June 2010 Recap

June was a pretty satisfying month. All six members contributed something and we once again had a flair for the dramatic, logging ten items on the final day of the month to give us 35 on the month instead of 25. That means we did 40% of our damage in one day, tying our previous record high for loggings in a day. And perhaps more importantly, 19 comments were made in the final five days of the month. That's huge! Guys, we never comment on each other's shit. I'm impressed. A month ago, I was worried that this project was dying, but I have new found hope in our little book/game/movie club.

But enough about us; let me talk about me. I abandoned my old monthly goal - for everything new, finish two other items - in June, opting for a more specific approach of simply giving myself a list of things to beat, read, or watch. And I aced it! Progress for the month was also made in all three categories, as I decreased my book, game, and video counts by 1, 7, and 2, respectively.

Last month I gave myself 6 games to beat, 4 books to read, and 3 TV seasons to watch. I cut it a bit close, especially with the books, but it was certainly a right-sized goal. This month, I'm in Hawaii for a week and then I finally join the workforce almost as soon as I get back; less progress can be expected, so less shall be self-assigned. On the book front, it makes total sense for me to finish Hawaii and I'd be remiss not to read Thomas Paine's Common Sense in the spirit of the fourth. With video games, I should really get around to beating one on PS3. LittleBigPlanet it is. Additionally, I haven't beaten a handheld game or a Final Fantasy game in ages, so it makes sense to kill two birds with one stone and finish Final Fantasy III. Know what? Final Fantasy Tactics Advance as well. Four birds with two stones, or whatever you want to call it. Since all three of the aforementioned games are already in progress and roughly half beaten, I'll throw in my final N64 game, Kirby 64. In the final department of movies and TV shows, I'm fairly well off with just 7 movies and 6 TV seasons to go. Let me promise the first three Alien movies, Season 7 of Curb Your Enthusiasm, and at least one season of The Wire. That's 2 books, 4 games, and 5 DVDs. A large plate, no doubt, but I need lofty goals if I'm to overcome my lofty mountain of backlogged items.

I encourage the rest of you to make some specific monthly goals as well. Even if only a couple. It's very liberating, in a weird way, to rob yourself of the freedom to finish whatever you want whenever you want to. Anyway, good luck and Godspeed!