Of course, though, we all know that rarely do these resolutions come to fruition and most of them stop as soon as we remember that cheeseburgers are still a thing and that every episode of Doctor Who is still on Netflix and people still seem to find interesting content to put on YouTube. BUT NOT THIS YEAR. (Well okay that stuff will still happen)
This year I'm taking charge. My friend Andy and I are ready to kill it and really go for it this year. We have many similar goals and some goals that are unique but we are going to accomplish them. Every one of them.
So here are my SPECIFIC goals for 2014, divided into a number of categories.
Fitness (duh)
I've been overweight for as long as I remember. This year that changes. My year-long goal is to be down 75 pounds by Christmas. I'm trying to split it up evenly but I assume the weight will be easier to lose at the start of the year. So I'm going for 25 pounds by April 2, 25 pounds by July 1, and the final 25 by December. Might be crazy but THAT'S JUST HOW I ROLL.
I'm going to be extremely diligent about tracking all of my food and sleep and fitness things using a host of tracking devices. I got a fitbit for Christmas and have already been using it pretty regularly. I think it will be good.
I'm going to be much more into cooking this year. I enjoy cooking and the food usually ends up tasting better, costing less, and being better for me. I'm going to work through mediterranean diet this year. Lots of very good food.
I also very much want to work on focusing on one thing at a time. I have a real tendency to divert my attention and that needs to change. Working on focus will be good for me.
Finances
This year my wife and I are getting our finances in order. We're working on getting some things set up to make things awesome and hopefully curb some of our reckless spending even though snickers bars and sprite from Casey's are incredibly delicious. I've been attempting to get things set up with Mint, though my bank is being a little bit the worst bank ever.
Work
I'm going to be super diligent about finishing things I need to for work. My teacher portfolio is due in only 3 short months! I need to be getting things prepped for all of my classes. On top of that I'm working on some things that will hopefully make my job easier and more efficient.
Entertainment
These are some of the bigger ones. I set a goal for reading this past year which was less realistic than most math goals schools make. This year I'm backing off and saying 26 books minimum this year. One book every two weeks is reasonable for my life at this point. I ended up reading close to 40 this year. Hopefully 26 is a low estimate but anything above 26 will be a success in my book.
Music. I was eating myself up about exactly how ambitious to make this goal. Really what it boils down to is that I need to listen (actually listen not passively listen) to more music. I would love to have some sort of daily listening goal but I'm not sure that is reasonable considering my schedule with work and other crazy things. So my goal is this. Listen to two FULL albums per week. An album only counts if I have not heard it yet this year (2014). If an album becomes something I really enjoy and choose to listen to it again it has to be IN ADDITION TO the albums for the week. I'm not going to specify anything crazy like genres or whatever. I need to expand my horizons.
I really want to spend less time in front of my computer, especially at home. I spend much of my day in front of my computer and then typically come home and sit in front of my computer again. That needs to stop. I want to try to limit computer usage across the board but especially at home. I think that reading and music will help.
Wrap-up
So there they are. to recap:
- Lose 75 pounds
- Track diet, exercise, sleep patterns
- Cook more often
- Focus on one thing at a time as often as possible
- Track finances diligently
- Finish teaching portfolio
- Continue to work on organization at work
- Read 26 books
- Listen to 104 albums
- Limit time using computer, television, and other screens
A hefty list but I think it will all work out. Andy is working on his own resolutions and we're attempting to stick to them diligently. On the the best year of our lives until next year.
Logan
