Goal Setting

While I have been occupied with other parts of my life over the last several months, I think that the slowdown in progress on the layout had a deeper cause. In a recent post on one of his blogs, Shelf Layouts, Lance Mindheim talks about "subtle traps that can sap enthusiasm." One that he mentions in particular is "not hitting personalized completion milestones" in our internal timeline. His solution is to front load with targets.

Mindheim Targets:

• Benchwork Complete: 3-6 months
• Some Train Running:  3-6 months
• A scene or two finished:  1 year
• All three:  18-24 months

With his targets in mind and an awareness that I have to fit the railroad in with other parts of my life without progress coming to a standstill, I have come up with a list of my own. It is intended as both a to do list and a goal setting motivator.

To Do:

• Benchwork finalized and in place
• Workbench and materials organized
• Regular posting to the blog
• DCC components set up
• East staging and a program track wired
• Start work on rolling stock and loco roster and maintenance
• Start some track work
• Start a building or bridge
• Design the fascia and valence