Resolution update: February 2016

PERSONAL HEALTH

1. Don’t die.

I finished my physical therapy last week. This, in combination with a lowering of my cholesterol by almost 40 points, is a good indicator of future health.

A recent health survey also indicated that I can expect to live until 95.

I'm killing it. 

2. Lose 20 pounds.

Seven pounds down. 13 pounds to go. 

3. Do at least 100 push-ups and 100 sit-ups five days a week.

Done.

4. Practice yoga at least three days a week.

Physical therapy is complete. I have one more month of strengthening at home, then I will set up an appointment with my yoga instructor for a complete refresher. 

WRITING CAREER

5. Complete my fifth novel before the end of February.

The due date has been pushed back to March 21. 

6. Complete my sixth novel.

I have two novels that are more than halfway finished and one that is finished but requires a re-write. One of these will likely become my sixth novel. 

7. Write a middle grade novel.

I read two middle grade novels in February that were exceptionally informative in terms of this project and have exchanged emails with my editor. Nothing proceeds until the novel due on March 21 is complete. 

8. Write at least three new picture books. 

No progress yet. 

9. Complete a book proposal for a book on storytelling.

The book is outlined, and most of the proposal is written. I need to write two sample chapters to complete the proposal. Work on this will begin once the novel is complete. 

10. Write a new screenplay

No progress yet.

11. Write a musical for a summer camp

I'm in the process of outlining the musical so my partner can begin work on the songs, 

12. Publish at least one Op-Ed in The New York Times.

No progress yet.

13. Publish an article in an educational journal.

No progress yet. 

14. Submit one or more short stories to at least three publishing outlets.

No progress yet.

15. Select three behaviors that I am opposed to and adopt them for one week, then write about my experiences on the blog.

I spent another week backing my car into parking spots (which initially struck me as insane). I am writing about my experience now. 

16. Increase my author newsletter subscriber base to 1,000.

I gained 18 subscribers in February. My total stands at 940. 

If you'd like to subscribe, you can do so here:

17. Collaborate with a former colleague on an educational book.

This project has been cancelled. After meeting with my collaborator, we determined that I am not best suited for this project.    

STORYTELLING

18. Produce a total of 12 Speak Up storytelling events.

We produced one show at the Noah Webster House in February, bringing our total number of Speak Up shows to two.  

19. Deliver a TED Talk.

Done! I spoke at TEDxNatick in January on the topic: Live Your Life Like Your 100 Year-Old Self. 
As soon as the video is posted, I will be sure to share it.

I will also be speaking at another TEDx conference in April.

20. Attend at least 15 Moth events with the intention of telling a story.

I attended a StorySLAM at Housing Works and a GrandSLAM at the Music Theater of Williamsburg, bringing my total number of events in 2016 to two.   

21. Win at least three Moth StorySLAMs.

I was called first in the only StorySLAM in which I competed in February. I placed fourth. 
Going first is the pits. Nearly impossible to win from the first couple positions.   

22. Win a Moth GrandSLAM.

I competed in a Moth GrandSLAM in Brooklyn in February. I was randomly assigned the second spot in the show, which is also the pits. Once again I finished fourth.

I will be competing in a Boston GrandSLAM at the end of March. 

23. Launch at least one new podcast.

I've chosen the next podcast and determined the format. It will not be launched until after the novel is complete.  

24. Launch a storytelling project that I will otherwise remain vague about here but will become a primary focus of 2016. 

Work does not begin on this project until the novel is complete. 

NEW PROJECTS

25. Host at least one Shakespeare Circle.

No progress.

26. Learn to cook three good meals for my wife.

No progress.

27. Plan a 25 year reunion of the Heavy Metal Playhouse.

No progress.

MISCELLANEOUS

28. Replace the 12 ancient, energy-inefficient windows in our home with new windows that will keep the cold out and actually open in the warmer months.

No progress. 

29. Optimize our television for a streaming service. 

Likely a summer project. 

30. Set a new personal best in golf.

No golf was played in February for obvious reasons. 

