?resize=601%2C292&ssl=1\" "\\"E-mail\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nThat’s long enough, but I hope you picked up a tidbit or two about goals. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0And feel free to ask me how I’m doing with any of my goals. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0That’s part of the reason I’m sharing them!<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
(Insert standard statement about the time between blog posts, along with\u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0inevitable\u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0apology, here.) I’m reading about goals for a leadership and organizational behavior course I’m taking. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0The reading is a little academic in nature, which I really appreciate. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0Some of the important things I’ve learned (that are borne out by actual, peer-reviewed research): People tend to … Continue reading Goals<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[8,15],"tags":[317,316,315,318],"class_list":["post-768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-computer","category-misc","tag-apps","tag-goals","tag-iphone","tag-tech"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/sdZlL-goals","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andrewandlisa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/768","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andrewandlisa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andrewandlisa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andrewandlisa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andrewandlisa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=768"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.andrewandlisa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/768\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":798,"href":"https:\/\/www.andrewandlisa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/768\/revisions\/798"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andrewandlisa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andrewandlisa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andrewandlisa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}