Happy New Year! What Are Your Resolutions for 2021?

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1. Honestly, survive with my career, family, and mental and physical health somewhat intact. Otherwise, I’ve got fairly modest ambitions – maintain my very moderate yoga and cycling routine, teach my kid a few skills, have some (likely local) family adventures, and take advantage of time at home to plant out a veggie garden. Job wise – I want to get my book under contract and apply for 5 jobs (my contract ends in 2022).
   In the immediate term, as we’ve just entered lockdown, I want to eat soup or a salad for one meal a day, and get outside for at least 30 minutes.

   1. I came here to say survive, and I see you already said it.

   2. Right? Last year my husband and I are doing monthly goals instead of big capital-R Resolutions, and beginning in March every month’s major goal was “don’t get COVID.”

      January’s other goals include “do a Whole30” (I know, it’s so 2018 but he really digs it and I’m willing to go along for the ride) and “get new insulation in the attic now that the effing rats have finally been eradicated.”

      1. Gah… editing fail. “Last year my husband and I STARTED doing monthly goals…”

      2. The founder of Whole30 is a real piece of work who kept going to her gym in Salt Lake City despite reporting in her own words that it was a “COVID nightmare waiting to happen.” She got COVID, continued breaking quarantine to exercise outside, and keeps posting about how black lives matter and we need to check our privilege at all times. If black lives matter so much to her, maybe she shouldn’t harm black lives by continuing to spread COVID…? I can’t stand her hypocrisy, especially when she’s peddling a diet that is 100% out of reach for low-income people anyway.

         1. Ugh. I totally get that it’s a made up diet and I don’t follow her at all but not super surprised to hear any of this. Just doing the diet mainly to take a break from sugar and alcohol for a month.

         2. Yikes. I’ve done Whole30 before but never spent a dime on it. I guess I’ll continue to never spend a dime!

            Low income people get serious medical conditions requiring elimination diets too. I don’t have the solution. I personally spend absurd amounts of money on food because of multiple GI conditions and reactive hypoglycemia (I cannot stabilize blood sugar if there’s starch in my diet, which rules out grains and even legumes; restricted diet is the only treatment). I feel like there are a lot of “this is what would happen if everybody did” implications to diets like mine. There are so people who can’t afford even a basic diabetic diet or Celiac diet (or mold-free living conditions, a safe and quiet place to sleep at night, square meals daily, etc.).

         3. Is exercising outside not permitted during quarantine?

            1. Not when you have active COVID, no. She had a confirmed COVID infection and continued to exercise outside. Now that she has recovered, she is back at the gym – but this time, she’s not wearing a cloth mask. Can’t stand her.

            2. Are people not walking their dogs with Covid? Really, I get that you need to mask or double mask and stay away from.people, but I have never heard that you can never go outside. I have a yard, but I always expected to be able to take a walk alone and avoid people fiercely.

            3. I suppose there might be geographical differences?

               Where I live (Norway), confirmed active Covid means full home isolation (if not in hospital), where no walks outside except on own balcony/garden are allowed. No grocery shopping, no excercise, no socialising. Breaking these rules by leaving home is considered a criminal matter, and there are a few people so far who have gotten 2-3000 dollar fines (jail is also a possibility) for flaunting the rules.

               Breaking travel or suspected covid quarantines are also subject to fines, and if I remember correctly grounds for deportation for foreign workers. Here excercise outside is allowd for these quarantines, but not during confirmed Covid isolation.

            4. The definition has been messed up by people playing the “teehee #quarantine” game, but no, a true quarantine does not include leaving your house. It can include going outside on your own property away from others, but should not include socializing with your own family members either inside or outside. It does not include dog walks or other time in shared public spaces, even outside, even with a mask. It’s the least you can do when you have a confirmed infection.

