Yes, I'm fully aware that it is the final day of January, and that most people make 'resolutions' on the first day of the year. Sadly, working on procrastination is not on my list.
I'm not really a fan of making resolutions, I find they are usually full of either unpleasant tasks or unrealistic expectations. Plans, on the other hand, as something you make, with intention. Things to aspire to. So, these are my plans for 2013.
1. Run a race
I run on a fairly regular basis, but I have never trained for a formal race. Running a 5k doesn't seem like much of a challenge since I run about three of those a week on the treadmill, so I have my sights set on running a half marathon this year. Still a crazy, stupid long distance (in my opinion), but not so crazy that it can't be done (….right?).
2. Use my degree
Instead of just making it a goal to get a full time job (because, seriously, that's always a goal), I want to pledge to use the degree I will continue to pay off for several years. While I would prefer to get paid to use my education, I also want to volunteer my time, which will hopefully allow me to experience different areas of the law.
3. Read more books
Somewhere in the mess that was law school and 'real life' (whatever that means), I forgot about a deep and passionate love of mine--reading. Yes, I still read, mostly on the internet, but I lost that lovin' feelin' I had with books and would only read sporadically as I heard of new books that interested me. I don't want to assign myself a certain number of books to read for the year, because I think that will make reading feel like a challenge (or worse, a chore), which is not what I want. Instead, I have a rather lengthy list of books I would like to read and I plan on working my way through the list. Ideally, I would like to read about three books a month (although I'm already on my 8th book for January). So, if you have any suggestions, let me know :)
4. Travel more
Brian and I made this a joint goal for the coming year. There is a never-ending list of places we want to go, so we are trying to make this a priority in the coming year. Being in DC, we are just a few hours away from several new and exciting places that we plan to explore over the next year, while also taking some bigger, more exotic trips as well (which will hopefully include some international travel).
5. Respond faster to emails
I am one of those people that checks their email on their smartphone throughout the day, makes a mental note on how to respond, and inevitably fails to respond until much, much later than I originally planned. So, instead, I am going to make it a plan to respond within 48 hours so that the recipient doesn't feel as if I have neglected them and I can stay on top of things.
6. Make some friends
I really just want someone in the DC area that I feel comfortable calling up to hang out every so often without feeling like I am bothering them. Is that too much to ask? I'm not an extrovert by nature and I prefer to observe rather than participate, which makes meeting people difficult. Throw in a healthy portion of insecurity and it's really no surprise I have few friends here. But, these are all excuses, and I don't want them to stand in the way of meeting awesome new people.
7. Take more pictures with people
This is a fine line for me. On one hand, I want to live in the moment and not worry about getting a picture of each and every little thing that happens in my life, on the other hand, I love taking pictures and I love having a tangible memory to look back on an experience. So, without making everything in my life a documentary, I want to remember to take more pictures, especially with and of my friends and family.
8. Write more
I discovered through reading and blogging on a regular basis, that I really enjoy writing. But writing about myself and my life can get rather boring, especially since I censor myself a great deal on this blog (it's for your benefit, really). Even if no one ever reads what I write , I want to have a creative outlet for my thoughts and crazy ideas.
9. Read all my photography books
If you saw any of my posts from our trip to Greece, you know I absolutely love to take pictures. Sadly, photography is a fun, but expensive hobby and my ability to update my camera and lenses is limited right now. So instead of lusting after new equipment, I am going to focus on learning and internalizing the basics of photography. I own several books on the subject, but I have never finished reading a single one of them. So, I want to read them all (which will also help with goal #3) to hopefully improve my skills so that when I do invest in fancy new camera equipment, I will be able to use it effectively.
10. De-clutter by getting rid of unwanted and unused items
So this is kind of a cliché resolution, but it is still something that I would like to address. Like most people, we have a lot of stuff, much of it that we don't use and never sees the light of day. Instead of leaving it in a box or a closet, I want to remove these things from our lives altogether by donating our unwanted extras.
What are your plans for 2013?
