I was inspired by Heidi Grant Halvorson in the Harvard Business Review blog today to work on my 2012 goals:

Get specific. When you set yourself a goal, try to be as specific as possible. “Lose 5 pounds” is a better goal than “lose some weight,” because it gives you a clear idea of what success looks like. Knowing exactly what you want to achieve keeps you motivated until you get there. Also, think about the specific actions that need to be taken to reach your goal. Just promising you’ll “eat less” or “sleep more” is too vague — be clear and precise. “I’ll be in bed by 10pm on weeknights” leaves no room for doubt about what you need to do, and whether or not you’ve actually done it.

This is similar to the SMART philosophy of goal making (good goals are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely), which I try to follow.

Another influence on goal setting for me is Covey’s Seven Habits. The last one, Sharpen the Saw, suggests we work to increase our Mental, Physical, Emotional/Social, and Spiritual/Renewal capacity.

To that end, I developed these personal goals for 2012:

Mental

• Publish 75 blog posts
• Work 3 hours per week on personal coding projects
• Publish 3 apps

Physical: work out 5 days/week, and

• Be able to do 10 dead hang pull-ups
• Be able to do 10 ring dips
• Be able to bench press 155 pounds
• Rx 30 workouts at CrossFit
• Eat paleo food on 275 days

Social/Emotional

• Do 100 hours of community service
• Eat meals with 25 different groups of people

Spiritual/Renewal

• On last weekend of each month, spend at least two hours alone somewhere outside and unpopulated. Look over goals and plan the next month.