Year’s end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us.
Hal Borland
I’m not super into New Year’s resolutions. They take a lot of habit-building work, and just tend to leave me disappointed with myself. This year I’m focusing on maintaining and growing habits I built in 2018.
Health
I found a personal trainer last year, and went to the gym nearly every dang week. The only times I didn’t make my appointment were due to travel, and then, I almost always doubled up the week before or after to make up for it. Swarm tells me I checked in to my gym 64 times. I’ve become stronger, and have more endurance. My back hurts less. I’ve discovered I love lifting weights. It’s expensive as hell, but it’s been so worth it.
In 2019, I want to continue seeing my trainer weekly. If I can make it one more day a week, whether for a class or a workout on my own, I’ll consider that a success. I think scheduling it into my calendar will help.
Balance
Learning how to say no has been a longterm goal of mine. I’m a people pleaser — I like helping, and don’t like disappointing folks. However, there’s only so many things you can say yes to. I did pretty well at limiting what I said yes to last year, and I’d like to keep it up.
Over my sabbatical, I learned the important of taking space away from work. I need to be intentional about creating this time for myself in the future. In order to achieve balance, I need time for rest, reflection, and personal creativity.
Professional Growth
I took a break from speaking last year — I gave just one talk the entire year. I needed to take this kind of break to regain some energy and equilibrium, but this year I’m ready to bounce back. I’d like to give 4–5 talks throughout the year. I’ve already put in my first speaker applications, for Lesbians Who Tech in February and WordCamp Europe this summer in Berlin!
I did a good job of blogging last year. This year, I’d like to do a great job. I have a tentative goal set for myself of “write something every other week,” but we’ll see whether or not I stick to that. I definitely want to write at least one post per month, at the bare minimum. If I can write more this year than I did last year, that’ll be a win.
Personal Growth
I’ve been learning how to drum for a little over two years now. Last April, I attended Ladies Rock Camp Boston, where I joined a band, we wrote a song, and then performed it at the end of camp! My band mostly stuck together after, and we’ve been practicing together regularly since. I’d love to keep this up and finally do another performance this year, now that we have a pretty rockin’ setlist. Already looking forward to my next practice tomorrow.
Lastly, I started making more art last year. I took some printmaking workshop over my sabbatical, which spawned a new habit of watercolor painting. I’d like to continue painting this year and improving my watercolor skills. You can see what I’m working on in my Instagram stories!