            5. It means that someone else walks your dog and brings you food if you don’t have any.

2. I am keeping my ambitions very low and pandemic-proof:
   – Make sure I’m getting outside 20 minutes each day during the winter months.
   – Visit four new city or state parks with my kids before summer.
   – Read 30 books this year. I read 28 in total last year. I’d like to read one book per week, but I’m trying to have realistic expectations here.
   – Complete one strength training workout each week. Starting small. I love cardio but loathe strength training.
   – Reduce the amount of time I spend scrolling on my phone. I need to put some hard numbers to that.

   1. I did a hard cleanse of my phone, deleting my time wasting apps (Instagram, Discord) and leaving only audible and podcast apps.

      1. I use the built in android feature to block apps on a timer, in my case twitter is blocked after 30 minutes each day. Iphone probably also has this. You can of course work around this, but most days it helps to curb my usage.

   2. I read 17 books in 2012 and built up over time to 58 in 2019 (down to 52 in 2020). You can do it too!!

   3. You can do it! Pay attention to your reading habits — I find that I get bogged down on certain types of non-fiction books and my total reading amount suffers. I can get stuck on a 300 page non-fiction book for a month and then finish 5-6 novels in the following 3 weeks. Once I realized this, I stopped stressing about my “pace” when I’m working on certain books that I just know are going to take me a while. I’ve read 52+ books a year plus most of the New Yorker for the last 3ish years.

   4. I read over 100 books last year— a big jump from my usual 50-ish. A lot of that was due to circumstances unique to last year, but what worked for me was:

      Only reading books I liked. Often I will alternate in books I feel like I “should” read (literary fiction, not-light nonfiction, classics) but last year, I used reading as an escape and stuck to books I was excited to pick up. It meant I was much less likely to switch from my kindle app to social media. Book reccs came from a variety of places— friends, this page, modern Mrs Darcy, ask a manager.

      Reading all the time. I read a couple pages while I’m brushing my teeth and waiting for coffee to brew, and listen to audiobooks while folding laundry and on runs. Other tricks I hate that I have to use, but they do facilitate constant reading: setting time limits on app usage for social media, swapping the app locations of my kindle app with my insta app so when my muscle memory takes over, I open kindle instead of Instagram (face palm emoji, but it works!)

      Managing my library holds list well. Facilitated by new features from Libby like delayed checkout when holds were available and their “lucky loan” list, which puts one or two e-copies of hot books available without a waitlist; you just have to be lucky and happen to see them available (I think this one is library-specific, but worth looking for at yours!). And adding tons of books to my holds list so I always have one or two available soon.

      Tracking my reading is super motivating. I use goodreads, which lets you set an annual goal and will tell you if you’re on track to meet it.

      Book reccs came from a variety of places— friends, this page, modern Mrs Darcy, ask a manager, and a few book reviewers I follow on goodreads.

      1. One thing to note for people who might not be aware: I try to avoid checking out the lucky loans unless I’m sure I’m going to read them to conserve library resources. Libraries likely pay per checkout rather than per ebook license for those copies. If I’m just casually interested, I just wait until it’s my turn for a regular copy. Definitely everyone should feel free to go for the lucky copies if they’re excited about a new release though. :-)

         1. 1245 here. That’s a great point! I also am big into paying it forward by returning e-books early when I’m done reading them, so they can go to the next person on the list.

3. I’d love to read 75 books. I think I need to only check Instagram during work hours in order to achieve that. Since I have to bill, I’m incentivized to keep time-wasting to a minimum. Otherwise, I want to work on my core strength and mobility. My friends and I are aiming to do Pilate 2x a week and keep each other accountable.

   1. Also, I want to focus more on “living fully.” It sounds vague, but I want more moments in my life where I’m fully engaged in activities I want to do. I want more moments flying down a black-diamond ski slope with freezing hands and tired legs and fewer moments doom-scrolling through the news as I lay on the couch.

      1. 100% this. This is what I want.

         1. Let me know how you do with it! I think it’s something a lot of us probably want, especially these days…

      2. Laura Vanderkam writes a lot about this — her book Off The Clock in particular addresses this. I’ve found a lot of her advice helpful.

