Day 364: The lazy goals

Awhile back I made some goals for myself. They weren’t your normal everyday kind of go get em’ goals, they were what I call lazy goals. That’s right as a full grown adult I reserve the right to have lazy goals. I even check them off on a list, seriously. You should too, it really does help remind you to take a break.

100 days ago I set some lazy goals for myself and explained why you should do the same. Lazy goals are reminders that not only should we take a break, but we should make sure we hit milestone along taking a break. In essence, we’re taking that deeply ingrained social pressure to perform and using it to our benefit.

No mental health was harmed in the making of these goals…

My lazy goals were simple, vague enough that I could do whatever and not feel guilty, and most importantly were things I wanted to do, but feel guilty doing when I have so much work to do! They were primarily mental health goals, reminders that I am a person first who needs to take a break from time to time.

My first goal was to play (beat) the Mass Effect series. Every year I try to set this goal for myself and every year I hit it. This year was no different, but I did speed through them a little. I can’t help it they are fun and I love the games so much (yes, even andromeda).

My second goal was to read more. I’m happy to say that since I set that goal I’ve read everyday for the past 16 weeks roughly and I’ve finished 16 books. My goal for the year was 20 books, so I’m probably going to beat that goal. Some were longer than others. Dracula for one was long, which to me was incredibly boring (and sexist, in my mind anyway). The mysterious island was also another very long book, but that was a much better read (even if it was slightly racist). I’ve read so many different books, war of the worlds, the time machine, the island of Doctor Moreau, Journey to the center of the earth, a whole ton of classics basically. I love reading and I’m glad I set some time aside for myself to enjoy books again.

The third goal was to make some things! There was a lot of making around here in fact. I’m in the process of assembling my 3D printed spinal column. I say mine because it is, in fact, my own spinal column. Part of my Master’s work involved turning MRI and CT scans into 3D models, so the process was pretty straight forward believe it or not. Now I just need to use some acetone to assemble the broken up parts into one full size spinal column. It’s so freaking cool. I’ll share the how and why when I get it done so I can also attach some photos of it.

I also did a LOT of woodworking and while my flare-up caused me to have to step away from it, I’ve almost finished making a new bathroom vanity (the thing the sink sits on). It has been fun, it’s like adult legos that you have to make yourself. I’m hoping to finish it this weekend before classes start, but we’ll see. I’m not pushing myself too hard since I’m still recovering from whatever the heck happened to me.

My last goal was simple, get my office together. While that goal didn’t go as smoothly as I wanted it to (my office is still in disarray) it’s much further along than it was at the beginning of summer. I’ve unpacked my books, moved some things around, and did some needed repairs. I’ll get to doing the rest soon, but for now that feels like enough. I’ve made forward progress and it feels good.

The bottomline is this, I love setting goals and getting to check things off my list. In fact, I have a secret, I really love checking things off my lists. I even have an app and I make a list of things I need to do each day for the week ahead. When the task is done, I get to check it off. That’s not my secret, my secret is that I enjoy it so much, for my birthday I give myself extra little things to check off. It’s stupid, but it makes me happy.

My lazy goals were a way to work with the feeling that I am not doing enough even though most days I feel like I’ve done too much. I set them year around, but my summer lazy goals are the ones I really look forward to doing. There’s just something about forcing myself to do the things that I want to do when I have some extra time to do it that makes me feel better about life in general.

With summer coming to an end, it’s nice to look back and see that I gave myself some time to relax. While it didn’t prevent my flare up, it definitely helped my mental health. While I’m sad summer is ending, I’m excited for next years batch of goals. Give it a shot yourself, you may be surprised how much it can help.