Welcome, Everyone, to the first Blog Post of the New Year! If you’ve followed me here from 2019, thanks for sticking with me, and, if you’re new to the Blog, Welcome aboard!
This year while, empirically, no different than any other, feels particularly significant.
For starters, 2020 is an election year. I don’t normally get political on the Blog, and I’m not going to now, other than to say: Vote! Get out there, get registered, and make your voice count.
More importantly, on a more personal level, I’m turning 50 this year.
Half. A. Century.
I don’t know if this is a common response to this, but I am coming into this year like it’s offered a challenge. I am picking up that gauntlet, and I am *Pumped* to tackle what waits for me this year.
What’s my plan, you ask? Let’s talk.
Personal:
I am continuing to focus on my health – as I should be. My goal for last year was to lose (and maintain said loss) 10 pounds. I did that, nearly doubled that, in fact, though I confess to a bit of a backslide over the holidays. Not enough to bring me under 10 pounds, but still, not the right direction.
My goal is to double that in 2020. I’m going to get there through a combination of diet (paying attention to and logging what I eat) and exercise (I need to get up and move more).
Additionally, I am going to give sleep a higher priority in 2020. Looking back over the past year, I saw a common theme appearing in my Five Thing Thursday posts where I kept using the weekend to catch up on sleep. I can’t keep doing that.
I did learn, over the past year that, over the course of any give night, I’m usually awake for a total of somewhere close to an hour. That means if I want to get 7 hours of sleep, I need to plan on being in bed for at least 8. That was huge, and I’m planning on using that to build on in 2020.
Professionally:
My goal this year is to get writing done every day. I know that I’ve spoken in the past about how that isn’t strictly necessary , and that it’s the habit that’s more important. I still believe that’s the case but, like I said earlier, I’m stoked to challenge this year, and this is one of the ways I’m doing it.
I’m not going to put any rules on it, though. I will always have something that I’m working on and if, at the end of the day, I’m farther along (Even if it’s by a single word) than I was at the beginning of the day – that’s a win.
I am counting on getting more than that single word once I get started (Which is usually the hardest part).
To help me keep track (though I’m pretty sure I could remember on my own), I’m trying something new. I picked up a calendar and some stickers. Each day that I get some work done, I am putting a sticker on that date.
Honestly, here we are five days in, and I think it’s helping me keep on track. We’ll see how long it lasts.
Socially:
I’ve got to be honest here. This is probably going to be the choke point for me. I want to be more involved in the writing community. I’ll be looking for more critique partners, and I want to interact more online and in face-to-face meetings. I’d like to do more with my Twitter account, re-invigorate my Facebook presence, and I’m also looking into things like Instagram and LinkedIn.
Speaking of Social Media, This year, I am going to seriously curate my social media feeds. There’s too much going on, too much to get upset about, and I need to get it out of my life.
So. Yeah. 2020. Half-a-Century.
I’m ready to get to work. How about you?
I’ll see you on Thursday. Be Excellent to each other.
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