I looked back to see if I had written down resolutions for 2009, but I only discovered a few, and those were more than a little too optimistic. I think the only resolution I kept was getting a bike and riding to and from work when the weather was nice.
Now it's time for Resolutions 2010. Although a lot of "experts" caution against making general resolutions, that's my intention this year. The problem with making really specific resolutions is that you don't know how realistic that particular goal is or if it will change somehow over the course of the year. So this year's goals will be less about things I can cross off a list and more like ideals to work toward. Also, a lot of these overlap.
Without further ado and in no particular order, they are:
1. Put away EVERYTHING after I use it. This means folding/hanging up my work clothes rather than setting them on a chair, washing the dishes immediately after I use them rather than allowing them to sit in the sink, and keeping my work files in order and put away when I'm not using them so papers stay where they belong. It takes 30 seconds to do small tasks as needed. It takes hours to clean a messy house/office. 'Nuff said.
2. Focus at work. Do one thing at a time. Work thoroughly through a task. Ask questions. Ask more questions. Be calm when it feels like I don't have enough time to finish everything. NEVER open a Web browser unless it's a designated break time.
3. Consistently push myself beyond my comfort zone in all things fitness and healthy eating. Try new vegetables. Try new workouts. Try to push the speed up just a little higher on that interval and the gear up one more on the spin bike. Do not think that something "wont work for me" until I've really tried it.
4. Have more fun with more people. I enjoy socializing, but it seems like I always have a "good" reason not to plan my own outings/events. I just wait around for others to do the planning for me. No more! If it sounds like fun for D and I, it's better with company. (Okay, this could be taken way the wrong way ;) )
5. Take more pictures. I've never been a big picture person, but I'm always jealous of the huge albums people display on Facebook and the like. Someday we're going to want to look back on this period of our lives, and if I don't start taking more pictures, it's going to be harder to remember.
6. Stay in touch. With frequency. Call my brother, my grandparents, my aunt, old friends, etc. We usually don't talk more than 15 minutes or so, but, in my experience it's frequency of contact that improves relationships more than trying to have a deep conversation once a year. That sort of thing just doesn't happen. You get a surface 15-minute conversation, but only once a year.
7. Music. Most people who know me now don't know that music was a serious part of my life for awhile. I played the oboe from the 6th grade until I graduated from college, and there was a time when I was pretty good at it. I don't have any urges to pick up the oboe again, but I've always wanted to learn to play the piano. We have a nice keyboard, and my Christmas gift this year is a semester of lessons from a UW music student, so I'm really looking forward to making music again.
8. Waste less time. I have a project list a mile long, but there are too many evenings when I come home from work and collapse in a blob of trashy-novel-reading worthlessness. I know how much better I feel when I spend my evenings and weekends being productive, but too often I don't. I don't work an 80 hour week, and I don't run 80 miles a week, so I have no excuse not to get more done with my extra time.
9. Read real books. Not Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and the like. I also want to post synopses on Goodreads so I actually think about and remember what I read.
10. Do a better job on the blog. I need to spend some serious time working on the header and side bars and posting everyday. A long time ago I tried to join BlogHer and they rejected me (I guess- I never heard anything from them) because my blog is so sorry. I like the blog community, and I think it could be neat to look back at this blog as a record of my life in my mid 20's, but I'd like it better if it looked nice.
So there you have it. I'm marking out four month intervals on Google Calendar so I can reflect on how I've done with these goals periodically throughout the year.
Wishing you all a blessed 2010!!!
