Happy New Year! I don’t have a history of setting resolutions, but any time of the year is a good time to set goals. Here are mine for ’09:
Create a five-year vision
Photo by Brian Barnett
I decided I don’t like the word “plan” because nothing ever goes exactly as planned. I am also a visual person and believe in the core message behind the secret. Instead of a typed list of goals, I am creating a notebook with collages of pictures and words that depict what I want in my life. It will be an ongoing, ever-evolving project but will help me to stay focused on achieving my goals.
Burn 2,000 calories per week
Polar Heart Rate Monitor
I am not on a crazy diet, nor do I need to be, but I do want to be more active and healthy. Setting a specific number of calories to burn will help me to stay committed to regular exercise. I already track the number of calories I burn during each workout by using my Polar heart rate monitor (which p.s. I love!) Starting tomorrow I will keep a running tally attempting to reach 2,000 by every Sunday.
Volunteer for the local humane society
I have wanted to volunteer for the Capital Area Humane Society for literally four years now, ever since I started at MSU and heard of its existence. For one reason or another I was never able to make it to a training session which is required prior to volunteering. No more excuses! The next training is on January 17, and I will be there to begin what I hope is a weekly visit.
Update my professional portfolio
I have put together a couple of portfolios with work examples over the last few years. But I have not done an update in more than six months. Eeek! I think it is important to keep a portfolio current and relevant especially in this fragile economy. It is a challenge to present your strengths in a clear, creative and organized manner. But, in any field it is a must to have physical evidence of your successes.
Scrapbook my college days
Sigh. It is still hard for me to accept at times that I am no longer a college student. In an effort to always remember the good, the bad and the ugly I want to scrapbook the hundreds (and hundreds) of photos documenting my four glorious years at MSU.
Visit friends who live in cooler cities than me
Rota in Minneapolis, Shawna in Chicago, Bobby and Hillary in NYC, Nadia and Kelly in DC
Blog more
I am guilty of not following the “rules” of the blogosphere and posting at least once a week. I am more in the once every two-ish weeks category. My usual excuse is that I write for 90% of the day at work, and the last thing I want to do when I get home is open another Word document. But, I thoroughly enjoy the creative and reflective outlet that blogging provides. I also realize that if I want to continue to be engaged in the space, I need to be more consistent.
What about you? Any resolutions you are trying to stick to this year?
I love the Humane Society Idea! I would love to be able to do that aswell but it would be more practicle to wait untill next year when I have a car!
<3
These sound great! I love the idea of keeping visuals of what you want in your life. I also like the idea of visiting friends in cooler cities…but…ahem, that was kind of delicate posting which cool cities you’re thinking about (although I love the map and call outs)…what about others who think we count and are in cool cities? You knew that one was going to cause you trouble! No resolutions here…formally…but I’ve already committed to writing every day (not publishing something, but writing something) and learning Spanish. I think that’s enough. I should resolve to stop doing something or get rid of something. That would help toward my lifelong goal of simplification!