Resolutions and Goals - 2018, 1Q

[seventhe]

well, it's 11 January; I've mourned 2017; I've tentatively dipped a few toes into the water of 2018; and I have a plan.

I've set some goals for myself: I have some that will be goals for the year, but with all of the shit going on right now, I've decided to run my life like I ran the pilot plant: quarterly goals, evaluation, and adjustment of said goals, with monthly check-ins.

I had a great set of plans for January, but then we decided to get fucking married and now I really need to reevaluate larger goals in that light. The wedding is 14 April, which means that - even though we are going for the most informal wedding ever - we still need to get information out to people who need to travel as soon as possible.

As I am a nerd who loves symbolism, I have decided that the theme of this year is 5H: Home, Health, Hobbies, Habits, and [some H word that really means Vocation] (i haven't picked the last one so I am open to suggestions):
- Home means the continuation of reclaiming my house from the Black Hole disaster, and working towards floor replacement, kitchen remodel, new bedroom set, basement setup, and porch renovation.
- Health means continuing work to get control of my fibro, eat better and drink less, add exercise back into my routine, and lose weight.
- Hobbies means creating spaces in my time where I can pursue my creative (and noncreative) hobbies: writing, doodling, knitting, gaming, anything else I decide to pursue; it means giving them priority space in my schedule.
- Habits means consistency. I need to build it. It means finding what works. My word for 2018 will probably be sustainability because that's the core of what I need to figure out.
- Vocation (or whatever word) means finding satisfaction in my work; figuring out what it is about this kind of work that I love doing, figuring out if this new position can become something fulfilling or if it is, after 13 years, time to move on from this company.

So let's have a minute or two and talk about what I want to establish the beginning of this year, and some of the yearly goals overall...

---

so i can't stop changing all the time

OVERALL let's roll here

HOME

• Bedroom sorted and ready for new bedroom set; closet purged and clothing donated; old set moved to guest room
• Shame room sorted out & futon / pullout added
• 1st floor sorted and ready to interview contractors for remodel
• Basement revamped into summer hangout space
• handle fucking cats

Notes: we get our bonus around February, and I had planned to put most of that into a holding fund for reno work. The wedding will consume a lot of the time and money I originally thought could help with this. So, most of this work is off for 1Q/2018 - except the bedroom set; I think I can get the bedroom settled before the wedding, which would be an awesome time to buy our new bed and dressers. Everything else is on the "hold until after April" list.

HEALTH

• start swimming again & get back to the 30-min easy mile i've done in the past
• integrate consistent workouts into schedule so that we are working out at least 2x/week, preferably 3x/week, with a minimum target of 10x/month and a stretch target of 15x/month
• start losing weight
• focus on making & packing lunches for work, cooking better dinners, and cooking at least 1 meal with mike on the weekends rather than dining out
• make space for yoga classes
• work to reduce FMLA time off at work: listen to my body, be kind in the evenings, but try to avoid entire days off
• get more sleep; go to bed earlier to get up earlier; goal is to be at work 8:00 or earlier by the end of 1Q
• get off of one medication by the end of the year via general improved health, swapping meds, ??? etc

Notes: all of these things can't happen at once; focus on 1-2 per month and sustain throughout the year.

HOBBIES

• Writing: GYWO pledge to write 10 days / month; personal target 1000 words / week; post 1 fic per week (prompt fic, drabble, whatever)
• Drawing: 4 doodles per month; target 1 / week; plus 1 piece with repeated work per month; target is postable doodles, but private drawing still counts
• Novels: work out Ausrine plot for Rosigo and just dump words; go back to explore Overflow and The Last Day of Autumn; work through Reflections; put major work, eventually, into Beacon; ideal goal would be to self-publish some kind of crap this year
• Knitting: [current projects]; pullovers for girls; vest; cardigan; etc
• Gaming: specific goals monthly; overall goal: make space for games and relaxing
• Reading: expand palate from current trash addictions; read at least 1 new recommended book per month this year
• Music: get drum set up; set keyboard up; consider flute

Notes: these are pretty self-explanatory, and will be adjusted by quarter if I manage to exceed.

