I started this year, as I did last year, by making a big post of my goals for the year. I stuck that posted up above my desk and marked off as I went. I shared them here with you, as a way of making myself accountable, so I thought I’d share how I got on. This is an honest review of those goals, as well as how well I managed to accomplish them.
WHAT DID I SET OUT TO DO?
- Read 25 books.
- Take a photo/video of some kind every day.
- Learn 10 new skills.
- Do 120 hours of exercise.
- Implement a better sleep schedule.
By about halfway through this year, I realised I wasn’t doing all that well with my goals. Last year I found that having a big poster where I could mark my progress was really helpful, but this year it was too overwhelming. I’d pledged to do too much, and I just couldn’t keep up with it all. So instead of helping me mark my progress, the poster became a reminder of everything I was letting slip. Unsurprisingly, I took that poster down.
In the end I don’t think I’ve actually done that badly against a lot of the things I wanted to do, but I think I didn’t set out to do them in the right way.
I’ve read 22 books and counting.
I’ve exercised at least 3 times every week.
I’ve tried way more new things this year at work and home.
I haven’t become a daily photographer and I don’t sleep any better. But, I have at least made some progress.
I think the issues with this years resolutions was I had too many habit based changes to make at once. Personally, I can only really change one behaviour at once. I could have probably managed this list if it were the only thing I was working on, but I have a whole life to lead beside my resolutions.
So, next year I’m changing my approach. I’m going to simplify my resolutions. In fact, I’m only going to have one – major tease for a post coming next year.
Instead of trying to change everything at once, I want to change one habit then set myself a few goals that feel like they’re a part of my day to day life, rather than something I have to do on top of what is already too busy schedule. Next year is all about streamlining and focus.
