2005 Resolutions
January 3rd, 2005I’ve taken stock a bit, and come up with a few resolutions for 2005. I think I went a bit overboard last year with eight resolutions, and it’s evident that I didn’t take some of them very seriously. So I’m going to limit myself to five this year. With that, here’s 2005′s resolutions:
2005 Resolution #1 – Be more frugal.
Notice I didn’t just say "be frugal". I said be "more" frugal. I know myself well enough to know that I’m still going to concerts, buy CDs, see movies, go out for drinks.
But in 2004, I dined out a lot more than I cooked, and I have new CDs I haven’t even listened to yet. I don’t need any more music software (I’m barely using what I have now), and I have a stack of books I haven’t read yet. I also have a very good local library, so I don’t need to buy every book I’d like to read.
In short, this year I’d like to use what I have buy only what what I need (while still going out and having fun).
2005 Resolution #2 – Read a lot more.
This goes for everything from keeping up on current events, reading fiction, and keeping reading up on new technologies for my work. I’m going to make a point to set aside about an hour on most evenings to read before bed.
2005 Resolution #3 – Do tutorials.
I really don’t like doing software tutorials. I typically find them boring. But they’re the best way to learn new things quickly, and they’re hands-on. So this year I get over it, and start doing tutorials.
2005 Resolution #4 – Think healthier.
Notice I’m also being rather general about this one. That’s because I think what I need to do is more than just go for a walk every other day, or cut out carbs or something. I need to think more about nutrition and exercise, and make better choices.
Having a banana instead of M&Ms, a water instead of a Mountain Dew, thirty minutes on the stationary bike instead of watching Law & Order. This is going to be really hard, but if I can do little things every day, they’ll add up.
2005 Resolution #5 – Keep in touch better.
I did a lot of fun things in 2005, but I frequently did them alone. Lately I haven’t seen or talked to my friends and family as much as I used to, and as a result I think 2004 was an exciting but lonely sort of year. I would like to not have 2005 be the same. This year I’ll keep in touch better and invite friends out more regularly.
01/02/2005 – New Year
A lot happened in 2004: WhittmanHart bought SGS Net, I went to Coachella with J, F and I bought a condo, I flew to New York and back in the same day to see Brian Eno give a talk on creativity, and I attended Web Design World 2004 in Boston. It was a big year. But let’s see how I did on last year’s new year’s resolutions…
Resolution #1: Take classes in audio production and music theory.
I actually tried to take a class on audio production but it went rather badly. The teacher seemed pretty unfocused, and the syllabus served as little more than optional talking points. I learned about nothing, and missed the last two classes due to work and a cold.
Resolution #2 – Either take a drawing class or work through my book "Drawing School".
Totally spaced this one off. I did make a few doodles, but not much else.
Resolution #3 – Learn much more Actionscript.
I did learn a bit more Actionscript, and I’m pretty comfortable now with adapting examples to my own needs. I still don’t write Actionscript from scratch, but I’ve never done that in any language (HTML is not a language, either is CSS).
Resolution #4 – Do more design for print, identity and CD-ROM.
I did design a CD-ROM for work, and also designed a bit of print and identity material. Would have liked to have done more, but it was a good start.
Resolution #5 – Read more and watch less TV.
I read a bit more, but mostly stuff for work. I did subscribe to Audible.com, and put my time in transit to good use. But I need to start making time for reading every day.
Resolution #6 – Go to the gym at least twice a week.
I didn’t even put enough effort into this to say I failed at it. Let’s just say this resolution was set to "null".
Resolution #7 – Drink more water.
Not a total failure. I did drink more water, but it’s safe to say I just drank more fluids in general, since WH has free soda.
Resolution #8 – Work every month on creating music.
Eeeek. Another unqualified disaster. I did tinker a bit, but didn’t actually make much of it.
Implications on Goals for 2005?
It looks as if I didn’t take last year’s goals very seriously, and only succeeded in some of them by pure accident. I need to take a longer look at what I really want to do this year before making new goals for this year.