Resolutions 2015

Historically, I don’t have a great track record for New Year’s Resolutions. I don’t think anyone does, really, but we keep making them because… well… because it’s expected that we will, I guess. Because we feel weird if we don’t.

I know my husband doesn’t do the resolution thing — if there’s something he wants to accomplish, he doesn’t need to choose some arbitrary day in the future to start it. He just does it when he can, and gets it done, whether it’s weight loss or cataloging his video game collection or reorganizing his (very awesome) geek den.

Me, I grew up watching Dick Clark every New Year, checking all the clocks around the house for accuracy against the countdown clock, and listening to my Mom resolve to lose weight this year. Just like last year, and the year before. And I was a chubby little kid who grew into a chubby teenager, so I did it, too. Rarely were our goals measurable — or, if they were measurable, they weren’t attainable. Hence the same vague goal every year.

Lose weight.
Eat better.
Go for more walks.

Good ideas, but not particularly good goals.

Last year, in lieu of a resolution, I made up a 2014 project plan. I had weekly goals and quarterly goals and they were all measurable and attainable — if I were better at time management with a full time job and a toddler in the house. In the end, I completed none of my quarterly goals, but did manage to keep up with my weekly goals for a good long while before I stopped tracking my progress.

I also continued the tradition of creating a mantra for myself for the year.

That actually worked out well, as I ended up tracking what made me happy and consciously focusing on the things that made me happy, once I knew what those things were.

What about 2015?

This year, I think a few resolutions are in order — but not the same old tired ones, and not too many. No crazy “project plan” this year.

  1. Scan and photograph my son’s artwork from daycare. It’s taking up a lot of space, and I want to put it into an art book eventually. This year is the year I get all this stuff scanned and photographed and catalogued and out of the house — all except a few special pieces.
  2. Write at least 1000 words in my blog every week (not including Twitter). This isn’t an unreasonably lofty goal, and it dovetails with my priority of recording my memories of family and Connor and life in general.
  3. Reach my goal weight of 160 before Thanksgiving 2015. That averages out to a loss of less than a pound and a half per month. Again, not unreasonable if I apply myself.

There are plenty of other things I’d love to get done this year, but none of them need to be resolutions, per se. I can keep them in my head and in my queue, and that’s just fine.

This year’s mantra:

Multitasking is overrated. I feel like I get less done when I’m not present in the task at hand. So, if I’m playing with my son, I’m playing with him and not checking my phone. If I’m at work, I’m working and not checking my personal email. If I’m writing, I’m writing and not looking at Twitter.

I don’t honestly have any grand plans for 2015. I’m going to continue to roll with the punches and do what needs to be done and put a good face on it. Try to be upbeat in the midst of toddler tantrums and awkward schedules and running late and what have you. Focus on how I can make everyone’s life a little better (including my own).

Happy 2015, everybody.

2 thoughts on Resolutions 2015

  1. This is truly beautiful!!! Sorry I don’t pop onto your blog as much as I used to – with the death of iGoogle, I just didn’t like the other aggregation services, including IGhome, and so I’m not reading nearly as many blogs as I used to. Linking up on FB helps though! Thanks for posting this! I love your 2015 mantra, and it makes me feel inspired to do the same…

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