Resolutions 2024

Uncharacteristically, I started thinking about resolutions in early December. Maybe that sounds responsible, but actually I just looked at a bunch of hobbies and thought, wouldn’t it be cool if I got really good at that? And I left my January 1st self to sift through the impulses and chaff. I never commit to my resolutions until the end of January anyway, so the anticipation bought me a trial month to see which ones I could stick with.

Last Year

The only true successes were submitting writing to a contest (ACX Book Review contest), qualifying for Boston, traveling (minor, but I did visit friends in SF), and taking an improv class. I took 3 and I’m still doing improv (contact for performance info within the next month). I’m also not sure what I’ll do about improv after March. If you’re in the area, let me know if you’re interested in forming a group or doing informal jams.

I didn’t technically succeed at reading 20 books, blogging weekly, or deciding whether to go to grad school, but I’m glad I set the goals because they pushed me in the right direction. I got a New Yorker subscription, so I still did a lot of reading, but less of it was books (I’m canceling because I prefer books and I can still read a few articles online). I’m impressed that I was able to keep up weekly blog posts as long as I did, but Winter is always my most prolific season. Looking back, I’m shocked at how many posts I have. I no longer feel like a weekly commitment is necessary to make me feel like this is something I’m serious about. My “mini grad school” scheme fell apart very early, although I don’t know whether I failed the resolution or subconsciously decided that a PhD isn’t for me for now.

I decided not to get a roommate for a few reasons. My current place isn’t perfect, but it has a lot going for it. I doubt I’d be as fortunate with a good semi-random roommate as I have been in the past, and I now have enough good friends in Seattle that this feels less important anyway. Besides, since March 2020, I’ve moved about 4.5 times, and it feels great to re-sign a lease.

The true failures were running a triathlon and hosting a dinner party. I totally missed registration for what turned out to be the last tri of the season in the PNW. As for the dinner party, I just kept putting it off. No excuses.

It’s a dismal success rate, but I’m not bothered. Since my mind hasn’t yet been poisoned by Atomic Habits, my whole approach to life is to, every so often, imagine exactly how I want to be and try to do exactly that. Then I give myself a lot of grace when I mess up. It’s not only that I’d rather go 4 out of 10 than 2 out of 2, it’s also that I could never narrow it down to 2.

This Year

Write daily*

This year, instead of focusing on the outputs of posting or submitting my writing, I’m focusing on the input. Despite a strong start, I hardly wrote at all in the back half of 2023.

The letter of the law is to write in 30 minutes as much as I can of something intended to be shared publicly (blog post, short story, standup bit(?)) every workday morning (thus the asterisk on daily), but this resolution also comes with a routine. (I’m cheating a little because I started this in early December which is why I have it all worked out). I wake up, go for a run or walk, shower, make myself a pot of tea, put on some instrumental music (recommendations please!), open a new doc, and write.

I’ve mentioned before how much I struggle to write bad first drafts, and this routine seems to help. This is the closest I’ve been able to get to truly divorcing the writing and revising processes. It also means I get less stuck on one post. If I’m stuck, I still have to get words down, so I start something else instead of avoiding writing for a week. The one downside is that I still have no dedicated time for revising and editing which is why I’m still not posting much.

Read 20 books

Same deal as last year.

Justify my place at Boston

I did qualify for Boston, but it was such an easy course that I still don’t feel like I really earned it. I want to go under 3 with less help from gravity this time. My parents are also planning to come watch, so at least I don’t want to embarrass myself.

Stop wasting food

I got better at cooking last year, but the side effect is that I used a lot of ingredients once and let them go bad in the fridge because I wasn’t sure what else to do with them. This is more an intention than a resolution since I don’t have a solution. It really bothers me.

The other resolutions are all fun or things that I want to do. Even though I joke about it, I can’t help from slipping in one minorly self-abnegating one. It will take some amount of discipline to start cooking when I feel tired and to find new recipes or improvise to use up ingredients.

Host more

Rather than one unrealized dinner party that haunts me all year, I want to host more events overall, and then maybe a single one won’t seem like such a monumental task to throw together. I also think there’s a lot of potential for nonstandard events. For my birthday, I had friends over for a “dessert party” which was all a scheme to get them to bring me sweets. I’m bringing office hours back (weekly on Tuesday starting 2/6. Check the calendar for details). I also want to try a play reading which I’ve wanted to do since my high school quizbowl coach made us read plays together (I already have interest from one person). Maybe an improv jam or something. Also open to suggestions!

Learn guitar

I really like the atmosphere of open mics, but I only ever go when someone I know is performing. It feels almost rude to enjoy them without contributing. At least I’d feel weird about doing it regularly. I went to a free lesson at a music school in my neighborhood, but I want to self-teach, and I don’t think I’ll have time until after the Winter.

Run a triathlon

Putting it in officially this time, so I’m serious about it. I’m actually going to do this during that narrow window when the air and water in the PNW are tolerable. (Corollary: I may get peer pressured into doing a coldwater plunge).

Stop leaning

People keep asking me where I’m from in Europe. This is one distinctively American habit I’ll have to kick before I can go there undercover without Inglourious Basterdsing myself.