Hrm, at 43, I am still behaving a little too much like 23, still justifying bad behavior with the notion that I have worked hard and therefore deserve it. While I suppose that is occasionally true, it is more often than not an excuse to cheat whatever plan I have in place I am trying to follow: financial, dietary, productivity, etc. Perhaps it is simply the curse of the creative that we are able to find so many excuses, but in the end, it’s all a case of fooling one’s self. Math and physics are implacable: you can’t talk your way out of the consequences any more than you can beat a wall at tennis.

Here’s the truth: I have certain goals, and I need to do better at achieving them. Step one for me has always been writing them down. There is a certain magic in the act. I can plan things better when I do.

And more to the point, I follow the plan I have better when I know I will have to confess any failings.

Money, health, and creation. Those are the goals. Now for a roadmap.