31. Play poker at least six times in 2016.

I have a game of poker scheduled in April with friends. 

32. Do not speak negatively about another person's physical appearance except when done in jest with my closest friends. 

Done. February was free of negative speech about another person's physical appearance (except for my own).

Honestly, this is not a difficult goal. Everyone should adopt it.  

33. Post my progress in terms of these resolutions on this blog on the first day of every month.

Done.

New Year's resolutions: 2016

As always, I reserve the right to alter the list for up to one week after posting. Suggestions are still welcome.

It's also important to note that some items, like meditating daily, flossing daily, exercising at least five days a week, trying new foods as they are presented to me, and others have dropped off the list as these behaviors have become habits. 

PERSONAL HEALTH

1. Don’t die.

Recommended by a friend years ago. Still valid today and deserving of the first spot on the list.

2. Lose 20 pounds.

Since my first weight goal in 2010, I have lost a total of 53 pounds. Another 20 is ambitious, but it would get me down to my high school weight, and I’m willing to try to make that happen.

3. Do at least 100 push-ups and 100 sit-ups five days a week.

I’ve accomplished this goal for three years in a row, but it’s not exactly automatic, so it remains on the list.

4. Practice yoga at least three days a week.

This is a modification of last year's five times a week goal. 

WRITING CAREER

5. Complete my fifth novel before the end of February.

The due date is February 28, so I'd better have it finished by then!

6. Complete my sixth novel.

I have two novels that are more than halfway finished. One of these will likely become my sixth novel. I hope. 

7. Write a middle grade novel.

An editor who passed on my picture books believes that I have the sensibility and humor to write a middle grade novel. I'm going to give it a shot.

8. Write at least three new picture books. 

My first three picture books are finished and in the hands of my agent. I have ideas for many more and an excellent test audience of fifth graders. I plan to bring three of these ideas to fruition in 2016.

9. Complete a book proposal for a book on storytelling.

The book is outlined, and most of the proposal is written. I need to write two sample chapters to complete the proposal. 

10. Write a new screenplay

This is a failed goal from 2015 that I plan to complete this year. I have a film agent who believes in my ability to write movies and is willing to read my screenplays, so it's stupid not to be writing them. 

11. Write a musical for a summer camp

For the last two years, I have written musicals for a local summer camp with my composer and lyricist, Andy Mayo. One of those musicals is now being produced by a children's theater company and will go on tour in the spring. 

In 2016, I plan to write another musical for the camp. 

Andy wants us to write another adult musical as well. In 2012 we wrote and produced a rock opera called The Clowns at a local theater and have been trying to get it into festivals or other theaters ever since. I'm not ready to commit to that goal, though the story for that musical is firmly set in my mind. 

12. Publish at least one Op-Ed in The New York Times.

I published two pieces in the Hartford Courant in 2015. I'd like to get my first piece into The New York Times in 2016. This goal violates my policy of setting goals that do not depend on the preferences of other people, but simply writing a piece for the Times is not enough of an accomplishment in this case. I need to get a piece published. 

My real goal is to land another column in a magazine, newspaper, or online publication this year, but I’m keeping this goal more reasonable.

13. Publish an article in an educational journal.

My Superintendent and I plan to write a piece about educational leadership based on work that we have done. I intend on getting it published at a journal in 2015.

14. Submit one or more short stories to at least three publishing outlets.

A failed goal in 2015 that I am re-committing myself to again. 

15. Select three behaviors that I am opposed to and adopt them for one week, then write about my experiences on the blog.

A failed goal in 2015 that I am re-committing myself to again. 

16. Increase my author newsletter subscriber base to 1,000.

I just crossed over the 900 subscriber mark. Getting to 1,000 should not be difficult. The real goal is to begin to tailor my newsletter to reader preference so more people will want to read.

STORYTELLING

16. Produce a total of 12 Speak Up storytelling events.

We produced eight shows in 2014 and 12 shows in 2015, so 12 shows in 2016 is a more than reasonable goal.

