GOOOOOOOOAAAALLL!

The new year, not to mention a new decade, is upon us, and it is time to take stock of my life. I'm not one for making resolutions (too easy to fail), but I do like to take a moment to evaluate my progress through this thing we call life.
Resolutions seem to be too scary. If I resolve not to eat fatty foods, I'm bound to think of nothing but onion rings until I break down and gorge myself. Once that happens, the resolution is broken and there's no going back. My brain considers that a free pass until the next Jan 1st comes along.
Instead, I like to make goals for myself. These are things I am working toward. If I happen to eat some onion rings along the way, it's okay. I just try to do a little better the next week. Goals are more about knowing where I'm headed and less about staying on exactly the right path to get there.
Although I was too overwhelmed last year (and possibly the year before) to even think about the future, I am ready to grab hold of the reins once again. Here's how I do it, in case you'd like to play along at home:

Categories - I try to keep it fairly simple. If I give myself too many goals, I can't keep up with them. Failure is NOT a good motivator.

Work - goals relating to my job and the earning of money
Home - goals about chores and home ownership
Relationships - goals for improving my interactions with family and friends
Health - goals for exercise and eating habits
Fun - goals that encourage me to continue things I know I like and explore things I think I might like

Format - As a teacher, I relate my yearly goals to those that I might write for a student's Individualized Education Plan. Consequently, I follow the same guides that I would use when creating an IEP. I try to keep the goals as specific as possible. I make sure that my goals are both measurable and reachable. I use my current baseline as a starting point, and I develop sub-goals that will help me monitor my progress.
For example:

Work Goal #1 - Master's Degree
Baseline - I have 5 classes left to complete my online Master's degree. I have received A's on on my coursework and tests so far, but I have not turned anything for the last 12 months.
Goal - I will complete 4 classes toward my master's degree this year.
Sub-goals - I will have 2 finished by May, and the other 2 finished by next January. I will complete an average of 3 questions a week.

I plan to have the rest of my goals fleshed out before the calendar clicks over to 2010. I'll probably even share them with you! I'd be interested in hearing about your New Year's goals and/or resolutions. What are you feelings about them? How do you do it? What are you planning for 2010?