Click on the image to download a PDF version. Print it out and post it on your wall.

Then head into 2010 knowing that you are a month ahead of the rest of the world… and that you don’t have to be perfect!

Happy New Year!

So how to start Month Zero?

Well, first of all… do you have goals set for next year? They don’t have to be big goals like “restore world peace” or “stamp out hunger.” They do need to be measurable, though. You can’t say something vague like “I’ll make more quilts next year.”

Nope. Make it concrete. “I made XX quilts this year. Next year I will make YY.”

Or “I will enter one exhibition/quilt show this year.”

Or “I will take a class from (teacher I’ve always secretly admired).”

That’s the first step. Write down those specific goals — one, or several, or a whole bunch. If there are a whole bunch, try to prioritize them. “I really want to do this thing, but I am absolutely going to do that one if I have to hijack a Wells Fargo truck to pay for it.”

(Just kidding about the Wells Fargo truck. Law enforcement officials would frown upon it and they wouldn’t allow needles or other sharp objects in your cell. Difficult to make quilts that way.)

(Besides, I think Wells Fargo changed its name last year. It would have to be a Loomis truck.)

Write your goals. Make them measurable. Share them here if you like, and we’ll form a Monday Morning Kick in the Pants Society to help keep each other on track with the goals. Or pin them up on your wall and keep track of them yourself. But I promise you, having a group to gently and lovingly kick you in the pants — and cheer like crazy when you reach a goal — is a Good Thing in terms of getting things done.

It’s just like Weight Watchers, only without the weigh-in. Or you know, that whole keeping-track-of-food thing.

Next time: You’ve got your goals, but how do you get there from here?

I’m getting a head start on next year. Instead of winding down the old one and fretting over holidays interfering with the end-of-year stuff, I’ve decided to look at this as Month Zero of 2010. A whole month for planning! When everyone wakes up hung over on January 1 and starts blearily thinking about New Year’s Resolutions, I’ll have spent 31 days thinking, planning, getting priorities in place for a successful and happy 2010.

Who will join me in Month Zero of 2010?