Tackling 2014: 12 Goals for 12 Months

Well, it's 2014, and it feels like I'm starting from scratch. This is the first year of my life that, as of right now, is filled with... nothing. Zilch. No school to go to, no job to go to, just 12 pages of emptiness in my calendar. Let me tell you, it's bizarre. And for someone who likes to have a plan -- and who is more productive when there's a ton of stuff to do -- it's really disconcerting.

I don't usually make a list of goals for the new year, but heck, what better time than now to give it a try? It's up to me to keep myself on track now! It'll be entirely too easy to spend every day for the foreseeable future sleeping late, being a vegetable on the couch and feeling sorry for myself. And if there's anything that keeps me on task, it's a good old fashioned list. (You should see the number of Post Its I go through.)

This year, my motivation has to come entirely from myself, so I've come up with 12 goals. Not a month-by-month thing (though if I could get #1 done in January, that'd be greaaaaat), I'm just slightly obsessive compulsive like that.

...Yep, that about covers it.

This is an emphatic almost-number-one on my list, firstly because I just plain have too much. I can't unpack the stuff I had with me in Colorado because there's literally no room for it. Second, my room has been a temporary stop for me for the last four and a half years, and I haven't lived there for more than a week at a time since last winter. I'm actually cleaning cobwebs off the walls! I need to make it habitable again; no more just leaving stuff on the floor with the excuse that it's just temporary. And third, this is my childhood bedroom, but I'm not a child anymore. There's no reason for me to still have random toys and posters and crap from when my age was in the single digits! I need a ton of garbage bags and a ruthless lack of attachment. And then I need to update everything. Turn my desk into an actual workplace, make my bulletin board an inspiration board, and maybe hit Pinterest for some decorating inspiration. It's a huge task, but I'm actually kind of looking forward to taking a few solid days and making my room mine.

Yes, hello, stereotypical New Year's resolution! But this isn't about weight. This is about getting back into shape. I used to work out regularly in college... but then my last semester happened and I was running flat-out just to barely keep up with my classes, internship, job and thesis. And then I went right from college to "the real world," and the only things I wanted to do after work were eat dinner and get into my pajamas. Besides climbing the Incline in August, let's not even talk about how sedentary I've been! But now? I've got the time and full access to my mom's workout DVD collection. I have zero excuse not to pop in a Bob Harper or Jillian Michaels workout and kick. my. butt.

Okay, I'm so serious about this, you guys. I won't have anywhere I need to be, nor do I have many high school friends left here (or, y'know, period), so I won't really have much of a social life either. So when plans present themselves, I need to ignore all of my introverted tendencies and take advantage of them. I also need to invent reasons for myself to put on real clothes and get out into society, even if it's just a me-date to a coffee shop or a public ice skating session.

I read a ton during the summer of 2012 and during my lunch breaks these last few months, and it always makes me feel good; more cultured, more intelligent, more creative, and more accomplished. And hey, going to the library is another way to get myself out of the house! Two birds with one stone!

I finally got a little more serious about blogging this summer, and it's been really fun and incredibly rewarding. I'm not sure I'm totally on board with spreadsheets and scheduling and pouring money into sponsorships, but I want to create good content, post more consistently, tweak my design a little bit, make blogger friends and, of course, grow my readership! :)

"Productive TV time" sounds kind of ridiculous, but I've been meaning to expand my repertoire of sports movies. I also want to dig into my stack of old VHS tapes of figure skating shows! I might be trying to be a grown-up, but a healthy dose of nostalgia never hurt anyone! And besides, you haven't lived until you've seen Kristi Yamaguchi and Kurt Browning in Aladdin on Ice. #truth

Ever since I was in sixth grade, I've been growing my hair and cutting off 10 inches every year and a half(ish) to donate to Locks of Love. I don't think I've done the big chop since well before I went to London -- two years ago, omg -- so this is seriously overdue. My hair is way too long and it's beginning to take over my life. And I've had the same glasses frames since... god, probably my sophomore or junior year of high school. High school! Basically, I need to freshen up my appearance so I look like a put-together adult. Fake it 'til you make it, right?

I'm the epitome of a night owl. I can happily stay up until 3 a.m. and sleep until 1 p.m. the next day if left to my own devices. But I'm never productive on days like that. My goal is to go to sleep by midnight and get up at 9 a.m. every weekday. Nine hours is more than enough sleep, and it'll give me plenty of morning to work with and knock out those job searching tasks. In that vein...

I'm the epitome of Newton's first law: when at rest, I stay at rest, and when in motion, I stay in motion. I'm so much more productive when I have a ton of stuff to do. So if I wake up every day with no set plan, I will accomplish absolutely nothing, ever. I need to set aside specific times to work out, do job search stuff, etc. to make sure it actually happens.

After a lifetime of being an overachiever, it's really hard to swallow that I'm now unemployed. But I can't let myself think of this as failure or be jealous of friends that are "more successful." Everyone's on a different path, and this is mine. I've got to make the most of this bump in the road. It's only failure if I let it become one.

Dreamin' big! :P But for real, I read this post on All Things E, and I loved the idea of setting a small, specific task to do every day that will positively impact me in some way. What better thing to tackle than my anxiety about my teeth and gums? First step flossing, next step the world!

What are your goals for this year? :)