This year, I've got both goals and resolutions. I've broken them into categories to make them easier to keep organized mentally.
First up is Fitness. This has three parts to it. One is the diet. I am going to stick to a diet until I hit 160#. After that, I'll have to figure out what I'm trying to do with the body I have. With this is workouts. I'm resolving for three times a week. The third chunk is biking. I didn't ride much (if at all) last year, so I'm resolving to get on the bike this year when the spring starts.
Then there's Language study. I've waffled between continuing on with German, re-learning French, or picking up something new-ish like Japanese. I've decided on German, and have started to organize a few resources to help me learn. The keys to this are to listen and read and watch more things in German, and also to use Anki to help me study vocabulary. Grammar I'm hoping to learn via usage...
The third big thing is Finances. Initially, I'd been thinking of pushing down my line of credit, but that's debt that only moves when I put more money against it. It's not the most effective area to push additional funds. I've got two other debts where the money might go to better use, so I'll be looking at those to decide where best to shove any additional cash.
Fueling the Finance thing is a resolution to investigate and implement ways to earn additional money. This is both through actual earnings like an side-job or craft works or whatever, and through cutting out expenses to try to get rid of things which cost money but provide me with nothing useful.
Fourth is to start writing more. I've kinda set a goal of 10,000 words a day, which results in 333.3 words a day (for a 30 day month). 333 words isn't that much to do, and shouldn't require more than a half hour or so of my time. Along with this, I'm going to do my best to participate in the writing critique group. Should be good for me.
There's a fifth item, which is to put in some effort on the guitar. Realistically, I know I'm not going to be spectacular at the guitar, but it would be nice to be able to play some songs and such. Noodling around is nice, but I'd like to do just a bit more. It's been nearly a year since I put any effort into it, so I'm hoping to put in some now. The goal is to try to get in 30 minutes or more every day.
I'm also going to try to find or found a regular practice group. The impetus of regular practices should be enough to have me picking up the guitar on a regular basis.
The sixth item, which is the last bit, is a very general overall improvement of the self. This means taking on more housework, and noticing when things need doing. Not just noticing them, but getting them done.
To this end, I want to start with the 2-minute rule, which I currently apply pretty inconsistently. This is, in short, to do any task which takes less than 2 minutes as soon as you notice it needs doing. In practice, this means putting dishes where they belong, putting things back where they go, and making the bed. Little things which make the whole house run more efficiently overall.
I'm also looking to adjust my internet browsing behaviour at home. Right now, I tend to idle online, and it burns a fair bit of time that could be put to other activities. To counteract this, I'm going to try to use the internet with intent. When I sit down, I should have a plan of what I want to do, and for approximately how long. Any use is fine - even just browsing to kill time - but I should be aware of my usage and the time spent. I'd like to break things into manageable chunks, interspersed with other things like tidying, reading books, and so forth.
These goals, collectively, should make me a thinner, fitter person, with a house that's nicer to live in, and who wastes less time on doing nothing and spends more time creating. It's a lot, but I will be putting these things in a little at a time. That's the way to make changes like these sustainable.
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