new year's resolutions: the 2008 edition
In a quick look back over this journal, I've discovered that either I haven't posted previous lists of resolutions that I've made for the new year or else I have cleverly managed to hide them even from myself by posting them at odd times, dates, or locations.
Oh well. Moving on!
I don't always make resolution lists, actually. Often I merely make note of one or two things that I'd like to work on during the year, and leave it at that. (This results in varying degrees of success, but it's usually intriguing for me, at least.) However, this year I've decided to make an actual list, complete with explanations, and so:
Aspen's New Year's Resolutions for 2008
1. I resolve to take better care of myself.
2. I resolve to finish the first of the two academic degrees in progress.
3. I resolve to (re)develop a more active social life.
4. I resolve to procrastinate less.
5. I resolve to finish a piece of original fiction and submit it for publication.
6. I resolve to not fall on pie.
And because explaining it in context got long, details are behind the cut for those who might be interested.
Item the first: I resolve to take better care of myself.
This is a multipart sort of resolution, because that deceptively simple statement covers a lot of things. What it means in more detail is that I'm going to take better care of my physical health by doing things like exercising regularly, going to the doctor when I should instead of emulating an ostrich on the subject (whether it be for routine preventative care or out of actual need), taking time to eat at regular intervals instead of skipping meals or grabbing something totally inadequate while I work on whatever I've immersed myself in, getting enough sleep rather than driving myself past exhaustion to the point of collapse, and building time into my daily life to do things simply because they're enjoyable. That last crosses over into taking better care of my mental health, which is also part of this resolution and something I'm going to be making purposeful strides toward. Stress or not -- and I fully expect there to be a lot of stress, given what's in the general plan for 2008 -- this year is going to be markedly different from last year in how I allow stressful things to affect me.
Item the second: I resolve to finish the first of the two academic degrees in progress.
That one's pretty much self-explanatory. If everything stays on track, I will receive the master's degree in May, and then can give my full academic attention to completing the doctorate.
Item the third: I resolve to (re)develop a more active social life.
This one is placed where it is after the first two for a reason, and that's because both of those are an integral part of this one. It's all too easy to let things slip when one is overwhelmed and others are themselves busy, but I don't want to look back later and discover that I am stereotypically alone and crotchety with only cats for company. I'm generally balanced neatly between an extrovert and an introvert on personality tests, so this is more a matter of just making a conscious effort to re-embrace the former rather than the latter.
Item the fourth: I resolve to procrastinate less.
I know myself well enough to know that I will always have a tendency toward procrastination, but I also now know that it's possible for me to set it aside for an extended period. This year, I'm going to work on making that more the normal state of being.
Item the fifth: I resolve to finish a piece of original fiction and submit it for publication.
This resolution is very carefully and deliberately phrased. 'Original fiction': in other words, not any of the research articles, academic pieces/papers, reports or proposals that I already know I'll be writing. Also not fanfic -- and the reason for that is not that I don't intend to write fanfic, but rather that I want to also push myself toward doing something that I haven't done yet. 'A piece of' means it can be a short story, poem, novel, whatever -- the format is less important to me than the finishing of it. And finally, I've included the requirement to submit for publication (paid or not, electronic or print or both, whatever; I haven't decided) because that means I will not only need to finish it, but I will also have to let someone see it, which is a large part of why I'm making this resolution to begin with.
Item the sixth: I resolve to not fall on pie.
This one is here because varadia demanded it. In writing, even. :)
(Wait, more explanation is needed? Okay, fine. 'Falling on pie' is a SPN fandom reference to Certain Events that took place in the season 2 finale. Except that they didn't actually happen, because Someone fell on pie instead of... that other thing. Yes. See? Totally pie. SERIOUS spoiler warning on the other side of that link, y'all, I mean it.)
So, that's the starting point for the year. Happy 2008, everyone. May it be better than 2007 was by several orders of magnitude.
Oh well. Moving on!
I don't always make resolution lists, actually. Often I merely make note of one or two things that I'd like to work on during the year, and leave it at that. (This results in varying degrees of success, but it's usually intriguing for me, at least.) However, this year I've decided to make an actual list, complete with explanations, and so:
Aspen's New Year's Resolutions for 2008
1. I resolve to take better care of myself.
2. I resolve to finish the first of the two academic degrees in progress.
3. I resolve to (re)develop a more active social life.
4. I resolve to procrastinate less.
5. I resolve to finish a piece of original fiction and submit it for publication.
6. I resolve to not fall on pie.
And because explaining it in context got long, details are behind the cut for those who might be interested.
Item the first: I resolve to take better care of myself.
This is a multipart sort of resolution, because that deceptively simple statement covers a lot of things. What it means in more detail is that I'm going to take better care of my physical health by doing things like exercising regularly, going to the doctor when I should instead of emulating an ostrich on the subject (whether it be for routine preventative care or out of actual need), taking time to eat at regular intervals instead of skipping meals or grabbing something totally inadequate while I work on whatever I've immersed myself in, getting enough sleep rather than driving myself past exhaustion to the point of collapse, and building time into my daily life to do things simply because they're enjoyable. That last crosses over into taking better care of my mental health, which is also part of this resolution and something I'm going to be making purposeful strides toward. Stress or not -- and I fully expect there to be a lot of stress, given what's in the general plan for 2008 -- this year is going to be markedly different from last year in how I allow stressful things to affect me.
Item the second: I resolve to finish the first of the two academic degrees in progress.
That one's pretty much self-explanatory. If everything stays on track, I will receive the master's degree in May, and then can give my full academic attention to completing the doctorate.
Item the third: I resolve to (re)develop a more active social life.
This one is placed where it is after the first two for a reason, and that's because both of those are an integral part of this one. It's all too easy to let things slip when one is overwhelmed and others are themselves busy, but I don't want to look back later and discover that I am stereotypically alone and crotchety with only cats for company. I'm generally balanced neatly between an extrovert and an introvert on personality tests, so this is more a matter of just making a conscious effort to re-embrace the former rather than the latter.
Item the fourth: I resolve to procrastinate less.
I know myself well enough to know that I will always have a tendency toward procrastination, but I also now know that it's possible for me to set it aside for an extended period. This year, I'm going to work on making that more the normal state of being.
Item the fifth: I resolve to finish a piece of original fiction and submit it for publication.
This resolution is very carefully and deliberately phrased. 'Original fiction': in other words, not any of the research articles, academic pieces/papers, reports or proposals that I already know I'll be writing. Also not fanfic -- and the reason for that is not that I don't intend to write fanfic, but rather that I want to also push myself toward doing something that I haven't done yet. 'A piece of' means it can be a short story, poem, novel, whatever -- the format is less important to me than the finishing of it. And finally, I've included the requirement to submit for publication (paid or not, electronic or print or both, whatever; I haven't decided) because that means I will not only need to finish it, but I will also have to let someone see it, which is a large part of why I'm making this resolution to begin with.
Item the sixth: I resolve to not fall on pie.
This one is here because varadia demanded it. In writing, even. :)
(Wait, more explanation is needed? Okay, fine. 'Falling on pie' is a SPN fandom reference to Certain Events that took place in the season 2 finale. Except that they didn't actually happen, because Someone fell on pie instead of... that other thing. Yes. See? Totally pie. SERIOUS spoiler warning on the other side of that link, y'all, I mean it.)
So, that's the starting point for the year. Happy 2008, everyone. May it be better than 2007 was by several orders of magnitude.