         1. Thanks for the rec! Sounds perfect for what I want to focus on this year.

         2. Isn’t Laura Vanderkam on this board as Coach Laura?

            1. I do believe she posts here, but I’m not sure whether Coach Laura is her. I’m not a Laura Vanderkam expert but I don’t remember her mentioning coaching. I could totally be wrong though!

   2. My goal is to read every Pulitzer fiction winner for the last 100 years . Its more of a life goal. I am not the fastest reader lol.

4. Lose weight. It’s affecting my health, and making me sad, and keeping me from achievements I want in my hobby, and it is time to prioritize myself and make a change.

   1. What hobby?

      1. Ballroom dance! It’s absolutely for anyone at any size and there’s just a ton ton ton of stuff I can do. I even compete now, and someone very much plus sized. So I don’t want to discourage anyone from trying! But I’d love to be able to do more show-offy lifts for showcases and I’m just too heavy for that.

         1. I hear you. I’m heavier than I’d like to be in my dream world and it would benefit me in my favorite hobbies to be slimmer, but I ultimately concluded that I couldn’t welcome dieting back into my life and stay sane/happy/actually focused on the things I love and I don’t think I could achieve permanent results. If I could snap my fingers and drop the pounds, though, I would totally do it.

   2. I know you didn’t ask for advice but I just started reading “The Obesity Code.” I’m probably 25% through and I have learned so much, particularly how it’s not just calories in/calories out. Our bodies have a thermometer of sorts that try to keep us at a specific weight. Eat less and your body burns less. Eat more and your body burns more. I’m sure the book will eventually get to how to change that internal thermometer setting. I’m just now getting into the insulin resistance part of the book. I highly recommend it before starting any diet though!

      1. I’m intrigued by the “eat more, burn more” idea. I found that during a time in my life when I was physically active and eating larger meals, my body seemed to have no trouble maintaining my weight. In times when I eat less, even if I’m active, my metabolism seems “sluggish,” so to speak. Maybe I should read the book…

      2. I’ll take all the advice I can get! For January I’m trying to focus on eating how I feel is healthy. Lots of fruit, vegetables, fish, chicken, turkey, whole grains. Less alcohol and sweets.

   3. I generally dislike promoting diets and fads, but I will say WW is having a good sale right now if you want more structure. It’s pretty inexpensive, so I figured I’d give it a go. I’m using the purple plan with loads of zero point food. Lazy me says cool I’m going to eat those instead so I don’t have to log a ton of food. I’m tricking myself into a diet basically.
      Good luck with all your goals.

      1. Thank you!

5. I want to work on understanding where people are coming from who have different political views than I do. Not in a bend over backwards and make excuses for bigotry kind of way, but enough that I’m not always immediately dismissing opposing arguments out of hand. I also want to read something by Tolstoy.

   1. I would start with War and Peace rather than Anna Karenina but I loved both.

6. I started doing yoga every day a few months ago and I would love to continue that through the year, or modify every day to something else. I would like to be able to reach my toes in forward fold by my birthday, which is in the spring.

   I want to focus less on my number of books read — I read consistently in the 50-60 books a year — because I’ve found that being aware of that number has discouraged me from taking on longer books where I’m more likely to get bogged down. I want to instead focus on reading longer, harder books and books in my second language, in which I’m fluent but a slow reader.

   I also want to focus more on my skincare routine and making sure I floss, if not every day, then at least regularly.

   Oh, and I’m also doing a low-buy year — no more than 1 book a month (I have tons to read on my shelves and access to a great library), and no more than 1 “thing” a month. Replacement toiletries/makeup (not a big shopping area for me), food, experiences excluded. I wanted to do a total no-buy year, but I have some hobbies that might need supplies, and some work clothes might need replacing when I return to the office, and I’ve been cooking and baking more so might need something for that. I think buying one thing a month max will take care of these things while still allowing me to break the habit of buying stuff all the time just because I can.

