Resolutions. That dirty, dirty word.

Resolutions:

I mentioned in my “First Review of the Year” that I have several goals for myself that aren't exactly the standard (at least from what I know about usual resolutions – losing weight, better finances, get organized etc – since originally writing this, it turns out my resolutions are pretty common, but oh well). So I wanted to actually write my goals for myself this year and put them somewhere I can revisit them toward the end of the year to see how I did.

1. I want to find a new career. As much as I love working with books, retail isn't satisfying for me. Life is short and I want to spend it doing something that matters. Even if it's working in a library instead of a bookstore, I want to start myself on a path toward something new that will do more than pay the bills.
2. Read and Write More. This is a tricky one. I want to broaden my reading horizons. I want to read more quality than quantity this year. I am semi taking the Read Harder Challenge from Book Riot. The goal is to gain new perspectives. I think this is crucial to living well. At the same time, I want to give myself the time I need to write. I haven't written a lot since school ended almost 2 years ago and even if it's not something personal, it's something I need to be able to unwind. Without writing, I lose sleep and don't focus or function as well as I know I can. I am going to try to schedule time for myself this year to write something, no matter what it is, each week. I am also enrolling in free classes on a site called edX.org (the first starts today!). I want to learn this year and really push myself to see what I am capable of. I can also get certificates to maybe use on applications to show that I'm willing and able to learn.
3. Use a Schedule and Slow Down. This is the most important one to me for this year. I want to practice better time management. I want to better plan out my days so I can feel like I'm accomplishing what I need to, but at the same time, I want this to better my family time. I want to make sure I take care of what I need to do so that when I have time to spend with the ones I love, I am not worried about work or anything else so I can just enjoy them.

This is the first year I've actually admitted to making resolutions in a long time, probably since high school. But I think these are doable. If I'm not exactly where I think I should be when 2016 rolls around, I am going to follow the 4^th resolution and stop worrying about things that don't need it.

Do you make resolutions? What are your goals and plans for this year?