This weekend I sat down and did something I never do — I wrote out New Year’s Resolutions.
I’ve never been the resolution-y type. I’d occasionally make a list, and it would be a vague list — write more, exercise more.
This time, I sat down and asked myself, “What am I trying to accomplish? What do I want to do? What will make my life measurably better?”
I came up with some ideas. I wrote them down. I came up with some more ideas. I wrote those down, too. I typed them up. I reordered them. I rewrote a few. Then I formatted the list for printing, picking some suitably appropriate fonts.
Here’s the list:
1. Write 1,000 words per day. Note: Things that do not count: work writing, blog posts, forum posts, e-mails.
2. Make at least 3 blog posts per week. Note: Link Round-Ups do not count, nor do Tweet compilations.
3. Leave the cubicle every day for lunch. Do not eat lunch at the desk. Do not work through lunch. Take a book to read. Write in a notebook.
4. Leave work at work. If deadlines are missed, deadlines are missed.
5. Eat breakfast daily.
6. Pack a lunch each workday.
7. Walk three days a week, no matter the weather, no matter the time, unless there is snow on the ground.
8. Set the alarm clock for 6 o'clock every morning. Saturday and Sunday are exceptions.
9. Make the bed every morning.
10. Shave thrice weekly.
11. Submit one job application or resume each week.
12. Develop a podcast to launch in the spring.
13. Code new front page for website by April.
14. Resume and complete The Misadventures Project.
15. Work through the One Minute Gaelic podcast, and continue with Teach Yourself Gaelic.
16. Reread The Lord of the Rings and the Lankhmar series, for possible blog series.
17. Listen to The Lost Lennon Tapes episodes, also for possible blog series.
I’m going to print out three copies. One I will hang in the office at home. One I will hang in my kitchen. And one I will hang in my cubicle at work. The idea is that they’ll always be somewhere where I can see them, read them, think about them, and internalize them.
Some of these may seem like lifehacks. I don’t eat breakfast every day. I don’t usually make my bed; as someone who lives alone, I don’t usually see the point. I don’t shave because I don’t deal with the public anymore; why be presentable? I want to implement and reinforce better behavior on my part.
Toward the end, I name some specific things that I want to complete or embark upon. Some are projects that I began and then lost interest in. Some are things that I’ve wanted to do but have never started. I wrote them down to keep myself accountable.
Yes, I really do want to learn Scots Gaelic. I got far enough into the One Minute Gaelic podcast that I can understand a little of the Gaelic used in Starz’s Outlander.
Tomorrow after work, I’ll stop at Target or Office Max and pick up a daily planner where I can track my progress on these. And, if more ideas occur to me as the year wears on, I can write them down.
That’s the plan.
If you have any questions on any of these, please ask.