Today is January 31, the end of the first month of the year. Hard to believe, but the year is already about 8.5% complete. I have decided that I am going to take a monthly look at my goals, and assess how I stand on each. As long as I am doing that, I thought I’d share with you all too. Might be the most boring set of posts I write this year, who knows?

The theme for these posts will be Revise, Replace, Redouble. The inspiration for these three Rs came to me on the treadmill this week. As I am assessing my progress, I am going to see whether I need to revise the goal, replace it with something new, or redouble my efforts. Here is where I stand on my goals as I set them at the beginning of the month

Reach my goal weight of 195 pounds and maintain it. I started the year at 242.8 pounds, and ended January at 234.0. That is an 8.8 pound decrease for the month. When I started the year I was 47.8 pounds from my goal. The 8.8 pounds lost in January represents 18.4% of the total I needed to lose. At this point I am on track to lose the weight this year. I know that weight loss will come more slowly down the home stretch, but there is no reason to change the goal at this point.

Scan all of my remaining photos. This one hasn’t started yet. The winter months are slipping by, and that is the best time for me to be doing this kind of a project, so I need to redouble my efforts here. For February I want to make sure that I have at least assessed what needs to be done, and that I have started the scanning process.

Make something useful out of wood. One of my loyal readers, Amy, asked in a comment whether I would blog about this when I complete it. The answer is most definitely yes. I didn’t intend to start this project during the winter because all of my tools are in my unheated garage. So, no progress, but that was to be expected. I guess I could start brainstorming ideas for projects.

Write 400 Blog posts. So far this year I have written a total of 42 posts, which puts me on a pace for just over 500 for the year. I am well on track on this. No change needed

Outline one book, and develop ideas for 2 others. I don’t have anything formally written on this yet, but I do have 3 strong ideas. In February I plan to research how to write an effective book outline and then how to approach a publisher. I will also look into self-publication. In the meantime, I am writing!

Visit 10 new lighthouses. This one is dormant with the winter weather. I did visit a lighthouse in January, but it was one I have been to many times (Grand Haven). I have a February trip planned which will include visits to 2 new lights, so I will be well on my way.

Take 15,000 Pictures. So far, in January, I have taken about 100 pictures. Not exactly setting the world on fire here. This is a place to redouble my efforts

Enter 5 Photo Contests. Also one that is dormant. Another opportunity to redouble.

Schedule 4 hours per month for nothing but picture taking. This one I sort of completed. I took a day (well over 4 hours), to go visit and photograph an ice covered lighthouse. The day didn’t go well, and none of my pictures came out, but I did dedicate time. I need to redouble the effort on this for February.

Read 12 books that are not Uncle John’s Bathroom Readers. On my personal Facebook page I have been noting when I finish books. To date I have read 3 in 2015 (The Tipping Point, by Malcom Gladwell; Killing Patton, by Bill O’Reilly & Martin Dugard; and In the Garden of Beasts, by Erik Larson). As I have been chronicling them on Facebook, I have been referencing a goal to read 15 books. So I guess I have already revised that goal upward. Given how prolifically I have been reading, I think that 15 to 20 will be my likely total.

So there we have it. My updated list of goals for 2015. My plan is to keep this list handy, and continue to work the items here. I am certain that I will have other opportunities to revise, replace and redouble as the year goes on. In the meantime, it is good to know that I have goals to work on. It really does help guide my days.