Year-End Resolution Support Group

hyperskeptic

New member
Do you make New Year's resolutions?

I do, but with a slight twist: I treat midnight on December 31 as a deadline rather than a start date. Otherwise, a New Year's resolution is just an excuse for putting off the effort to develop new habits.

I'm starting on mine today, but it would be nice to be able to check in with others who may be doing the same, to compare notes about struggles and to celebrate progress toward the goal, whatever it is.

If you don't make resolutions, or think resolutions are counterproductive, that's all right . . . but let that be the topic for a different thread, leaving this one open to those who are interested in starting something new.

A resolution should be something you can accomplish in the next month, a habit you can break or change or acquire, a state of affairs you yourself can bring about.

I'll start in the next thread . . . though there's something ironic about posting my resolution here . . .
 
Hyperskeptic's Resolutions

I have a couple of resolutions for the end of 2013.

Year-End Resolution 1

I intend to change my relationship with the Internet, with the aim of leaving more time and focus for other projects, both professional and personal, and more of my attention for the people in my life.

This will involve leaving my computers turned off more of the time, having designated times to check and respond to email and forums, moving more of my professional and personal lives offline, doing more reading and writing that involves ink on paper, talking to people face-to-face more often. It will also involve getting control over my inboxes.

So, it is ironic that I'm posting this here. I'll just try to check in less often.

Really, this is a longer-term goal, but I'd like to have made a noticeable start on it by December 31. Signs of progress will include
  • breaking the habit of turning to the computer first thing in the morning and first thing after dinner in the evening, and running to the computer whenever I have a moment of idleness.
  • leaving the computer off for longer portions of the day,
  • losing track, from time to time, of where I left my zero-sum smart phone*, and
  • spending more of my time reading, writing with a pen, practicing music, and talking to people; in particular, passing my commute time on train or bus reading ink on paper (or maybe e-ink on a non-Internet device).

Year-End Resolution 2

I intend to reduce the amount of sugar and simple starches I eat.

I've done this before, with notably good effects, but I've slipped a bit over the past few months. Being in the UK made it difficult to cut white flour out of my diet! I would like to reestablish the habit by the end of the year.

Of course, the holidays are a minefield. All those buffets! All those pies and cookies!

_____
* having a smart phone is a zero-sum game: the smarter it gets, the stupider I get.
 
My goal, which I made progress on today, is to take packed lunches/food to work.
I hate making lunches, I hated making one a day for kid last year and I hate making 2 a day this year. You would think it would be just as easy to make 3. Pah.
I got yoghurt, granola, almond milk and cheese sticks for the fridge at work, protein bars for the car and bananas. So when I slack there is something to eat.
And the goal is to make 3 packed lunches per week for me. Spiderman lunchbox is ready to go and I got more little plastic containers.
I can often go all day without eating anything after breakfast. To be honest, some days I skip food altogether, just being lazy. Not good.
Yes, I feed the kids!!!!
I only have 2 weeks to work on it as I am taking time off over Xmas. 20th is the last day for me for this year. Let the challenge commence :D
 
My name is Kevin T., and I am a resolution-no-care-aholic.

Heh. Did make one "deadline resolution" worth mentioning. "Remove annoying stepmom from email correspondence before 2014." Aaand ... mission accomplished. I think.

2014 promises to be a whole new world compared to 2013 anywayz. After all, as of 2014, I now live in Washington State! :)

Re: online relationships ... awww, but they matter, don't they? Not that my IRL V doesn't take precedence.

Re: ink (pen versus printer) ... heck I write one of my siblings via printer, though I at least feel sheepish enough to sign it with a pen.

Shiz, my computer is my square-headed girlfriend. And she's a harsh mistress. Only reason I don't un-sleep her first thing every day is because Nature calls.

But I don't have a smart phone. I can haz pts plz? ok.

I have started doing a certain amount of reading (and archiving) every day (before logging on here). That habit started last month, so I count that as a year-end resolution accomplished.

Regards,
KDT.
 
Nice one Kevin! Resolution completion!

I am not doing great at mine. I managed boxed leftovers once this week. I had yoghurt and granola today from my office fridge supplies and an apple scrounged from a work site.

Hmmm, best to stock up the fridge and forget about packed lunches.

Resolution fail. :D
 
Heh, I think the secret is knowing what resolutions you'll actually be able to keep. I personally prefer 99% odds in my favor. ;)

And then of course I party down to celebrate. Or at least throw a "close enough" party. :cool:
 
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