I forgot where I saw this and I can’t say the thought was mine originally. But as the title suggests, I’m not making new year’s resolutions. I’m going to make goals.
I want to be able to look back at 2012 and say I accomplished something. 2011 was pretty eventful, if you ask me, and I can look back and say I remember what happened. A few things weren’t so good and I hope to use the typical and somehow obligatory fresh start that a new calendar allows to make for that. For me to have something to look back on, I need to know where I’m going. That’s where the goals come in.
I do have some resolutions, however, which I’ll quickly get out of the way so I can focus on the important parts.
I resolve to:
- Send more thank you cards – handwritten or generated by apps. It’s the thought that counts, right?
- Read more books and less RSS feeds.
- Take better care and control of my health more.
- Write more opinionated pieces on my blog; I still enjoy curating and seem to have found a small stride in reposting other people’s observations – that continues.
- Be better organized.
- And some other stuff…
But here’s the important list. To make sure I feel some sense of accomplishment, I’m specifying what I want to achieve.
- Send at least one thank you card a month. If a special occasion warrants it, send as many as needed.
- Complete one book each month. Subject isn’t important neither is length but short stories, long form articles, and blog posts don’t count.
- Take my vitamins every day at the same time.
- Get to the gym at least twice a week for (a minimum) a 45 minute walk; work towards getting weight lifting back into the routine in month two. Lose 10 lbs.
- Write an essay or long form opinion piece four times a year, more if possible. By sticking to one a quarter, I can spend some quality time on it without too much pressure.
- Clean my “junk” drawer every week and my closet once a month.
- Meditate every other day for 20 minutes.
Each one of those goals has a specific achievement and a set frequency. I can time my life to it. Some are harder than others; some are less specific – like meditate… On what? Where? Etc.
I never had that kind of schedule – even for resolutions I had been successful in the past with. Like quitting smoking, eating better, losing weight (in three different but sequential years). But with work – both the paying and home kind, a nearly two year old, and the fact I’m starting to age at an exponential rate (or at least it feels like that), I need some structure.
The resolutions are just guidance for the goals. There isn’t a harm in having them but without something specific to achieve, they’ll be forgotten about within a month. I’m not sure that some of the goals I set are achievable, either (like taking my vitamins every day), but I have to try and I think I set some reasonable ones. I’m also looking in a social aspect of achieving these goals – especially on the fitness side of things. Any help I can get will be needed.
Let’s see how I do in a year.