17. Deliver a TED Talk.

I’ve had some bad luck in terms of TED Talks over the past three years.

I did a TED Talk at the AT&T Conference Center in 2013 that went extremely well, but technical difficulties made the audio on the recording almost indiscernible. I hope to reproduce the talk at another TED event someday. 

I did a TED Talk at Western Connecticut State University in 2013 that went flawlessly, but the college students who hosted the conference never posted the recording online.

I did a TED Talk in April of 2014 in Somerville, Massachusetts that also went well, but my 15 minute talk was accidentally put on a nine minute timer, which forced me to dump sections of my talk on the fly and speak faster than I would’ve liked. The talk was good, but it was not exactly what I had planned. There was room for improvement.

I did a TED Talk at Boston University in April of 2015. The recording started almost two minutes into my talk, and one of the cameras failed. The actual talk went well but the recording is useless. Again, I'd like to repeat this talk at some point for TED. 

I did a TED Talk in November of 2015 in the Berkshires that went very well. The recordings is excellent. Perhaps my luck is finally turning around.  

I hope to successfully pitch myself to at least one TED conference in 2016. 

18. Attend at least 15 Moth events with the intention of telling a story.

I attended 27 Moth events in 2015, so this number is more than reasonable.

19. Win at least three Moth StorySLAMs.

I won one slam in 2011.
I won two slams in 2012.
I won seven slams in 2013.
I won five slams in 2014. 
I won three slams in 2015.

Three may seem like an ambitious number for 2016, but since 2011, I've competed in 42 Moth StorySLAMs and won 20 (a 48% win rate). If I compete in at least 10 StorySLAMs in 2016, I should be able to win at least three. 

Right? (he said hopefully)

20. Win a Moth GrandSLAM.

I won one GrandSLAM in 2014.
I won two GrandSLAMs in 2015. 

Winning one in 2016 is not an unreasonable goal.  

21. Launch at least one new podcast.

I have several podcast ideas, but the next one will be a podcast on writing and storytelling. Originally, the podcast was going to be called Author Outloud, but the name will likely change to something related to storytelling on the page and on the stage.

Elysha will be co-hosting this podcast.  

NEW PROJECTS

22. Host at least one Shakespeare Circle.

A failed goal in 2015 that I am re-committing myself to again. 

I intend on hosting an evening of Shakespeare. Friends will join us around the table to read a Shakespearean play aloud, with each person assuming a different role. I already have a group of people who have agreed to attend.

23. Learn to cook three good meals for my wife.

A failed goal from 2015. The only meal that I am capable of cooking for Elysha at this time is macaroni and cheese and hot dogs, which is amazing but not very impressive. I want to be able to cook three meals for her that she loves by the end of the year.

24. Plan a 25 year reunion of the Heavy Metal Playhouse.

My friend, Bengi, and I lived in a home that became known as the Heavy Metal Playhouse from 1989-1993. It was four of the best years of my life. Enormous parties, the closest of friendships, and the wildness of youth left an indelible mark on me. While I stay in touch with many of my friends from those days, I have not seen many of them in a long time. We have attempted to plan a reunion in the past without success. This year I would like to make this happen.

MISCELLANEOUS

25. Replace the 12 ancient, energy-inefficient windows in our home with new windows that will keep the cold out and actually open in the warmer months.

A failed goal from 2012 that I am reviving because these windows are making me crazy.   

26. Optimize our television for a streaming service. 

After failing to replace our rear projection television for almost 14 years, we have fallen seriously behind in terms of streaming content services. Our goal is to optimize our television viewing in 2016 by cutting the cord and installing a system that subscribes to the streaming services that best fit our needs while maintaining the content that we already enjoy. 

In truth, we barely watch any television, so this shouldn't be hard.

27. Set a new personal best in golf.

My lowest score for nine holes is a 45, and my lowest score for 18 holes is 95. I’d like to improve on either score in 2015.

