2010 was a great year for me. Even though my resolutions met with mixed success, I had a really good year. Brian and I have been married and living in the Berkshires for a year and a half now. We’re settled in to our space, our jobs and our life together. For the first time since who knows when, I feel really comfortable in and super excited about my life. I feel like I’m in the perfect place to make 2011 an amazing year.
2011 Goals (in no particular order)
1. Waste less time – I’ve had some of the same things on my to do list for months. And yet, I have a job that allows me to be home around 3:00 every day. How is it that I get so little done? I am the poster child for “that 2:30 feeling”; once I get home from work, I don’t feel like doing much more than watching TV. I aim to change that in 2011 by regularly tackling the tasks that need to get done before I let my body relax for the evening. Doing well with this goal will make my other goals much easier to achieve.
2. Read a chapter of the bible every day – This is a goal I’ve been trying to meet for years and I’ve never been able to sucessfully do it for an extended period of time. I’m really going to work to make it a habit this year.
3. Drink more water – See 2010 goals. My current job has me running around my classroom more than any job I’ve had before so its been even harder for me to stay hydrated. I’m going to try to increase the amount of water I drink at home, which should be more feasible.
4. Read at least one book a month – I’ve recently realized how much I miss reading, like real books. I have a really long “books to read” list and I’m going to start making it shorter. Less time on the computer will definitely be part of it, but since the computer is where a lot of the time wasting happens, that’s fine.
5. Improve my fitness – This year I’m keeping my goal of making it to the gym twice a week. On off days, I want to work on improving my strength by doing sit ups and push ups. I’m not setting a numerical goal; I just want to be able to do more on December 31, 2011 than I can today.
6. Open our home at least once a month – I spent the last couple months of 2010 whining about how I never get to cook for anybody but Brian and we only ever go to other people’s homes for dinner. I’ve recently come upon a simple solution: stop whining and start inviting people over. This will allow me to cook for other people, as well as get to know them better. I’ve already got a list of people I’m planning to start with, but if you’re in the area and you want to come over for a meal, please let me know. I’d love to. (I am 100% serious about this)
7. Give Relishments a makeover – One of the things that’s been on my to do list literally since the summer is to give this blog a much needed facelift. I just haven’t felt like I’ve had the time or the vision to really make it what I want. In 2011, I’m going to update the blog’s design, as well as the About and Books pages. Chances are, it’ll be more of a gradual process than an overnight one.
8. See new things – I’ve been living here for a year and a half now and there’s still so much of the Berkshires (and New York, and Vermont) that I’d like to see. It’s simply a matter of deciding to go. Also, I’d love to take “real” vacation with Brian somewhere this year. We’ve already discussed a handful of dates and places, we just have to make a commitment.
Making it Happen
I have a lot of goals for the coming year. Perhaps they’re even a little excessive. But I’d rather set the bar high and not quite make it than not bother trying and just keep doing what I’m been doing. Here’s the plan of attack:
- Get Brian on board – No, he won’t be completing all of these goals with me, but he’s awesome about making sure I remember to do the things I say I’m going to do. He’s already reminded me to do my sit-ups and push-ups today.
- Keep track – Christmas provided us with an extra calendar which I’m going to use to keep track of some of my goals. I’ll be recording what I read in the bible each day as well as my fitness progress.
- Visual reminders – The calendar, as well as a couple print outs of the above list, will help remind me of what I’m working towards this year.
- The 2011 Goals page – I’m adding a new page to the header bar above. On the page, I’ll regularly update my progress on my new goals, in addition to the occasional posts about how things are going. Check it out!
