I started out this year with lots of little goals! Now I have two big ones.
Since the beginning of the year, we’ve seen a domestic terror attack, a new president, and a takedown of hedge funds by a bunch of mavericks on Reddit. Needless to say, things have CHANGED since 2020. As tomorrow marks the end of the first month of 2021, I feel it appropriate to do what I always do around this time of the month: reflect on how my resolutions are going as a way to renew my motivation to keep them going throughout the year. Last year, I do feel like I got a lot done, all things considered! This year, I still want to get a lot of things done, but rather than get a bunch of small things done, I want to get a few big things done. I’m going to now stop using the expression “get things done” in any variation for the rest of this post. It’s ceasing to sound real.
Last year, all I really wanted to do was get healthier and get a better job. I practically did everything except that. I’ve decided that this year, I will be devoting all my time and energy into getting those done. Now, how shall I do it? Well the former is simple (note that I did not say easy): I will eat healthier foods, move more, and get better sleep. Drink more water. The classics, if you will.
As for getting a new job? Obviously, in life there are no guarantees, but there is something to be said for the masses who left their unfulfilling roles by learning how to code and then getting a new job that makes more money. The answer IS just sitting there, but it’s a lot of work to get from point A to point B, especially with everyone else having the same idea and practically over-saturating the market! And yet, I find myself equal to the task.
So that’s that: my focus for 2021 is to get into a healthier shape and build up my skills in coding so I can find happiness in a higher paying, non-client facing role. Bonus points if it’s remote full-time.
Now let’s look at my goals for 2021 as stated in my first post of the year. Let’s see how many I want to actually keep in the roster, and what I will make an actual goal in 2022. I mean it when I say I want health and work to take up almost all my time this year! No distractions. Starting with:
- Redesigning the blog. This actually works in my favor. I’m very proud of my consistency here, so I’m going to keep working on this as the year progresses. I’m hoping to actually build a new template for the blog by the end of the year so it looks EXACTLY how I want it to look. I’ve already changed the template! It’s not great, but it’s getting there. “Read more” has become a part of each post, and I’ve started adding Featured Images!
- Sharpen my Spanish. This is taking a backseat, to a degree. Sitcoms that I love are my background music. When I do my laundry, I’m watching “The Office.” When I’m doing the dishes, “Parks and Recreation” is typically there with me. You get the idea! I will watch the shows I love with subtitles on, and in Spanish. I will also watch “Narcos” exclusively for the Spanish speaking and not at all because Pedro Pascal does things to me.
- Learn a new language. I will learn several: Javascript, Java, C++ and Python. YA SEE WHAT I DID THERE? If not, those are different programming languages. So no, if I get dropped into the middle of Paris, I might have trouble, but I’m not going to Paris this year. Yet. There’s still time.
- Do Blogmas. I’m saying no, putting this one away, FOR NOW. If I get to December and I’m happy with my body and I have stronger job prospects, then yes, why not do blogmas? Writing is fun!
- Post consistently on Tuesdays and Saturdays. I can commit to this guy. He can stick around for the rest of the year.
- Take care of my hair. This one can stay, too. It takes roughly forty-five minutes at most to do my hair, and I feel more at peace when it’s done. I don’t know how often you’ll get hair updates though, so don’t expect 1200 words a month on how my hair is now soft and manageable.
- Read the books I didn’t read last year. I’ve actually made a dent in this so far! I finished two and started a third. I can polish off twenty books in a year. Especially with Audible!
- Moisturize with sunscreen every day. I’ve managed to do that this month almost daily (if I missed more than once, I’m forgetting it). It’s second nature/part of my routine now, so I think we’re able to say this is sticking around for this year.
- Drink more water. This is part of getting healthier, so this resolution gets to stick around, too! I think I’ve drank more water this month than previous months. I only had one dehydration headache this month, so that’s a GREAT start!
- Play chess once a week. I haven’t played chess once since December. I really want to learn, but that takes time, too! I also feel bad abandoning resolutions. Maybe I’ll focus on resolution seven, and when I do that I can pivot my focus back to chess. That’s a good way of looking at it, right?
- Finally Watch “The Crown,” “The Undoing,” “Little Fires Everywhere,” “The Undoing,” “The Haunting of Hill House,” and “The Haunting of Bly Manor.” I watched “The Haunting of Hill House” in two days. That’s an excellent start. TV is my way of unwinding after work. An hour or so of decompression works into my schedule! I’ve literally made space for that time.
- Become a Master Listener on Audible and earn all Audible Badges. I can accept if I do not finish this task by the end of the year. The majority of the books in resolutions seven are on my Kindle, not Audible, and I’d rather finish them than start a new book (even though I have already bought two new books this year). I wonder if there’s a way to freeze my membership?
- Run a 30 minute 5K. I actually very much want this. I haven’t started the Couch 2 5K program yet, but it’s part of my plan for February! Running keeps you healthy (but GOD, at WHAT cost?!), so I’m going to let this resolution hang out for a bit. In an ideal world, Disney resumes their on-location Marathon program in 2021 and I can do the Food and Wine 5K in October. They’re doing Virtual Runs through April. If vaccinations are widespread and they do an on-location Food and Wine 5K, I’ll see you at the starting line!
- Actually use my camera. I’m not going anywhere, I’m not doing anything. My life is about to get outwardly boring. It kind of always was. My camera can stay locked up, without personal projects, for now. If all goes well in 2021, maybe I’ll break it out for an October trip to Disney…
- Whiten my teeth. It takes two minutes to put on a whitening strip while I get ready for bed. I haven’t done it once yet this year, but I have the strips to do it. THIS ONE STAYS.
- Write more. This one is making me cry. I really want to write. That is ACTUALLY what makes me happy. One or two of my books for resolution seven discusses the writing process, so maybe I can make it all fit. If not, I’ll give it my heart and soul when I can.
There is bigger than a twinge of sadness at the idea of dropping some of my goals. Like when that lady left Tod in “The Fox and the Hound.” You remember that movie? The one where the fox and the dog become friends, and then stop being friends because of nature vs. nurture? Disney made that movie because VHS was still in its infancy and didn’t think it would matter that no one would watch that movie more than once. It’s too sad. Why did I make this analogy? Now I’m sad.
I feel good about the resolutions I’m keeping, and the goals I’m setting for 2021. I had all of lockdown to make isolation work in my favor. Now, as the end seems inevitable, it’s about time I actually do it!