28. Play poker at least six times in 2016.

I love poker. I paid for our honeymoon with profits from poker. I made a mortgage payment in 2012 with poker profits. I am a good poker player who did not play at all in 2015 because of the time shifted to writing and storytelling. While I don't regret this shift, I miss poker a great deal and need to bring it back into my life. Six games is not an unreasonable goal.   

29. Post my progress in terms of these resolutions on this blog on the first day of every month.

Resolution update: March 2015

Each month I post the progress of my New Year’s resolutions here as a means of holding myself accountable. The following are the results through the month of February.

PERSONAL HEALTH

1. Don’t die.

Didn’t even come close to dying.

2. Lose 20 pounds.

I remain just one pound down. At this pace, I will miss this goal by a lot. It’s mostly been my inability to get to the gym regularly in March due to illness and scheduling.

3. Do at least 100 push-ups and 100 sit-ups five days a week.

Done. I’ve added a plank every morning as well.

4. Stop drinking soda from two-liter bottles.

I didn’t drink soda from a two-liter bottle in March, and my soda consumption remains cut by well over half. I’m also drinking more water than ever before.    

5. Practice yoga at least five days a week.

I tried last week to restart my yoga routine after healing from an injury and  realized that I could barely remember it. I’ll be meeting with my yoga instructor in April, I hope.

6. Learn to cook three good meals for my wife.

No progress

WRITING CAREER

7. Complete my sixth novel before the end of the summer 2015.

The book remains about half finished, and I am about to launch back into fiction, but for reasons that are complicated, I may actually be putting that half-finished novel aside temporarily and beginning a new one.

It’s crazy. I know  

8. Complete my seventh novel.

This book remains about half finished as well.

9. Sell one children’s book to a publisher.

I have three books written and ready to go. I have three new ideas that I plan to work on in 2015. We will submit one or more of these books to editors at some point soon.

10. Sell a memoir to a publisher.

The memoir is written and is being polished now.

11. Sell a book of essays to a publisher.

My book of essays did not sell, but the responses that we received from editors were exceptionally positive. In a few cases, it was not a pass as much as a request that the book be reorganized and written slightly differently than it is currently constituted. I will do so. Fiction is now my main focus, but this remains a priority in 2015.  

12. Complete a book proposal for a book on storytelling.

Progress continues.

13. Write a new screenplay.

I’m still revising my first screenplay based upon film agent’s notes. No progress on the new one.  

14. Write 50 pages of a new memoir about the years of 1991-1993.

I have 25 badly written pages for this memoir that must be transformed into 50 good pages in 2015. No progress yet.

15. Write a musical for a summer camp

Excellent progress. It’s moving along well.  

In addition, I completed revisions on the musical that my partner and I wrote last year. In the fall, it will be produced by a local theater company.

We also have interest in our first musical – a rock opera – from another local playhouse.

image

16. Publish at least one Op-Ed in a physical newspaper.

I published three more pieces in the Huffington Post last month.

How to be a Grownup

12 Things Teachers Think But Can’t Always Say to Parents

Why “Your Child is Not As Gifted As You Think” Is the Worst Thing That a Teacher Can Say

Again, this is not a physical newspaper. Writing pieces for physical newspapers is part of the plan to launch my next novel, so this may happen in the fall if not before.

17. Submit one or more short stories to at least three publishing outlets.

No progress.

18. Select three behaviors that I am opposed to and adopt them for one week, then write about my experiences on the blog.

My first idea: Backing into a parking spot. I rightfully assume that anyone backing into a parking spot is a lunatic of the highest order. I shall spend a week backing into parking spots and see what wisdom I can glean.

I have not begun this experiment yet.

19. Build an author mailing list.

Third email sends today. Things are good. The job remains twofold:

• Create engaging content that will keep readers interested.
• Build my subscription base.

20. Build a new website for matthewdicks.com

Nearly finished. I will be migrating my blog and website over to the new website at some point in April.

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you will open this blog one day in April and find an entirely new look. I hope you like. 

