This article is the English version; if you are interested in the Italian version, you can find it here: I miei 10 buoni propositi per il 2021
In this article, there are some products/services mentioned, but they are not sponsored; I have indicated them as I intend to use them as an aid to achieving my goals for this year, at least at this time, maybe then using them I will find others more useful for me.
This year, for me (and many others), will be a year of significant changes. Following what is usually recommended in these cases
to be more effective in reaching goals, I am writing an article with my resolutions for 2021. In this way, during the year, I will recap how they are proceeding and how I have organized myself to reach them (both positive and negative experiences, from which maybe learn anyway).
MAIN GOAL
The main goal that I have set myself for this year concerns writing:
1. Publish a book
I want to be able to publish a book (because I am a native Italian speaker) containing a part of what is written/sketched for NaNoWriMo November 2020 (appropriately revised and corrected); I don’t want to publish it just to do it or to have my name on a book, but I would like to publish something that is of at least decent quality, I don’t mean something like “The Lord of the Rings”, but more a something well written and that has passed all the necessary phases such as editing, beta reading, .., in this way I will be able to understand the dynamics better and maybe, with a little luck, publish other books later.
This goal will be easily measurable, at least for the publication, while it will be more problematic on quality; in this case, however, I will be the judge of myself; if the quality does not satisfy me, I will simply not publish anything.
SECONDARY GOALS
In addition to this goal, which I consider the main one for this year, I have also given myself secondary goals:
2. Finish two writing courses
I am following two writing courses with two different authors, and for this year, I would like to complete both of them. It will not be challenging to complete them but to fully understand them (or at least discreetly).
This goal is related to the main one, it will not be directly measurable, but when I have completed the primary goal, I will indirectly have completed these too, as I first want to complete the courses, and then I will want to get back to work on the book.
3. Publish 12 articles on Medium
In this case, I will want to publish at least one article a month (actually, the idea is to write one article for a week, but I wouldn’t want to exaggerate with a goal that can become difficult to manage); in 2020, I published only two articles. This goal will serve me both to write more and improve my English (usually, any of my articles will be written in Italian and in English, the goal of the 12 articles refers to the single language).
This goal will be easily measurable through the published articles.
4. Read more
Indirectly linked to the writing goals above, in this case, I would like to read more and in a more organized way (perhaps delving into Goodreads or similar); I would like to read at least 24 books this year (so 2 per month, a relatively simple goal), in this count I will also keep in mind the audiobooks.
To measure this goal, will report books read/heard.
I currently finished:
- THE RISING — Brian Keene
5. Get in shape
One of the most classic of annual resolutions. To achieve this goal, I would like to do at least 4 hours of physical activity every week, currently divided as follows:
- Stepper (35/45 minutes)
- Switch RingFit (15/20 minutes)
- Exercises with dumbbells (3 series of 3 exercises)
They are certainly not complete exercises, but it is a way to start, and eventually, over time, I will go to vary/integrate them.
The stepper's timing derives approximately from the duration of a single episode of a television series; I started watching during the stepper to do it more willingly; I also set the vision in English, and with English subtitles, in this way, I will also train my English.
To measure this goal (carry out 4h/week, therefore 208 hours in 2021), I will list the series seen; possibly, I will have to investigate if I can automatically extract usable data also from the smart band or even from the smart scale (although they are indicative measurements).
I am currently watching Alice in Borderlands on Netflix.
6. Losing weight
This goal is also a classic annual goal and related to the previous one; in my case, I will want to lose 10 Kg. To do this, the exercises of the previous goal will help me (especially the stepper).
To measure this goal, I will use the data collected by a smart scale.
7. Improve my English
For this purpose, I am doing the Babbel course (at least ten lessons a week); I will also want to watch some series directly in English (as I started doing while using the stepper) and later begin listening to podcasts as well in English.
To measure this goal, I will want to complete the basic course of Babbel, which is made up of 208 lessons.
8. Learning to cook decently
At the moment I don’t cook, this year I want to start cooking, my goal is not to learn how to cook to be able to participate in a cooking competition, but to prepare lunches and dinners at home often in the days ordinary.
Also, to achieve this goal, I will want to cook for friends (when possible, current situation permitting), which I will do when I believe I can cook something decent for them too.
9. Prepare weekly food plans
Linked to the previous goal, there is also this, which would have the advantage of allowing me a better organization of expense and indirectly also having an idea of how much the actual amount indicatively.
10. Track how I spend time
I want to understand better how I spend my time; at the moment is not clear, and time goes on; I never seem to have enough of it to do anything, but probably because I waste a lot of it.
I have currently re-started using Toggl Track, which allows you to record it quite easily and generate reports (but I’m still studing it); I started using this tool as it has a basic application on pc (and also on smart bands as well as on the pc / smartphone.
I have indicated many secondary goals (probably too many, I am afraid for those related to cooking), and there are still others that I will want to fulfill (for example, being more present for my loved ones and my friends), but better stop with the list for the moment. For some of the goals I have indicated, it is not very clear how I will achieve them, but I will clarify it over time; maybe some will be changed over time.
Thanks for reading; if you liked it (or even if you didn’t like it) or if you have any considerations about it, let me know in the comments.
