Here we are again. Another January has arrived. It is time to set goals. This is getting easier for me every year because I just use the previous year's list. If this resolution thing worked, I should have different goals every year, right? Why then does my list consist of the same things year after predictable year?

1. Organize. Dejunk.

One of my Christmas gifts to my stepdaughter was a bathroom makeover—new shower curtain, new towels, baskets to hold small items. It looked great after I worked my magic. Upon returning home, I wondered why it was easier for me to organize someone else's space than my own. I decided to “hire” myself as an organizational consultant. (My organizational consultant is like my alter-ego no-nonsense cleaning woman, who works hard but likes to be paid in cash under the table so she can go to the mall. I created her because she works much harder than that scatter-brained woman who is usually here who starts five things and finishes two and is always daydreaming about books she is going to write instead of concentrating on the tasks at hand.)

So far my organizational guru has me starting outside. She gives me a goal for the week and then comes back to check on how I've done. Since last Monday I've gone to the dump twice and the thrift store once, and I am well on my way to meeting my first goal. I think we'll be able to work together. I fear she is going to be harsh with me about some of the things I need to dispose of, but that's probably what I need. Her name is Eugenia. She is from the South, very well bred, and high class, and I want to impress her. Once I get my kitchen organized, she has promised to give me a couple of her recipes. My husband, a family therapist as well as a professor, has no idea about these other women who inhabit my head. If he knew, he might have me committed, or worse yet, he might want to have a little fling with one of them. On the other hand, as I recall, he married me knowing that he sometimes got e-mails from my previous more-flirtatious alter-ego, 8cowwman@aol.com.

2. Take Control of My Life

The control will likely improve as I dejunk. There will be less to organize and less clutter to get me off track. I would truly like, at least once before I die, to look around and be able to say “There! I made it! I'm organized.”

3. Take Control of My Time

I am actually starting to improve at being on time for things. Perhaps, however, this is an illusion brought about by living in Hawaii where nobody is ever on time for anything. I am likely just as slothful as I ever was but look better by comparison.

4. Take Control of Our Finances

This year we are going to start living on a budget, something we have not found necessary until recent economic woes have forced us all to be more cognizant of where our money is going. This requires a certain level of organization, but then many goals are inter-related, which brings me to my next one.

5. Floss

This should probably be at the top of the list. Health experts (the requisite four out of five dentists, perhaps) have found a link between lack of flossing and other health problems. I think there is an even bigger link. I think “Do you floss?” should be one of the temple recommend questions. It is my observation that people who floss usually have it together in other areas of their lives. Case in point, my husband is a faithful flosser. (My cleaning lady often complains sometimes about having to pick up those little pieces of floss that don't hit the garbage can, but at least we have the evidence that the deed is being done.) The times of my life that I have been diligent at flossing are the times when I was doing all the other things I know I should. If you floss first thing in the morning, I think it raises the bar for the rest of the day and sets the stage for you to do all the other things you ought to be doing.

Therefore, all of my goals are embodied in this one word—“floss.” It may not make any sense to you, but it works for me. Tie a piece of dental floss around your finger to remind yourself of the connection.

6. Stop Procrastinating

I am probably not the only one out there who does what they want to do when they should be doing what they need to do. I don't know the cure for this one except for good old-fashioned self-discipline. Anybody got any suggestions?

7. Write My Personal History

I am actually making progress on this one. I have designated Sunday as my history writing day. I have broken my life down into ten periods and have a reasonably good outline prepared. So far I have covered my life from birth to age five, describing in horrifying detail my first foray into public speaking in Junior Sunday School. From time to time I may share excerpts with my readers. I know we are all encouraged to do this, but I feel that as a writer I will have no excuse for not having left behind a personal history. There are so many parts of my various books that have roots in reality that I want to make sure my posterity knows what I made up and what really happened. I want them to know how I held onto my faith during hard times. I want them to know that I was a real person with faults and challenges and that I didn't always do the right thing, but I always tried to fix my mistakes and learn and grow from my experiences.

I tell myself that if I wrote a page a day, it would equal a book a year. I imagine it isn't hard for an informed reader to see that my main goal should be self discipline and then all of these could be sub-goals under that heading. I'm working on it. I flossed.

8. Be a Better Person

This is one of those all-inclusive ones. Be a better daughter/mother/stepmother/grandmother. Be a better friend. Give service. Be kind. Be a more loving and supportive wife. Be more grateful and less whiny. Study the scriptures more. Pray better. Go to the temple. Do all the things I'm reminded of when I go to the temple.

9. Listen more. Talk less.

This one probably speaks for itself. I'm not just a writer. I'm a talker. I like to make people laugh. Being a talker doesn't mean you aren't a good listener, but I need to make a better effort to listen more and talk less.

10. Lose weight. Exercise more.

I won't quit working on this one, because I can only imagine how much I would weigh if I didn't at least try to hold the line. We've got a weight-lifting machine on our carport that we bought for the boys when they were still at home. I am thinking seriously of putting an ad in the newspaper with a headline that reads “Will Take Chocolate in Trade.” Chances are that the three times in eight years that I have used the exercise machine do not justify the space it takes up. My husband says he uses it, and I am impressed that he is able to do so without disturbing any of the cobwebs.

He always reminds me that past performance is the best predictor of future behavior. I take that statement and remind myself that I always eventually succeed at losing weight. Conversely, however, I could also discourage myself by recalling that I usually end up eventually gaining it back as well. It used to be about looking good. Now it is about living longer and quality of life. I have signed up for a dance class that should give me some exercise and fun once a week. That's a start, but sometimes a start is enough. If I make an investment in good health by exercising, it often results in better eating choices because I don't want to waste my exercise.

One of the things about the Weight Watchers® plan that works for me is that I know I have to weigh in and be accountable. My stepdaughter and I took our measurements in December so that we will be able to see if we are making progress towards our fitness goals. (There is something eye-opening and motivational when you discover that your neck and flabby upper arm measurement is the same.) Perhaps what might be helpful with some of my other goals is a device akin to a bathroom scale that would give me a readout on my progress.

I don't have that magic measuring tape like Mary Poppins, however, so I am sharing my goals with my Meridian readers. Now and then I will revisit one or more of them and update you on my progress. Maybe by doing so, I will gain some momentum instead of falling off the wagon by Valentine's Day.