2023 Year Goals
I’ve always hated the idea of New Years’ Resolutions. Frankly, I don’t see why someone should have to wait to a preordained date to make a positive change in their lives. But… that doesn’t mean I don’t also fall victim to using the opportunity to re-evaluate my life.
The last couple years, I have been picking twelve goals for the year, one for each month. Not that I’m doing them by month - “January’s goal is blah blah blah”. Twelve just seems like a nice number of goals to have. Half the fun is coming up with enough, frankly. I definitely cheat a bit and reference the goals from the year before.
Anyways, here’s my goals for the year.
1. Read 39 books
I’ve always been a reader. The last few years, my goal has been 52 books in the year. One per week, on average anyways. But things never seem to work out. One book is not quite interesting enough to finish in a week. Another is just so damn dense that it takes me ages to finally reach the end. I’m admitting defeat and acknowledging that it’s not likely that I’ll actually hit 52, and aiming for something a bit more realistic this year. And who knows, maybe I’ll get lucky and end up reading 52 after all.
2. Bike 400 hours / 6000 miles / 300,000 ft elevation
This shouldn’t surprise anyone. I’m a huge cyclist. Bikes are my life. I hope that I’m able to improve year over year by putting in the hours. Trust the process. In 2022, I had this exact goal, but only managed to reach 355 hours (still over 100 hours more than 2021!). This time round, I’m going to be successful.
3. Release 1 EP
Right around when the pandemic started, I ended up getting super into electronic music production. I release tracks whenever I complete them, but don’t ever actually put much into a more cohesive vision / sound. So, my goal for the year is to release 1 EP that has a bit more intent behind it.
I did have this goal last year, but didn’t really make much progress on this. This year, I’m hoping that the Foundations of Electronic Music class that I’m taking provides the push I need to actually accomplish this goal.
4. Keep a to-do list
This is another perennial goal. I always wish I was more organized than I actually am.
This year I’m switching from using Todoist to just using the built in reminders app in iOS. I’m hoping that by dropping a reminders widget on my main homescreen I can actually keep up with it this year, and that it doesn’t just end up being wasted homescreen space that blends into the background.
5. Drink less than 180 days
I tend to drink a lot, which is not great for biking recovery. I’ve done dry months in the past, but this year my goal is just to pull it back a little bit and drink less often than usual. I wasn’t sure exactly what number to go with, so 180 days, half the year, seemed like a reasonable place to start. My hope, though, is that I undershoot that.
6. Learn how to maintain a bike
I spend far too much money on bike repairs for how often / obsessed I am with cycling. Time to suck it up and learn to do my own maintenance better. I’ll still probably keep going to the shop for some stuff (especially if I end up getting tubular wheels for cyclocross).
7. Keep a tidy home
My apartment is not usually the cleanest. My kitchen table is often just covered in miscellaneous bike stuff like sunglasses, helmet, and lights. Dishes aren’t always put in the dishwasher, and pots & pans are sometimes left in the sink for days. I’d like to be a bit better about keeping it tidy enough that I don’t have to panic clean before anyone comes over.
8. Write 12 blog posts
This blog is basically unused. In 2023, I want to do some more writing, and I figured here was a safer bet than a dozen corporate-owned social media sites. An average of 1 post / month seems pretty achievable.
9. Average less than 2 hours phone screentime
I use my phone way too much, and never end up feeling happy about it. Wasting time idly browsing social media doesn’t seem like a fun thing, especially when there’s not even anything new in the five minutes since I last checked it. But I don’t seem to be able to stop it, so instead I’m setting a goal to cap my overall screentime.
Hope I can find something else to do with my idle moments. Frankly, the idea of just sitting with my thoughts terrifies me. But the alternative, being constantly unable to live in the moment without being on my phone (I even check it while watching TV, for fuck’s sake), isn’t really something I want for myself either.
10. Practice Duolingo daily
I started doing Duolingo (en español) at the end of 2021, and kept a near-perfect streak going in 2022. I want to keep that streak alive, and continue to learn Spanish.
11. Cook 1 nice meal a week
I don’t cook much at home - usually, dinner is some form of microwave burritos or a pizza or maybe some pasta if I’m feeling like putting some effort in. This year, I want to cook at least 1 meal that requires effort a week, whether that’s making a pizza from scratch, blending up a soup, or roasting up some vegetables.
12. Meditate three times a week
This last one was a bit of a stretch to hit that 12-goal goal. I want to try meditating as a way of calming my mind and helping me get to sleep / stay asleep better. So often I have a hard time shutting my brain off when I go to bed, and it keeps me up. Maybe meditation will help.