Theme for 2020: I got this
Time again for the reckoning of my new anti-resolution tradition, my 20 for 2020. Particularly as the years go by, a seperate blog post for each one is way more than you want to read, and possibly more than I want to write, and besides, some of these items warrant more or less commentary relative to others, some are fun to combine and write about in groups, and so on, and it looks an awful lot like my list is getting better organized with each iteration, so they’ve been grouped by subcategories this year, and that format will roll over into next year’s list. I love efficiency.
I suppose it could go without saying that the world these aspirations were created in at the end of 2019 was a significantly different world than that which I’ve been rolling them out, and I feel just a little extra proud of the theme I set for the year, for it has truly pullled me through some difficult bullshit this year.
I learned an important lesson from my 19 for 2019, and that is to be more specific in my intentions. The list I crafted for this year reflects that, and while not consciously categorizing them into subcategories, there is definitley that trend—specific items that collectively work toward a shared goal: get your finances in order, get your house in order, and cultivate personal interests more actively.
I can only say that I truly completed just a few of these, though the journeys are underway, and that’s really the more interesting and more important part to me, which is why I hate resolutions and goals—I’m really more about the journey than the destination, and have found that I’m more prone to achieve the goal if I focus on the getting there part. Here’s the rearanged version of this year’s list, broken down into three categories that will get posts of their own in the coming weeks, and will be followed up by my 2021 list.
Get Your Finances In Order
1. Pay off your student loan debt.
2. Rebalance your portfolio.
Get Your House In Order
1. Identify, inventory, and quantify the categories of closet items and purge at least 10%.
2. Hang pants/skirts.
3. Have a blanket made from old t-shirts.
4. Research options for selling/purging vintage items.
5. Tackle mending/alterations pile.
6. Create better use of space over shelf in coat closet.
7. Relocate hats downstairs.
8. Organize yarn stash.
9. Relocate and use metal racks in garage.
10. Pocket doors!
11. Redesign office space for two.
12. Hang decor & pictures.
13. Reclaim your personal email account.
14. Get a robovacuum.
Creative Expression
1. Put at least 30 minutes daily into Mojo List/Side Hustle.
2. Meditate at least 5 minutes every day.
3. Resurrect some language skills.
4. Learn at least 12 origami well enough to execute without following directions.
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about how 2020 has shaken my snow globe. Then I realized, when the snow settles in a snow globe, you’re still left with the same scene over and over again. Then it dawned on me: 2020 has violently shaken my Etch-a-Sketch, not my snow globe, and I have been given a completely new and blank slate to draw whatever picture I choose, and I am choosing an entirely new one. 2021 is going to be a radically different year. I’m bursting at the seams to share my news, and will be ready to do so after processing my 20 for 2020 and publish my 21 for 2021. While 2020 has been staring me down all year with its big round Os, 2021 is clearly winking an invitation to something wildly different in every way, and I welcome its asymmetry.
It Starts With Quiche 