Things I plan to do in 2018

I read this great blog post the other day about setting goals that are out of your control vs. implementing actionable changes you can make to your habits to move yourself in the right direction, and I could relate so much. I am not much for New Year’s resolutions, a) because I feel like you can make positive changes on any damn day of the year, and b) because resolutions always put so much pressure on a person.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I think a little bit of pressure is necessary to make some positive, but hard changes sometimes, but if the goals are too lofty or there are too many changes to implement at once, chances are you (universal you) will fall short.

Resolutions look good on paper, but they also need to be doable. It’s great if you aim to read 100 books this year, but unless you have a clear plan how to accomplish this, this is just going to be that: a lofty goal. Before you know it, you’re three months into the new year and way behind on your reading goal.

However, if you rephrase your resolutions and really think about which goals are realistic and what kind of changes are doable in order to achieve a certain goal and which small steps to take to get there, these goals become much more attainable.

Ok, maybe that got a little bit too philosophical. So, without further ado, here are the things I plan to do in 2018 (and not all of them are ‘habit changes’):

Go skiing with my family in the Alps again.

That is in the works. I’d be ecstatic if this works out the way I am hoping (currently, I am saving every vacation and comp hour for this trip.)

Run 3 half marathons.

Why three? Why not three! I ran one in 2016,  two last year and I’d just love to add another one this year. (Don’t worry, this is not going to be an ongoing future trend.) I am already signed up for the San Francisco Half again, but there is room to fit in two more, I think. I am also hoping to up my mileage from last year (766 mi) just to have something to work towards (because I always do better with a bit of a challenge).

Go back to yoga, for crying out loud.

Yes, here it is again. I can’t believe I am actually putting this on this list, because this has been on my goal-list for, like, FOREVER and I haven’t made it happen. But if I don’t put it here, the chance of it ever happening gets even slimmer. Am I thinking about this right? Good. (Hold me accountable, pretty please.)

Read 60 books.

This will be an average of 5 books per month or so. I had a goal to read 25 books last year. Twice as many as in 2016. I ended up reading 59 books, so setting my goal to 60 for this year seems just the logical – and attainable – thing to do, yes?

Take more weekend trips and meet up with friends.

Whenever I get away for a weekend, I feel so refreshed when I get back home. I want to see new places and there is so much that I haven’t seen here in California (and other neighboring states). I’d also love to spend more time or go on small trips with some far away friends.

Discover more restaurants.

J and I love cooking at home, but we also love to eat out and try new restaurants. We’ve been going to the same joints a lot last year and I want to find some new-to-us restaurants in town.

Keep on top of my Feedly reader.

I know this might seem like a silly goal to add to this list, but I am subscribed to so many (too many!) blogs that I often can’t keep up with everything and I hate that (part of what often ‘stresses me out’). I hate when I have hundreds of unread posts sit in my Feed Reader (and as you might know, I am not one to “mark all read”, lest I miss something important!)

I do know though that there are blogs that I “click away” from routinely, which I should probably remove from my Reader (and I am sorry about that. I promise it is nothing personal, there is only so many blogs a person can read at any given time.) and I should probably better organize the blogs I do want to keep. In order to do better this year and be more focused, I got my Feedly reader down to “zero” last week for a fresh start and I am aiming to keep the list of unread posts below 50 at any given time.

  1. Great list, San! This is awesome, and I agree that resolutions tend to add a lot of stress/pressure, and (in my case anyway) a feeling of failure when I come up short for the year. But this is a great list and I hope to see you accomplish everything here! That’s awesome re: book list. Some months I read more but I’m wondering if perhaps I was picking the wrong books for a while.

    I’d like to discover new restaurants, too–Bryan and I tend to patronize the same few over and over again but it’s nice to branch out a bit and try new things! Also yes to yoga. I wish you lived closer–I’d make you go with me :) XOXO

    1. I try to keep resolutions/goals manageable… because I know that otherwise I get overwhelmed and do NOTHING.

      1. I’d also love to go to yoga with you. Move here?

  2. Keep my name in mind when planning one of your weekend trips :)

    1. You were one of the people I am thinking of… :)

  3. This is a great list! I think it’s great to have goals for the year and you’re right that we need at least something that keeps us accountable! I want to try lots of new restaurants this year too. We get stuck in such a rut of going to the same places. I need to get back to yoga too.

    1. Join Charlotte and me for yoga? :P

  4. I have kept my goals to things like “read more” or “run trail more” because if I assign a number then I do feel pressured! Sort of like your “discover new restaurants” goal. I have never counted how many books I have read in a year but so many bloggers do!

    1. Yeah, I think keeping goals “open” is a good idea to feel “inspired” but not put too much pressure on ourselves.

  5. love the list! Weekend trips are one of the reasons I wish I lived in California. There’s so much to see. That will be a fun goal to accomplish. I’ve got yoga and reading on my list too. Good luck!

