I’ve always been a planner. I have notebooks filled with goals categorized by achievability, deadlines or my mood at the time when I wrote them. Writing things down always made them feel more real and therefore, one step farther on the road to success. However, starting is only half the battle. I’m very good at starting things. Here are a few of my personal UFO’s from 2020. 

• Knit a sweater – Despite help from my mom, an expert knitter, I still have the torso and sleeves left to finish.
• Paint a picture – I was so proud two weeks ago when I finished color #1 on my very first paint by numbers. I haven’t touched it since. 
• Read my bookshelf – Admittedly, this is more of a long term goal. I keep buying more books.
• Write a story – Since high school, I’ve toyed with a couple of different storylines that I always thought would be fun to put to paper. Character development was my strength and my downfall. I’ve imagined them in such vivid and wonderful detail that I now find it difficult to be mean to my characters which is of course required to move the plot forward. 
• Paperwork – The stack of mail and papers to be filed is beginning to look like a daunting task that is slowly taking over my dining room table.
• Learn to cook – I’m terrified to try new recipes in case they don’t turn out and I’m forced to taste my failure for a week until my next grocery run. 
• Become a pro on the piano – Similar to my reading list dilemma, this is more long term. I know what I need to do and how to practice but it’s difficult to hone in on one or two songs to get really good at.  
• Get in shape for my sister’s wedding – I’ve fallen off the exercise wagon so many times I’ve lost count. The joys of solo apartment living; my rules, my schedule and no built in accountability, are a blessing and a curse.
• Plan my sister’s wedding – Thankfully, there is a fairly rigid schedule that must be kept for this particular goal. So far so good. 
• Reconnect with friends – The recent global pandemic threw a bit of a wrench in the previously steady progress of my social skills. 
• Sleep – Much like my social life, my time management skills took a vacation during the long months of lock down and have yet to return in full. 

Well… There you have it. I’m sure there are other unfinished projects on my mind that I’m simply forgetting at the moment but it feels good to get these out of my head. I’m looking forward to a time when I’ll reread this post, clap my hands together and say mischief managed. What are some of your UFO’s and strategies for handling them? Share in the comments.