Don Kowalewski
Writer. Ad Sales and Marketing. Social Media Content Creator. Aeropress Coffee. Makes the best salsa in the world.
Goal-setting for 2015
I think something might be wrong with me because when I look ahead to 2015, one of my big goals is to organize my names, phone numbers, mailing addresses, and email addresses. I guess you’d call that “my Contacts.”
Yup. That’s my “big goal.” It’s exciting times in the world of Don Kowalewski.
It’s about getting organized. It’s about re-connecting with people and taking control. And, yes, I’m starting with my Contacts.
See …I have Outlook at work. I enter names and contacts in Outlook and mostly they show up on my phone. But sometimes they don’t. And when I meet people and enter names and numbers on my phone, they sometimes show up in my Contacts in Outlook. But what I’m going to do … seriously, I can sense how excited you are …I’ll use Yahoo! Contacts as my main entry point because I’ve run some experiments and it’s pretty good. If I enter a name and address there, it shows up unduplicated in both my iPhone and iPad. Doesn’t show up in my Outlook desktop, but that’s OK. It’s rare I’m not living-on and working from my phone.
Oh, and for your Google maniacs? Yes. I tried. And it didn’t sync as smoothly.
Why is this my goal? Well, because in our annual Christmas card mailing, with my job changes, I realized I lost many, many addresses. In the last 15 months of transition, I’ve lost contact with many, many friends. And I don’t like myself as much when I turn into a recluse. And, yes, I’ve also considered the fact that none of these people have called me which means either (a) they are in the same boat as me and are busy or lost my # or (b) don’t like me.
But I’m also not going to sit around worrying about who doesn’t like me. Because I like them. And that’s what matters. My old friend Pete came to Michigan twice, and I didn’t even pick up the phone and call him and say I’m sorry I was going to miss him this time around. My other great friend Matt …well, I haven’t talked with him in a year and a half. Shit. I haven’t called my cousin Scott about his big move and promotion or my li’l-brother-from another-mother, Nick, to thank him for guidance and counsel over these past 15 months.
I guess you could say my goal is to start a habit. Start a habit of calling people when I think about them. And this all goes back to my idea that God and angels whisper in our ears all the time, but we don’t always listen. We think we’re going to see a burning bush or the sky is going to open up and the voice of God will thunder down. But what if God just sends angels to whisper little things like, “call your old boss.” Or, “write a quick blog entry.” Or, “tell your Dad you love him.”
Has a random thought or person ever jumped into your head? Ever wonder why it jumped in there? Ever thought maybe an angel whispered it in your ear and you should do something about it?
Note: An angel might’ve just whispered the Knight Rider theme song in my ear, which means sometimes random thoughts are just random thoughts, or some angels are pranksters or really pushing me to think deep.
Focusing on and organizing my Contacts seems frivolous and small. But from a small goal, who knows, maybe big things will happen. Like …I want to lose 10 pounds in 2015. I could do it by mid-January by drinking a million gallons of water, eliminating all carbs, and doing some P90X. But couldn’t I also do it by forcing myself, twice a day, to take my dog for a 30-minute walk and skip snacks in the evening? Two daily walks and skipping snacks is small, minor stuff. But if I do it, by the end of 2015 I’ll have walked for 3,650 hours (exercise, activity, fresh air, healthy dog) and at a typical average walking pace, I’ll have walked 12,000 miles.
I hope I did that math correctly (3.5mph x 3,650 hours).
I’m going to connect and reconnect with more people. I’m going to organize my Contacts. I’m going to have a great 2015.
Follow me at @donkowalewski and tell me what you’re doing. #OneSmallThing
Oh, and put this in your head, today. You won’t regret it.
Don Kowalewski 