HABITS

• Kitchen: keep dishwasher empty; keep one sink empty; keep fridge fresh
• Litterboxes; I really have a problem with the increased # of cats and I need to get better
• Laundry: find a schedule and stick to it
• Exercise: develop a routine
• Care for car
• Care for yard
• Routinely study Russian
• reobtain social life
• add 1-2 habits monthly
• consistently keep up with hobo bullet journal (hobobujo???) for motivation

Notes: this is the portion designated for house / self upkeep, whereas "home" is about big changes and improvements & "health" is about specifics.

this is, really, where fibro shows up to fuck with me. Habits are hard to maintain when your horrible pain nights are unpredictable and random. What I need to find is small balance: like, for example, cook two nights worth of dinner one night, then next night when I don't have to cook, do those dishes. it's about setting reasonable expectations and keeping them. Sustainability.

HHHHHVOCATION

• Push through reorg to define job position
• Spend time considering what sort of work is fulfilling; determine what percent of current spot would do so
• wait out reorg and discuss / determine future plan
• Decision point 01 june (1 year in new job) - commit to another year, or start looking
• explore writing (novels) and consider what vocation really means
• discuss future w mike in serious context: his career, my career, my plans to retire at 50 to write, his retirement plan, our mutual 401Ks etc and resources

Notes: what it says on the tin. Mike and I have tossed around multiple ideas on how we can help sustain each other and avoid ever having to work in Black Hole conditions ever again; getting married means its time to declare beneficiaries, crunch numbers, and really figure out how we can dodge the damn status quo.

JANUARY 3 2 1 let's jam

January's theme is Health. Everything else is important, but will really be considered maintenance/sustain level, until I have managed to build consistency in working out and in preparing healthy meals at home.

• pack lunch for work at least 3/5 days / week
• make dinner as many nights as fibro allows
• cook once a weekend with Mike
• workout at least 2x / week, where 1 is a swim
• evaluate nightly relaxation drinking and eliminate if necessary
• lose ~5 lb

TRACKING: I'm tracking meals, workouts, etc in a January page in the hobobujo.

Additionally, I have the following goals for hobbies that I'm trying to track for habit building, hobby time, and consistency:

• write 10 days in January, ideally 4-5K words
• 4 doodles and one consistently worked on art
• knit frequently enough to hit current projects
• put time into games (mobile games count)

As for resolutions, those seem bigger and broader, so after reflection those need to be in a different post. One thing I can say is that I am devoting these first three months of work in the honor of:

• Emma Swan
• Avatar Korra
• Carrie Fisher / General Princess Leia

yes, i'm an old, but may these badasses guide me through the beginning of this year.

Comments

[lassarina]

SO MANY EPIC BATTLES

I have faith in your ability to do this and will encourage as needed. We got this.

[althea_valara]

*cheers you on!*

This sounds well thought out and reasonable. You can do it!

[samuraiter]

*thumbs up*

You can do this!

[ser_pounce_alot]

since i also had the most informal wedding ever (tm), if you want any tips or tricks that worked for me on cost-cutting or the like, i'd be happy to shoot what i did your way. ♥ if you have a party in may, i can be home for it, but april is likely a no-go since it's our last month in japan. :(

[seventhe]

14 April is our date - you guys are obviously invited but there is NO EXPECTATION that you come because I understand your situation and I would rather see you some weekend we have time to talk and hang out rather than crunching it into a crazy ass day. also the ceremony will be like 5 min i swear lol.

Let's plan something else around your schedule that will be more relaxing and more fun bb I miss you tons <3

[p_cocincinus]

I keep thinking that you ought to call a hobo bullet journal hojo because of course you should.

[seventhe]

oh, that's good