Index Cards… a pocketful of progress

A while back, I started filling out an index card every day. I have tried everything to try to get myself to keep my goals in mind. (a few years ago, I started goal setting twice a year, once in Jan, and once after my birthday in June… but i’ll write on that later). I’ve tried writing on paper and hanging it on the wall (never read it after the first week). I tried sectioning off a goal setting portion of my house (never spent much time in there). I tried writing on my mirrors, and windows (ignored it after a while). Then finally I tried the index cards… The act of writing it everyday really works for me. I pick a few topics, (right now its Personal Growth, Questions, and Vocab) and write whatever I want to think about related to those topics on the card. Its good for a few reasons. One, it is small, disposable, and I’m not worried about losing it. (I don’t put my name on it. If someone finds one, maybe they’ll get something out of it though). 2nd. Its the right size to fit in my pocket, and it makes me condense whatever I have to say. I figure if I can’t fit it on the card, then its too much to think about for one day. I try to keep the “to do” type things down to a very minimum… but sometimes I’ll include something. Also, its a handy place to write down any random thoughts I have during the day if I want to remember them. I keep all these cards in a box on my desk at home… and every so often I’ll glance through them. I like seeing the trends in my thinking. I try to keep the things I write down in line with my year-long goals… And many times, I write down the same thing I wrote down the day before. For me, its not so much a new idea thing, but just continuity of thought. I want to be thinking about where I’m going everyday, not just once every 6 months. I also include a vocab word. Today’s was munificent… meaning very generous or lavish. As a fairly educated person, I often wonder about increasing my vocab. I know its good for some reasons, but really, if in 16 years of school, I don’t know the word, what are the odds that a random person I talk to is going to understand it off the top of their head? … oh well, I’m pretty sure thats not a strong argument for staying word-stupid. What I really need is a country of the day. My geography is pathetic. And to think I want to be a world traveler. Oh. and I’m super excited to go home today because my parents sent me a package on Valentines day. How fantastic is that?