STORYTELLING

21. Produce a total of eight Speak Up storytelling events.

Two down and six to go. We have two more shows scheduled in April, at both Real Art Ways and Connecticut College, and we have two new partnerships with local venues that we will be announcing soon.

22. Deliver my fourth TED Talk.

I will be delivering a TED Talk at Boston University in three days. I have also pitched talks to two other TEDx events in 2015 and await work.

image

23. Build a website for Speak Up.

Done! It’s a single page on my new author website, and it’s not nearly as robust as we want it to eventually be, but Speak Up finally has a webpage where you can find dates of events, ticket information, an opportunity to sign up for the mailing list, and more. You can find our webpage at speakupstorytelling.com.

24. Attend at least 10 Moth events with the intention of telling a story.

I performed in a Moth StorySLAM at Housing Works in New York and a GrandSLAM at The Somerville Theater in Somerville, MA, bringing my total number of Moth events in 2015 to four.  

25. Win at least two Moth StorySLAMs.

I’ve competed in one StorySLAM in March, receiving the two highest scores of the night from two judging teams (9.6 and 9.4) and the lowest score of the night (7.9, which is also the lowest score I have ever received) from the third team, which landed me in second place. I still cannot understand what happened, and when I think about it, I still get a little upset.

26. Win a Moth GrandSLAM.

Like the February GrandSLAM in NYC (and six before it), I placed second in the March GrandSLAM in Boston. I was chosen to tell from second position, which is an exceptionally difficult spot to win from, but I was still in the lead when the seventh storyteller took the stage and beat me by a tenth of a point.

I compete in another GrandSLAM in NYC this month.

image

27. Launch at least one podcast.

The MacBook Pro has arrived, complete with GarageBand, which was critical to my podcasting efforts.

I have crossed over to the dark side, at least in terms of podcasting.  

My website is nearly ready to receive podcasts.

This will happen soon.     

NEW PROJECTS

28. Pitch at least three new projects to two smart people.

I pitched one of my projects to one person in January. No further progress.

29. Host at least one Shakespeare Circle.

Nothing scheduled yet.

MISCELLANEOUS

30. Enroll in the final class needed for certification as a high school English teacher.

No progress. 

31. Set a new personal best in golf.

There are rumors that the golf course may open in April. .  

32. Post my progress in terms of these resolutions on this blog on the first day of every month.

Done.

Resolution update: January 2015

PERSONAL HEALTH

1. Don’t die.

Done! So far…

2. Lose 20 pounds.

I have gained two pounds in 2015, which means I need to lose 22 pounds in 2015. Well done, Matt.  

3. Do at least 100 push-ups and 100 sit-ups five days a week.

Done. I added a plank every morning as well.

4. Stop drinking soda from two-liter bottles.

I drank soda from two-liter bottles on two occasions in January:

1. My wife’s not-a-surprise party (thanks to a friend’s stupidity)
2. A bottle purchased for my mother-in-law and left in the refrigerator

The results of this goal have already been extraordinary. First, I’m drinking an enormous amount of water in place of the soda. Also, I’m finding myself drinking less soda at work and in other locations as well.

My soda intake has already been cut at least in half.  

5. Practice yoga at least five days a week.

My shoulder injury is healed enough to resume yoga, though I may need a refresher course from my instructor. It’s been five weeks since I last practiced, and I can barely remember the routine. But I have a yoga mat now. That’s something.

6. Learn to cook three good meals for my wife.

No progress

WRITING CAREER

7. Complete my sixth novel before the end of the summer 2015.

The book remains about half finished. I’m polishing a memoir before I return to it.

8. Complete my seventh novel.

The book remains about half finished as well.

9. Sell one children’s book to a publisher.

I have three written and ready to go. I had two new ideas that I liked a lot heading into 2015, and this month, I added a third that Elysha likes best of all. I’ll be working on them in 2015. We will submit a book to editors at some point soon.

10. Sell a memoir to a publisher.

The memoir is written and is being polished now.

