This is the second in our new series The Goal Setting Diaries.  The Goal Setting Diaries is a group-think project similar to the sex diaries and the money diaries.  Real stories from real people who want to achieve a goal.  This is a diary from David, a Freelance technical writer.  Do you see any tips you can offer?  Post them in the comments below.  P.S. David was awarded a free copy of Achieve-IT! goal setting software for submitting a goal diary.  You can get the same if you submit yours and I post it on this site or in my newsletter read the FAQ for more information.

Goals:

I’m a freelance technical writer and I’m aiming to overcome my constant challenges.

But first, what’s a technical writer? Technical writers generally write user guides and manuals for products. I mostly write for high tech companies. If you need to know more, Wikipedia is here to help: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technical_writer

For the upcoming week I hope to do the following:

1. Internet-free diet.

I’ve done it before though it’s not easy. The aim is to avoid wasting time on the web by cutting out news sites and other sites I go to for on particular reason, other than to pass time. I can still check e-mail, my bank account and go to web sites where I need info or need to do something, but no aimless surfing.

2. Bill 6 hours a day.

Thank God I have a few projects, the challenge now is to do them! To bill 6 hours a day you need to work more than 6 hours because you can’t work 6 hours non-stop without a break. But I aim to get to 6 hours daily.

That’s enough for now, more later.

Continue reading the rest of David’s goal setting diary and see if you can help him. 

Monday December 15th 11.15 pm

Well, on the first front it’s been fine — I haven’t checked any news sites or aimlessly surfed but I didn’t get close enough to billing 6 hours. However, I did manage to cross a few stubborn items from my to-do list.

How do I get to bill 6 hours? I have to be awake and alert so it starts the night before by going to bed on time and then making sure I’m at my desk by 9.00, so that after a few “warm-up” tasks I can start working at 9.30.

So, good night…

Tuesday December 16th 11.15 am

Not sure why the updates have so far all happened at 11.15.

I’m only now about to start work which is of course not very good. The good side though is that instead of checking the same news on 3 different sites, ten different times in 30 minutes, I have been doing items on my to do list. But that’s no excuse for starting work so late.

So, today’s aim is again 6 hours billing plus some other business related tasks and other to do items. Here goes…

Tuesday December 16th 11.15 pm

I got to 5½ billed hours so I have to be pretty happy with that. I also completed a couple of important business-related tasks. And a client that has been dormant for almost 4 months called to say that they want to start working with me again TG.

And no checking of news sites or aimless surfing so that’s good too.

Plenty of room for improvement but TG overall a good day.

Weds December 17th 12 noon

I’ve been at a client this morning and that always makes it easier to notch up billable hours because there are no distractions and if the meeting starts early then I don’t need to find the self-motivation to get started.

I’ll be back in my home office this afternoon — let’s see how I fare. As I’m in the middle of my Internet-free diet I don’t have to worry about web distractions which is great. I don’t have any particular tasks today, just a few phone calls, so I just have to do my best and get down to work.

Thurs December 18th 2.10 pm

I thought that seeing as though I am keeping this diary, which I’ll be sending to Brad, just by virtue of keeping the diary I’ll be spurred on to greater things. Unfortunately, yesterday afternoon was a bit of a write-off and today the day just hasn’t got going. My Internet-free diet also lost a bit of ground. But I’m determined that from now things will improve.

Thurs December 18th 6.10 pm

Yep, you guessed right. Our hero didn’t manage to improve things. Some days just get shot and I find it very hard to take a deep breath and re-focus. And now I’m off to the theatre and then going out with friends.

Fri December 19th 11.45 am

A slow start to the day. I have found a possibility of office space outside my home which I’m going to look into on Monday.

Lots to do. Here goes. Can I end the work week on a high and finally report that today I billed 6 hours?

Fri December 19th 11.30 pm

Boy, am I dejected. My least productive day of the week.

This is the first in our new series The goal setting Diaries.  The Goal Setting Diaries is a group-think project similar to the sex diaries and the money diaries.  Real stories from real people who want to achieve a goal.  This is a diary from Carol, do you see any tips you can give her?  Post them in the comments below.  P.S. She was awarded a free copy of Achieve-IT! goal setting software for submitting her goal diary.  You can get the same if you submit yours and I post it on this site or in my newsletter read the FAQ for more information.

The goal: My goal is to lose 20 pounds. I started at 180 pounds and want to get down to 160 or below. I am 35 years old single woman.

Sunday

Started out well. Had a good breakfast of two boiled eggs and some toast and strawberry jam. In the past, I haven’t eaten breakfast a lot, but they say to eat it if you want to lose weight. Had a cheese sandwich for lunch, cleaned my kitchen. Got bored, popped some popcorn and watched TV. Eventually, guilted myself into going to the gym to work out. Had hamburger helper for dinner.

Monday

I hate Mondays. I had a bowl of Basic 4 cereal and after I finished, there was some milk left so I poured more cereal in the bowl. It was busy as hell as most Mondays are. Went to lunch with a friend from work. It was her turn to choose so we ended up at the Deli. I thought about having the salad. “Yawn” I had the burger instead with chips on the side. I didn’t have anything else to eat until dinner. I felt guilty for what I ate for lunch and wanted to be good. So I had a can of tuna and some Rice-A-Roni (not the whole box, thank you.) Watched Greys Anatomy on my DVR as I ate. I didn’t work out.

Tuesday

Woke up and hit the snooze button 3 times. It made me too late to make myself breakfast. Decided I’d stop at Starbucks and get something. Picked up a Grande Mocha Latte and saw Starbucks new Oatmeal advertised on the counter. It looked healthy, but too messy for the car. I went for a bagel instead.