   1. +1 on reading longer and denser books rather than focusing on the total number. I keep a book of “reading notes” that logs the title, author and any comments from any book I read or listen to. Looking back on it, I can see why some books take far longer than others. It’s also nice when someone asks me for a reading recommendation, or for buying people books as gifts that they will then be able to discuss with me. Without writing it down, I definitely wouldn’t remember everything I read.

   2. I’m using Book Riots’ Read Harder 2021 Challenge to expand on my reading goals. Some of the things they have listed included realistic YA not set in US/UK/Canada; book by/about a non-western world leader, etc.

7. I have two resolutions:

   Read at least 20 books. I finished only 13 last year, but I have high hopes for this year. My book club told me I can count all the books I FINISH in 2021 as this goal, and I was already really close to the end of an audiobook and my physical book so have already checked 2 off for this year.

   Write at least 30 minutes every day for the first quarter. I asked a few weeks ago about Gotham Writing Workshops and decided to sign up for one (Creative Writing 101). I’ve loved it so much that I already signed up for another one (Fiction 1), so I’ll have some structure. I’ve got several story ideas that I think would be fun to turn into either novels or short story collections, but I’m trying not to overwhelm myself! I’ve done at least 45 mins each day, including today before work, so it’s going well so far.

   1. That’s so awesome! Having a consistent creative writing practice is a total sanity-saver for me.

      I don’t usually do resolutions, but this year I’ve got two for January: taking a week off of the social media apps where I lose the most time to mindless scrolling, and doing the Yoga with Adriene 30-day challenge because a friend wanted a buddy to do it with.

8. – read 25 books
   – complete 275 workouts
   – take a walk 300 days a year
   – complete a modified low buy year
   – lose my COVID15
   – apply to grad school
   – apply to 3 jobs
   – a few hobby specific goals: knit a sweater, do a few specific longer bike rides, run another half and PR, carve out one weekend a month to enjoy the local mountains and beaches and do the outdoor activities I love – hiking, camping, skiing, surfing, kayaking, sailing (Im bad making the time for this. Last year I went surfing and sailing once, kayaking and hiking twice, and never went skiing or camping!)

   Those all should be pandemic proof… I have a few other things I’d like to do that are all pandemic/vaccine dependent. I’ve put them out as goals but I’m also totally okay if they don’t happen (travel, doing more with friends, concerts, dating)

   1. I wish skiing felt more pandemic-proof to me, but images from my local(ish) resort with people “wearing masks” (i.e., wearing a thin gaiter pulled over their mouth) gives me pause. It’s fine when we’re flying down the slope, but in the lift line…?

      1. My roommate is one of the most covid cautious people I know and she found a local mountain that she feels safe at (took her a few tries to find the right one)

      2. Our lift line is spaced out so there is more than 6 feet between you and the line next to you. Your skis and the skis of the people in front of you keep you about 6 feet apart. It’s outdoors. My mountain only has you ride the lift with your own group or on the six person lift, a single at the far end with a minimum of three empty seats between you.

         I also saw a lot of people skiing with both regular masks and the gaiter. I wear my mask over my gaiter but some people do the opposite so you might not know what they have under there. However, my masks and gaiters get wet and I do question the effectiveness once wet.

         I’ve decided it’s fairly low risk, not zero risk, and high reward to me.

9. I am pausing purchases for 6 months, so I don’t buy too many WFH togs and puzzles….

10. As Cb said, survive.

    I’d like to grow my small business, I’d like to figure out better wfh habits, and I’d like to improve some aspects of my health.

    But mainly survive. I’m talking about COVID here. I’m high risk and basically a hermit these days because community spread is so, so bad.

    1. Also basically a hermit (high-risk, insane community spread, have done almost nothing since March), but I’m aiming to thrive on indoor activities I never usually have time for. I’ve gotten into genealogy and knitting and I’ve read a ton of books and I’m working on my fitness so when I can resume my outdoor hobbies again, I’ll be in a better position to pick up where I left off. It really, really helped me shift my mindset from “survive” to “thrive in unexpected ways” – but whatever you personally need to do to get through this is valid for you.