11. Sell a book of essays to a publisher.

The book is in the hands of editors now. We should know if it will sell sometime next month. You can keep your fingers crossed for me.

12. Complete a book proposal for a book on storytelling.

The outline of the book is nearly complete. I’ll need to write some sample chapters and do all the other tedious jobs that go into developing a proposal, but progress is being made, and I’m excited.

13. Write a new screenplay.

I’m still revising my first screenplay based upon film agent’s notes. To be honest, I’m stuck on the solution to a problem in the story.

No progress on the new one.  

14. Write 50 pages of a new memoir about the years of 1991-1993.

I have 25 badly written pages for this memoir that must be transformed into 50 good pages in 2015. No progress yet.

15. Write a musical for a summer camp

I’ve written about 5,000 words so far and deleted about 4,700. I haven’t been able to lock in tone or voice yet. My partner has written three songs, so as usual, he is waiting on me. 

16. Publish at least one Op-Ed in a physical newspaper.

I published a piece in the Huffington Post this week. This, however, is not a physical paper.

17. Submit one or more short stories to at least three publishing outlets.

No progress.

18. Select three behaviors that I am opposed to and adopt them for one week, then write about my experiences on the blog.

I have created a list of ideas for this resolution now.

My first idea: Backing into a parking spot. I rightfully assume that anyone backing into a parking spot is a lunatic of the highest order. I shall spend a week backing into parking spots and see what wisdom I can glean.

I have not begun this experiment yet.

19. Build an author mailing list.

Major progress made! I actually went to the MailChimp website, learned how to manage my subscriptions and send email, and sent my first author email to my list of about 900 people. I’d been gathering email addresses for more than two years and had never done anything with them, so the first step was to invite anyone who didn’t  want to be on my list to unsubscribe. Between unsubscribers and dead email addresses, I lost about 200 people

My list is now lean, mean, and ready for next month’s email.

Now I must find ways to increase subscribers and provide compelling content to keep them engaged.    

20. Build a new website for matthewdicks.com

I paid a consultant to discuss the redesign of my website and other aspects of my author platform, and it went well. While I would love to continue to manage my website through WordPress, I’m leaning toward migrating things over to SquareSpace, which has a considerably lower learning curve. But I’m hemming and hawing on this. Any thoughts?

STORYTELLING

21. Produce a total of eight Speak Up storytelling events.

No shows produced in January. We have two shows scheduled in February and recently formalized a partnership with the Connecticut Historical Society that will bring two shows to their venue in 2015.

22. Deliver my fourth TED Talk.

I will be delivering a TED Talk at Boston University in April.

image

23. Build a website for Speak Up.

Same hemming and hawing about my author website has held this up as well.

24. Attend at least 10 Moth events with the intention of telling a story.

I attended a Moth StorySLAM at Housing Works in NYC in January. 

25. Win at least two Moth StorySLAMs.

I came in third in the most recent Moth StorySLAM after having my name drawn first from the hat. First sucks. I have won from first position once in my life, but that was in Boston, so it doesn’t really count. I’ve never seen anyone else win from first position, though I have heard that it has happened before.

I don’t believe it.   

26. Win a Moth GrandSLAM.

I compete in my first GrandSLAM of 2015 next month.

27. Launch at least one podcast.

We have decided to cross over to the dark side and purchase an Apple computer in order to make this process as simple as possible (and make the recording of Speak Up shows easier as well). We await the arrival of this machine. My website redesign must also be completed in order for this to begin.  

NEW PROJECTS

28. Pitch at least three new projects to five smart people.

I pitches one of my projects to one person in January, who had some great suggestions for me to move forward.

29. Host at least one Shakespeare Circle.

Nothing scheduled yet.

MISCELLANEOUS

30. Enroll in the final class needed for certification as a high school English teacher.

No progress. 

31. Set a new personal best in golf.

Two feet of snow is hindering the pursuit of this goal. It is not stopping my friend from sending me photos from the golf course in Florida.

32. Post my progress in terms of these resolutions on this blog on the first day of every month.

Done