At work, people kept stopping by my desk and interrupting me. At least it wasn’t Monday. Got shaky around 11A.M. from the caffeine. And I feel a little nauseous.

Went to lunch with friend again at the deli downstairs. Had an egg salad sandwich on Whole Wheat and a side of carrot sticks. (that’s healthy right?)

But a dumb co-worker brought in a cake for no reason. I couldn’t resist, so I had a big piece. Got tired at work and dragged myself home. Thought about going to the gym, but I was too tired. Took a nap.

Wednesday

Wednesday – I had a small bowl of Basic 4 cereal and coffee for breakfast. Work was an average Wednesday. A lot less busy than Monday or Tuesday.

I brought my lunch today and surfed the Net as I ate. Had Peanut Butter and Jelly on white bread and a bag of Lays light potato chips. Felt good about saving money and eating lighter than if I had gone out. Had some trail mix as an afternoon snack and talked to Tom (guy I met online.) We are going out Friday night.

For dinner all I had was two packages of Top Ramen noodles with green peas stirred in.

I was starving an hour later so ate a Chocolate marshmallow Cliff bar as a snack.

Thursday

Thursday – Skipped breakfast, with the exception of coffee. Started feeling sick around 10 so I ate some trail mix. It didn’t do much to calm my stomach. Started getting a headache.

Drove up to Subway and had a full Subway club for lunch with lettuce, tomato, onions, peppers, olives and light ranch dressing on white bread no chips and water to drink.

Didn’t go to gym today, but I started to feel guilty so I put on some sneakers and sweat pants and did some fast walking through the neighborhood (about 15 minutes). Back home did 30 situps while watching Entertainment Tonight.

Dinner, had 1/3 a box of spaghetti with Ragu sauce and 1 piece of white bread with butter. Felt full afterwards but during sitcoms, I ate 3 Chips Ahoy cookies (normally I’d eat 4) and 1/4 cup of 2% milk.

Friday

Woke up late again, but it’s Friday! Went to Starbucks and got a regular grande coffee and a scone. Lazy at work, I didn’t do much except surf the Internet. Went for Japanese with a group from work. Had the teriaki chicken with rice and vegetables. It was a lot of food. Took half of it to go for later.

Tonight is my big date with Tom. We went to Fridays and split an appetiser of potato skins. He’s a computer engineer and two years younger than me. I guess that makes me a cougar. I had the Chicken Ceasar salad and 1 glass of chardonnay. He bought dinner, even though I offered to pay for mine.

Afterwards, we went to see the Batman movie (I paid because I didn’t want to be obligated.) Great movie!

Tom and I will see each other again, so it’s been a good day!

Saturday

I slept through breakfast and woke up at 11. Had a lunch of a bagel with cream cheese and some orange juice. Popped some microwave popcorn for a snack at 2 and then went to the gym at 2:30.

I knew I’d be splurging for dinner so I wanted to offset it with gym time. Speed walked the treadmill for 20 minutes. Then did some weights for 10 minutes.

Tom called me around 4. We had a light conversation and decided to go out again next week. My turn to pick the place. I’ll probably call him tomorrow to set up.

Met my friends at Red Lobster for dinner. Had the Crab fettuccini which came with a salad. I ate the salad and 3 biscuits. I had 2 glasses of chardonnay to drink and a piece of chocolate cake for dessert.

Felt sick afterwards.  Why do I do this to myself?

I thought it would be helpful for all of us to see first hand what life is like for others who are working toward their goals.  Some of you are experts at goal setting.  Some of you need help.  What better way to see your strengths and weaknesses than to capture a snapshot of your life?   From there, we can help you tune your methods so you reach your goal faster.

Why not rip a few pages out of your goal journal and send them our way?

I’ll anonymize and post a week’s worth (give or take) and we all can make suggestions based on what you are doing right and wrong.  — I will even throw in a bonus for your efforts.

Goal setting diaries FAQ:

Q: What are the Goal Setting Diaries?

A: The Goal Setting Diaries is a group-think project similar to the sex diaries and the money diaries.  Real stories from real people who want to achieve a goal.  I will post a week of journal entries about from a lucky reader’s goal journal (anonymously of course).  It will state their top goal and what they did for 1 week to achieve it.  You, the readers, will then be able to voice your advice about how they can more effectively reach said goal.

Q: How do I do a goal setting diary?

A: Simple, write down your main goal and then record your daily actions for 7 days.  Write down each day what you are doing to achieve or not achieve your main goal.  Then simply submit your goal diary using this link or you can email it to me at gmail.com bradisaac

Q: What are you going to do with my week long goal goal setting diary?

A: I will post your week long diary (without your name) for all of our readers here to review, pick apart and make suggestions. Should be fun and enlightening for everyone involved.

Q: What do I get out of the deal?

A: What?  You want more than awesome feedback on how to achieve your goal?  Well, ok I will give you a bonus.  If I use your goal setting diary on my blog and/or newsletter, I will send you a free copy of my Achieve-IT! goal management software to say thanks for participating.

So take out your goal journal (you do have a goal journal right?)  Just type up and send me a week’s worth of your journal entries.  If published you’ll get the advice and feedback and suggestions of this vast and competent goal setting audience.  Plus, I’ll throw in a free copy of Achieve-IT! goal setting software for free.

Q: What if I miss an episode of the goal setting diaries?  I would really hate to miss out.

A: You’ll never miss a diary if you subscribe to my RSS feed.  So subscribe now!