Instead of setting broad resolutions for the New Year, I am adopting a series of specific targets across core areas of my life.
My philosophy is that by setting a target I am putting in place a goal to work towards. I find it structures my thinking and helps be discipline the way I work towards goals.
Last year, I failed in a number of resolutions. While this is disappointing, I am renewing most of the targets. Failure to meet the targets has informed my understanding of who I am, what I find hard, and what I need to work on. Some of the targets have been amended to help me work towards them, but the core principles they sought to insert into my year are hopefully the same.
I’ve used the model I had last year where the important areas of my life were used to theme resolution areas (finance, social, fitness, food). Books ended up as its own section because the Goodreads reading challenge was one of my first resolutions and I love being challenged by it, so I am building on how I will achieve it year on year.
The previous year posed a direct challenge to the way I viewed the world. The order that I saw and the way I structured my life was upended. I had to focus on what gave me meaning and purpose. My marriage and relationship with my wife on one year was the principle priority, realising this and seeing it strengthened as we weathered 2020 gave me a whole new appreciation for it. The importance of family as an extension of this was anchored through the loss of people dear to me and making sure that I maintain and grow the relationships with my family was extremely important in 2020.
Ensuring that I not only maintain but enhance relationships with my friends was also something of enormous value. I don’t know about others, but anecdotally it seems to be something that people find challenged as they try to build careers to not just maintain relationships with friends, but to grow those relationships. A silver lining of going into lockdown was reaching out to a number of people who hold enormous value to me and working to grow those social links. I want to, and intend to, continue to work on this over the course of the next year.
Finally, I find a lot of structure in my life through the work I do. I work in politics, it can be rough and tumble, chaotic and high pressure. But the people I work with and have worked with are some of the best people I know. I also find a lot of meaning in the work I do and the opportunities it gives me, so ensuring that I am the best I can be at what I do is important (though something I struggle to set specific targets for here).
If last year was about building resilience and weathering the storm, 2021 will be the year to build discipline in meeting the challenges the world can face. I want to be sure of where I stand, be open to taking more managed risks, and focus on what is important for me (my family, friends, and principles).
New Resolutions
- Maintain emergency cash fund worth 3 months of income. One of the impacts Covid-19 had on me was revealing a fragility to the order that I thought existed in the world. My wife faced more job uncertainty than I did, but working in politics in an election year, I faced some later in the year. We have had savings previously, but now I think having a dedicated emergency fund we can access quickly in the event of some shock or crisis is even more important as a priority.
- Contact family at least once a week (or 52 times) when living in separate cities. This year I lost two of my grandparents and have felt further away from home and family than I have for some time. Ensuring a connection to my family is important and I need to be better at it.
- Run for one hour straight 20x. This is a new one trying to build on my cardio goals. I’m not too fussed about the speed or distance.
- Set regular work goals to measure against . This is a resolution within a resolution, but I recently changes jobs and moved into an new workplace where having ore order and discipline from my part is going to be more important than ever. My model for this right now is that I purchased a productivity journal that I want to start using.
- Increase the number of books written by women (a noticeable gender difference in my reading list which I am nudging here)/
- Learn five new German recipes. My wife is German and I think it is important to build connections with her culture as well as mine.
- Use five or more recipes from Agean cookbook. This was a Christmas gift I gave my other half, we were meant to go to Greece on our honeymoon but COVID caused this to be cancelled, so more Greek food is once step towards the experience.
- Utilise Habit app (it is an app that tracks set habits that I purchased and it is a great way to nudge you into habits)
Amended Resolutions
- Journal or blog 52 times. I didn’t do this last year, but wanted to set it again because I think keeping a record of what I think is an important way for me to engage with my own thinking and, in the event that I share something that other people read, engage with others as well. For this I will count book reviews, Medium posts, or personal journaling that I want to start (inspired by reading some memoirs where personal journals were heavily lent on).
- Read at least ten books exclusively on recommendations from friends. This has been increased from 3 to 10 as a way to find more variety and common threads amongst my friends and family.
- Find a new area to read more than one book in. I love politics, philosophy and classical history, this shows in what I read. So I want to carve out a new niche for 2021
- Do 20x10km cardio sets (walking and running allowed but must have both). Amended from last year’s 10km target to be more specific and manageable (hopefully).
- Complete 10x Keto days and complete 4x vegetarian weeks. I’ve broken this down into smaller parts to attempt a more manageable way to achieve the same outcome.
Resolutions that are continuing:
- 5km running: this is a personal milestone for me. I never ran and started a couple of years back moving to outdoor running last year. I am neither fast, in form, or terribly fit, but maintaining this is a point of principle for me.
- Weight routine: this is part of the routine currently and needs to be maintained. I used to do these exercises regularly at university and building up strength again is important and I need to find time for it.
- Limiting alcohol and tracking food are important continuations — because they have an obvious relationship and this is an important way for me to maintain and build discipline.
- Targeting a 50% increase for investments is something I think is achievable over the course of the year. Last year returned just over 30% (and a recovery from COVID) but this was pretty passive from me. My view now is that I will likely move a share of my savings track into shares. Bank interest isn’t great and the market over the course of the year is, I expect, going to be better. Will need to be over the finances to manage the other financial goals as well.
- An annual financial plan and weekly budget with my other half remains important!
- 52 books is back as the perennial goal! Also renewed is the 3x books over 100 years old which was a failure from last year.
- Finally, I need to find a charity, a new hobby to explore and a new sport to play at least one game of.
2021 Resolutions: The Full list
Finance
- Maintain emergency cash fund worth 3 months of income
- Organise a joint bank account for wife and I.
- Increase savings in funds and shares by 50% (I will need to adopt a more aggressive investing strategy here)
- Establish annual financial plan with wife
- Build a weekly budget as a couple
Books
- Increase the number of books written by women (a noticeable gender difference in my reading list which I am nudging here)
- Read at least ten books exclusively on recommendations from friends
- Find a new area to read more than one book in
- Read at least three books written over 100 years ago
- Read at least 52 books
Life Admin
- Contact family at least once a week (or 52 times) when living in separate cities.
- Utilise Habit app (it is an app that tracks set habits that I purchased and it is a great way to nudge you into habits)
- Set regular work goals to measure against
- Journal or blog 52 times
- Compile all debating resources and make public
- Find a charity to either donate to or volunteer with
- Identify an new club or hobby to begin
- Play at least one game of a new sport that I do not regularly play currently (so not indoor netball)
Fitness
- Continue 5km running
- Do 20x10km cardio sets (walking and running allowed but must have both)
- Run for one hour straight 20x
- Achieve 100kg bench press sets
- Achieve regular 100kg standing squat sets
Food
- Learn five new German recipes
- Use five or more reipes from Agean cookbook
- Complete 10x Keto days
- Complete 4x vegetarian weeks
- Limit alcohol to deliberate occasions (I’m targeting casual drinking here, I have tried recently to limit drinking to deliberate events like New Years, scheduled visits to a bar to see friends and so on).
- Regularly track my food in the Fitbit app (I started doing this and it honestly puts a brake on what I buy and how much I eat, tracking food is a great way to understand more about what and when you eat)
