The (Not Really) Resolutions for 2013
Posted on January 2, 2013 Posted by John Scalzi 18 Comments
Like many people who have a hopefully realistic sense of self, I don’t use the new year to crack off a list of resolutions, the word being used in the modern sense of “things I have no intent of doing more than once, and then half-heartedly.” The new year does frequently come with a few days freed up from the usual work week constraints, however, plus there’s the fact that arbitrarily or not we really do reset lots of things with the new year, which allows one time to reflect on things one would like to do in the future. For me, here are some of those things.
1. Continue to get better with my time management, so I have more time to do the things I want to do, including stuff not related to writing.
2. Likewise do better with organization, which covers everything from keeping my office from collapsing into chaos to, you know, mailing shit when I’m supposed to.
3. Do a little better in staying in touch with friends, and not just through here, Twitter and Facebook.
4. Write some different things, for fun and to learn how to do them.
5. Continue to practice my guitar/ukulele, because it’s fun.
6. Read more, because I’m behind.
7. Get my weight back down to the 160 – 165 range (about 10lbs to go there), and maybe tone up a bit, because being a flabby middle-aged dude kind of sucks.
And that’s pretty much it. The nice thing is I think most of these are achievable; they just require me to get out of my own head a little more. We’ll see how it goes through the rest of the year.
Yay – Real writers fill the first blog of the year with Resolutions. Makes me feel better that we did it on ours!
http://nolanparker.wordpress.com/2013/01/01/new-years-resolutions-anyone/
Drink a little less. Work a little harder. Spend more time playing with the kids.
Have you thought about trying a walking desk a la stephenson?
I have absolutely no interest in a walking desk.
OK, this is… scary. Because with the exception of #5, which on my list is “Spend more time in the garden, because it’s fun.” These are not only *exactly the same* as my resolutions, they are *IN THE SAME ORDER.*
::Cue “Twilight Zone” theme clip::
Because these are really strange resolutions, yanno. I’m positive we’re the only two human beings on the ‘net that have any of these.
They’re also remarkably similarly worded to mine except on # 7 the numbers are slightly different and the gender is changed.
But otherwise…. wow… AMAZING!
I did my yearly resolution list on my recent birthday because a friend once showed me a “bucket-list-ish” type of plan that went from birthday to birthday and the number of items on the list were equal to the number of years you were just about to turn. I tried that for a couple years, but found the growing number of items a bit intimidating, so I updated to a new “12-for-12” yearly list, which I wrote about here: http://www.theendofthepage.com/2012/12/23/goals-for-2013-paring-down-the-list/
Resolutions are so banjo! This year I want to write faster. I have so many story ideas but I’ll never get them done at the pace I’m going.
I see that this particular to-do list has no “tape bacon to the cat”, nor anything like unto it. A real pity, that.
Oh well, it could be worse. As it stands, your list bears only a passing resemblance to Mr. Oats’s Life Goals, and I think we can agree that this is a good thing.
What I would like to get is a treadle desk. I can still sit, but my tapping, shaking legs push the treadle.
That is so banjo.
With regards to “Read more, because I’m behind”, I’m curious; Is that an arbitrary number of books per month you want to rip through, or are there other (maybe academic) goals you’re working at since you have SO much free time?
I’m just trying, in a non-resolution kind of way, to work in time to read all the books I picked up in the Humble Bundle you were part of.
I initially misread “about 10lbs to go there” as 101lbs. I was thoroughly astounded by your holiday food intake until I realized my mistake.
I wish you success on #7, arguably the most important on your list. Because being a flabby on on-the-other-side-of-middle-age dude sucks even more. And then your heart starts taking on entirely unwanted behaviors. I also only have about 10 pounds to lose but I’ve waited longer so it’s going to be harder and it’s more urgent. So be better than me.
John, on resolution 4, http://www.worldnavalships.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-6916.html
You could do a screen play, a cross between “Mr Roberts” and “South Pacific”, or a history tome, ala Tom Brokaw titled
I served
the greatest generation
We cannot let HMS Menestheus slip into the dregs of history. :)
Weren’t there supposed to be some goats in those resolutions?
In the vein of “do better with organization,” how about making a point of adding Categories and Tags to your blog posts here for easier searching of past articles? Currently, every post every day is “Uncategorized.”
I keep my resolutions safely general—“I will do better”—without getting into contractual language I may have to sue myself for breech of when next year rolls around. That said, http://marktiedemann.com/wordpress/?p=1722
You might like fitness gamification site/app Fitocracy: points awarded for activities, levels, quests, challenges, a social network of encouragement and groups (including one of Penny Arcade fans).