11. I am setting a goal to work out 5 days a week for mental health purposes rather than physical fitness purposes. Just read Burnout by Emily and Amelia Nagoski and while I had some mixed feelings about the book as a whole, they make some very convincing arguments about the mental health benefits of exercise.

    I am also setting the goal to leave my phone on the hutch in my entryway and only use it when I’m standing there. I think it will help me cut down on mindless scrolling quite a bit and get my screen time report under control. If anyone has a similar goal, I would highly recommend watching The Social Dilemma to help strengthen your resolve! I watched it over my holiday vacation and came away rather horrified.

12. Does anyone have recommendations for an easy journal? Paper, not app. I’m thinking something that’s a combination of building gratitude + setting goals. (I haven’t set resolutions yet, but it would be something like “try to be more positive” and “don’t lose track of the big picture goals”.)

    1. One of my favorite online resources for journaling/mindfulness and positivity (Owls & Indigo) just published guided prompt journals. This one sounds like what you’re looking for: https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/jenny-proczko/a-year-of-spiritual-growth-mindful-goal-setting/hardcover/product-rw85kv.html It can be hard to find genuine and helpful content in this area, but she does a really great job. She has a YouTube too for journaling ideas and positivity.

       1. Thank you!!

13. My resolution was to spend less time here, yet here I am.

    1. LOL same. It’s kind of hard to stop since it’s been my go-to procrastination place for well over a year now. The first day back after vacation was probably always doomed to fail on the “focus” front.

       1. It’s 2:14pm here and that’s what I’m telling myself about today – doomed to fail on the focus front. :)

    2. It was my quieter this morning on the main thread and I was wondering if that was people’s resolution!

14. I’m hoping to do better with meal planning so I have fewer nights when I’m relying on PB&Js or take-out.

15. I think I already said them here somewhere, but I can’t find it for the exact text, so:
    -Buy no-sugar added foods (for things like yogurt, salad dressing, crackers (crackers! why is it in crackers?!))
    -Run 3 miles with my dog by year-end (just did a mile by myself!)
    -Do yoga 180 times
    -Not buy any clothes in January (just recently added this one)

    1. To your parenthesis with why is there sugar in XYZ you can add (if you haven’t already) things like bacon and deli meats. I thought somebody was having me on, the first time I saw sugars added to plain, boiled deli ham.

       1. Good looking out! Thank you. (And also argh, why!)

16. Garden, literally and figuratively.

    1. I really like this resolution, both versions.

    2. Oooh, same.

17. I could use some advice on how to accomplish this small new year’s goal. I’m having trouble fitting into my day a few simple physical therapy foot exercises (involves sitting down and taking off my shoe). These exercises literally would take one to two minutes. But I put it off until the whole day is gone and then weeks go by like this. Does anyone have any tips? For some reason I can manage the most unpleasant and time consuming tasks but can’t make myself just do this one little thing to solve some chronic foot pain. TIA!

    1. Can you do it while you brush your teeth, or make coffee, or something else you would do anyway?

       1. +1. Do it while you’re doing something else so it doesn’t feel like you have to make time for it.

       2. Or make a deal with yourself that you have to do it BEFORE you do one of those things, like the “no floss, no mascara” poster last week.

          1. OMG, that’s me :) Even my mom started to use this rule (to do her spine exercises in the morning). Everyone, it really works! Give it a try.

       3. That’s a great idea to add it to my nighttime routine. Thank you!

    2. I’ve successfully added a foot exercise to my daily floss – it is walking around/bopping in place exercise so doable while my hands are busy, the time comitment is about the same and I already floss every day.
       So maybe use the advice of all the habit builder bloggers like Fogg or Nir and Far, and chain it to something you already do?

