I’ve seen a lot of posts on social media with headlines like “Disappear for six months and shock everyone.” They all seem to share a similar idea: set a few focused goals—ideally across different areas of your life—and dedicate time to meaningful change.
At 55, I decided it was time for my transformation. I have dreams. A lot of dreams, actually—things I’ve wanted to do “someday,” but never started… or started and never finished.
So, I sat down and made a list. I divided everything into two categories: things to track and things to schedule. I did a bit of research on bullet journaling. Mine isn’t the prettiest (yet), but I have faith I’ll improve. I created headers, printed out nine sets of calendars, and started each month on the first block—ignoring the traditional day-of-week layout. It’s a personal choice, but for tracking purposes, it makes sense to my brain. It may not work for everyone—and that’s okay.
While I was setting this up, I realized I needed accountability. One of my goals is to actually use this blog. So, here we go. This blog will serve as my accountability partner. I may also share updates on Instagram and eventually dip my toe into YouTube.
Here’s my unfiltered goal list:
- Write Morning Pages
- Create a Free-Spending Budget (I really tend to overspend)
- Limit Time on YouTube and Social Media (I can binge-watch for hours)
- Make a Master To-Do List in my collections journal
- Do One Creative Thing Every Day
- 30 Minutes of Movement (that’s not walking)
- 8,000 Steps Per Day (working up to 10,000)
- Curate My Wardrobe
- Practice Handwriting and Learn Calligraphy
- Journal to Find My Purpose
- Re-Define My Values
- Use Lazy DM Principles in my planning (for my fellow tabletop folks!)
- Organize My Space—and Keep It That Way
- Write Down House and Table Rules (and make sure all my players have a copy)
- Implement a Campaign One-Pager and share it with players at the start of each campaign
- Blog Regularly
- Start a YouTube Channel
- Set Up a Housekeeping Schedule (thinking FlyLady or something similar)
- Practice Daily Gratitude
- Finish the First Draft of My Novel
- Read or Listen to Non-Fiction Daily (10 pages if reading, 10 minutes if listening)
This is just the beginning. I’m not disappearing in the literal sense, but I am stepping back from distractions and stepping into the life I want.
Let’s see what the next six months bring.