Make plans, not goals

I've been experiencing one of my periodical bursts of enthusiasm for self-improvement. I have cyclical relationship with the desire to be the best person I can be. Every few months I somehow have a burning feeling that I not only CAN I lose weight, get out of debt, write a book, make more money, become a better journalist, become an exemplary daughter, sister, friend, etc., encourage more Latinas to go to college, end global poverty, but I SHOULD do all those things. Okay, so perhaps that list was a rather elaborate (and unrealistic!), but one should always shoot for the stars, que no?

Well, anyway, I had an Oprah-style "aha" moment recently (although I can't remember the exact time or date), in which i determined that I should focus less on setting goals and more on making plans. Plans dictate your actions, which in turn dictate achievements, which in turn means accomplishing goals. It's like the whole every-long-journey-begins-with-one-step idea. So this, of course, should not feel like a revelation. It's not, but perhaps my new-found enthusiasm for "making plans" right now is.
So here are some "plans" for completing my "goals:"

1. Lose weight: stop eating crap and work out at least 3 times per week.
2. Get out of debt: cut down on spending and pay off credit cards.
3. Write a book: finish my novel "Place Between Willows" and finish revising my short stories.
4. Make more money: pray the economy gets better so my boss will finally give me a raise, start tutoring kids again, and get published outside of a newspaper (i.e. magazine or said novel).
5. Become a better journalist: stop logging on to Facebook at the office, force myself to take on more challenging assignments.
6. Become an exemplary daughter, sister, friend, etc.: be nicer and more honest to people in my life.
7. Encourage more Latinas to go to college: join a mentoring program (?)
8. End global poverty: Start donating more to relief funds and volunteer for poverty-ending activities like job-training programs.

Okay, simple enough. I'm going to employ the 15-minute rule I learned from SELF magazine, which is that if even if you're super busy, you can take 15 minutes per day to apply to the goals and activities that really matter in your life. That means 2 hours per day total for all 8 of my goals and #5 I can do while I am work. Sweet! More updates to come.