A quick Google search about New Year’s resolutions ideas will tell you that the debate starts with whether or not you should actually even make them. Personally, I like them. I like things that have a specific, marked beginning. I want my starting time to be assigned. Left to my own choice, I’ll continue to procrastinate as I’ve already been doing. The January 1st date (even though we’re already past that), gives me less leeway. I’m beholden to the calendar now. With this in mind, I wanted to share my resolutions with you. Maybe you’re interested in what I’m up to, maybe you need a little help coming up with your own, or maybe you’re just curious how the January 1st crowd lives.
Write and publish one blog post per week. I’ve been a terrible blogger as of late. The pandemic and return to “normal” life really threw me off my game, and it’s time to get back down to business. However, setting a goal of four or five posts a week is just setting myself up for failure. I need to start with something reasonable and attainable and grow from there. Hopefully by the end of the year, I’ll be back to where I want to be. Feel free to reach out if there are any topics you would like me to get into.
Workout three times a week. I bet just about everyone has this on their list. I’m going to start with just going for a run three days per week. I don’t think that’s unrealistic, but I think it is significant enough to produce some of the physical and mental improvements I’m looking for. Plus, it will give me some time to catch up on podcasts and audiobooks. Listening to The Martian while running was a wonderful experience.
Read more. Ok, I know this one isn’t too specific yet, but in addition to listening to more books on runs, I want to read more paper and Kindle Paperwhite books in the evenings too. I have stacks and stacks (literally!) of unread books in my office, and I don’t want to keep collecting things I never end up reading.
One quality movie per week. If you follow this blog on instagram, you’ll know I watch a lot of movies. You might also know that I’m in the middle of a project to watch every Best Picture winner in the order they won. A lot of times, however, I end up watching some sort of silly action flick. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I want to keep expanding my film tastes too. So with one critically acclaimed film a week, I’ll hit around 50 by the end of the year, and I might even finally get some use out of my Criterion Channel subscription.
One house cleaning project per week. If you ask my wife or me what our biggest stressor at home is, we will both tell you that it’s the state of our house. We have a lot of clutter and unhung art to deal with and generally just too much stuff. It can seem pretty overwhelming at times. I think picking one thing per week to work on will put us in a much better position on the homefront by the end of the year.
Four to five cooked meals per week. In addition to exercising, eating better is probably a top resolution for most people. But just saying “Eat better.” isn’t going to get anything done. Something more specific will produce better results. I also think that cooking at home is the easiest way to eat better. Even pasta with homemade tomato sauce is much cleaner eating than probably most restaurants and takeout joints. So, setting a goal specific to cooking is a better way to reach the results I’m looking for.
Better clothing and shoe maintenance. I know, this doesn’t sound too specific, but I don’t think I can make it so specific because it’s use-dependent. The more dress shirts and shoes I wear, the more maintenance I need to do that week. Too often lately, I’ve been hanging my shirts to dry only to wear them again without ironing. Additionally, I’ve profoundly neglected my shoe collection, even though proper maintenance can add literal years to the life of one’s shoes. I need to commit to ironing any shirts that need it (not Oxford’s traditionally) before I put them back in my closet, and to shining my shoes from the week on the weekends.
This might seem like a lot, and to be honest, writing it out makes it feel that way. But I think that’s only because I took them to the next step. Basically, my list of resolutions is eat better, exercise, clean the house, and dress better. Probably the same as most people. However, adding a few specifics, while making it feel bigger, it also makes it feel more attainable. What do you think about this approach? What are some of your resolutions (if you have them)? Let me know!