    1. You’re so right. California has a lot to offer and I want to see more of it.

  6. I love this list! And I am going to borrow your Feedly goal because I am the same way and have so many unread posts that I never mark as read. It just gets overwhelming and blogs I love get lost in the mess. Your reading habit is impressive!

    1. I just picked up reading again last year (the year before I “only” read 13 books). Anything is possible ;)

  7. These all sound like very attainable goals. You can definitely read 60 books this year! I really need to go through my email and unsubscribe from a lot of things. I haven’t really done that in YEARS. It’s a bit insane. I’d love to do some quick trips this year…maybe go back to Chicago for the weekend or something?

    -Lauren

    1. Oh a trip to Chicago sounds awesome. How far is that from where you are?

      1. A little over 5 hours maybe? Not too bad!

  8. If you’re looking to get back to yoga you should do a challenge! Every year I do Yoga with Adriene’s 30 day challenge (it’s day 10 today so you can start and just do it as you wish) or find one on Do You Yoga. Great way to get started!

    1. I downloaded yoga apps before, but I do better when I got to a class…. I just don’t keep it up at home.

  9. This is such a great list and I totally get you on having some blogs that you regularly don’t read yet are still subscribed to. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that, but I get the feeling of “guilt” that comes with it because I’m that way sometimes myself. Eventually I hit a point and just accept it’s what’s best. Don’t feel bad, do your thing!

    1. Yeah, I feel guilty too, even though we really shouldn’t… especially if it’s people you don’t really engage with otherwise.

  10. So many great goals! I bet you can knock out a few of those books on your flight to that ski trip! ;-)

    1. That’s the idea :)

  11. I also am a firm believer in setting achievable goals. I mean that sounds like something everyone should believe in, but in the excitement of the fresh start provided by a new year, it seems like some people set SOOOO many goals and kind of set themselves up for failure. I usually try to include a stretch goal that I will really have to work towards but most of the other goals are things that I know I can achieve if I put in the time and energy. That said, as you know, I did not set any goals this year. I just want the year to unwind as it will and we will have so many new challenges as we become new parents so I didn’t want to put more pressure on myself. I would like to get back to running and potentially run a 10k or half in the fall but I didn’t want to put that out there as a goal in case something happens with my return to running. I also want to take a long weekend family trip to Northern Minnesota, possibly around Phil’s birthday. We went camping for his birthday last year and had so much fun hiking. I don’t want to camp with a baby, but there is a resort close to where we camped that we could stay at.

    Good luck with your goals! Seems like you’ve set yourself up for success as I bet you can achieve them!

    1. You’re totally right…. everyone should believe in setting attainable goals, but the start of a new year often leads to a LONG goal list that nobody can achieve. I definitely try to think about it in terms of “how much time do I want to dedicate to X”… because if X takes up time, I won’t have as much time for Y and Z. It’s a learning process though… haha. but I love that you set a stretch goal and other things that you just know you can keep up.

  12. This is a great list San! I need to keep up with my Feedly reader too! When I get behind on reading and commenting on blogs it’s so hard to get caught up. And there are so many great ones to read!

    For years I set the same goal – try one new restaurant each month. You can meet up with friends at a restaurant and knock two items off your list at once! :)

    I don’t ski but anything in the Alps sounds amazing!

    1. I know, there really are great bloggers out there… but I also want to make sure that I connect, so I need to keep the list manageable.

  13. Awesome goals! Skiing in the Alps sounds fun :)

  14. I love your list of goals! All very attainable. :)

    I tend to love the new year for making a fresh start and set yearly goals every year. I don’t aim to mark all of them as complete because I know that’s setting myself up for failure, but they are something to strive for as I go about my year.

    1. Definitely! Striving for the goals that you set, even if they don’t have a “complete by” date is the way to go.

  15. Great list! I need to get back to Yoga too. It’s been over a year now and I don’t know why I just don’t go.

    1. Yeah, I don’t know either why we don’t just go! ;)

  16. Hey San,
    as you know I love New Years Resolutions but I have to agree if you only make a list and then forget about it its not worth it. Also it should not put too much pressure on you. I guess it is all about balance. And everyone works differently.
    I wish you all the best with your plans for the year. And I am right there with you on the feed reader goal. Also the yoga thing cracked me up. I think it is on my list the 3rd year in the row too.
    Happy New Year, Tobia

    1. It’s all about balance for sure.

  17. A handful of your goals are similar to mine. I just found out my favorite yoga instructor is going to be teaching classes again at a new studio that’s almost in my neighborhood and I am thrilled! It’s so hard for me to enjoy yoga when I don’t click with the teacher and I haven’t found anyone I love to practice with, so I’m so, so glad she’s finally coming back to teach publicly.

    Cheers to these goals, lady!

    1. Oh, my yoga instructor is so good and I will only go to her classes. She had a substitute sometimes in the past and whenever she’s not there, I bail on the class…

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