18. Mine are:
    Get my house fully in order
    Read 15+ non-audible books
    Complete 180 workouts
    Deadlift 275 by December 31
    Spoil my dogs daily
    Bill my time on schedule all year

    I want to be mindful of these goals as I make decisions throughout the year, which should create some.more discipline in my life. For instance, having that third drink is going to mean I don’t read or spend quality time with my dogs when I get home, or get up to work out in the morning, so I should make another choice.

19. I will keep speaking up for working moms of younger children. I feel like we are such a minority, at least where I work (people have babies and if they are women, then they quickly leave; I never hear about kid-driven issues or concerns from the guys I work with and suspect that their wives handle all that so they may have no clue re summer camps, orthodontists, etc.). I work with one woman (in another office in another time zone) who is a grandmother and I think she walks on water. I’m senior enough that it’s not all like “here’s Cathy with another mom issue,” but it is irritating that it is just me, I’m not all that senior, and we are really failing if it is remarkable that my kid can read and I’m still working.

20. I really want to get back on the zero waste train again. I was so good pre pandemic, but now with many bulk shops not allowing reuseable containers and even some farmers putting produce in plastic bags at the market I’ve just succumbed to the trash. I’m really ashamed putting out my bag of trash biweekly and I want to stop just like I had before.

    1. Keep us updated! There is no bulk bin shopping in my neighborhood, my city suspended compost collection, and my farmers market isn’t back until June. I’m so sad about how much waste I’m creating, but despite my best efforts, it’s not great.

       1. Try composting at home. I put three big pots in my entry hall and layered soil, veggie scraps (cut to smaller pieces), brown paper (cut to small pieces) topped with a bit of soil and watered. After 4 days, I simply turn it (with a spoon). I keep it lightly moist, turn every few days and in 3-4 weeks, I have beautiful compost for my plants and herbs. I have floor heating, which helps to keep the soil bacteria happy. You cut down your organic and paper waste and get great soil for plants.

          1. On this note, I’ve successfully composted at home by drilling holes in the bottom of both trashcans and smaller rubbermaid bins based on how much room I had. I was super lazy and beautiful soil happened by magic.

    2. hmmm, thanks for bringing this up. I feel the same way, I’ve progressed backwards in terms of plastic waste. With the exception of shipping wastefulness around holiday gifts, there was little overall stuff, but in the grocery department it’s definitely gone backwards. I also fell of the bandwagon of tracking my consumption of animal products in March. I think I will restart this…

21. A few random, in response to 2020 and also my needs and life:
    Start the process to become a foster parent (with a goal to adopt).
    Give to the local food bank to keep people fed in my town.
    Start a 529 account for my niece and nephew who are often afterthoughts in at least one of their now divorced parents life.

    1. What a kind and generous thing you’re doing with the 529 account! I just wanted to say that if that doesn’t pan out for whatever reason, contact with you will probably mean so much to them. (I say this as someone whose aunt was a great influence.)

22. I think my only resolution is to meditate more regularly. I’ve gotten out of the habit of doing it every day and need to start again.

    I’m going to continue a resolution from last year to try to only buy second-hand clothing and furniture as best I can. COVID made this harder, but I find I get a lot more satisfaction doing it this way.

    For fitness, my birthday is in September and I made the goal then to do 364 20-minutes workouts in year 33 (I call it Project 33). 20 minutes = 1 workout, or alternatively one hour = 3 workouts. Hiking, yoga (any kind, even restorative), strength, hiit – whatever counts. I can do four 5 minute workouts on Peloton if I want. I’m super loose, it just has to be moving my body for 20 minutes. I should call it intuitive exercise and brand it. ;) I even made a tracker in excel that I printed out and fill the boxes in with a highlighter. I’m behind, but since I allow myself to count that way I know I can catch up. I generally do better with workout programs where I can miss a few days and catch up like that.

    1. I googled it, intuitive exercise is already a thing. I’m sure I’m doing it wrong. :)

       1. Well, I thought I was eating intuitively, but from the posts here I realized I am also “doing it wrong.” Apparently there are rules about what is intuitive.

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