Over the years, I’ve heard lots of people criticizing the act of making new year’s resolutions, saying “You don’t end up fulfilling them anyway” or “You don’t need to wait for the new year to change your life” and many other statements. Well, I don’t care what those people think and I’m going to make my new year’s resolutions anyway. I’ve made a number of resolutions last year, haven’t fulfilled some of them, but I do recall one resolution, which was to join a craft market, which I have accomplished. That was no easy task. It really required determination, hard work, and the courage to make it happen. I’m glad I’ve made it as one of my resolutions last year, or else I probably would not have made that dream a reality… again.
“If you failed to plan, you plan to fail.” I’ve heard that many times before, I just don’t know who originally said that.
To make things happen, one wise way to start is to make a list of what you want to happen. There’s a big difference between writing down on a piece of paper (or electronically) and just mentally enumerating your goals. I find that making a list of what to do actually works for me. When I don’t make a list, I often get confused what to do and forget what I actually need to get done. But when I do make a list, my day becomes more productive, and even if I don’t get to do all the tasks in my list, most likely, I’d still get a number of items accomplished and I feel good knowing I hadn’t been exactly useless that day.
When I make goals, write them down, and work to get them done, I feel that I have progressed in a way. When I don’t, I most likely end up asking myself, “Where has the time gone?” I know many of us often do that.
So, in an effort to make 2012 a bit more productive than it otherwise will be, I’m going to make my new year’s resolutions whether you like it or not. :-D
And, here they are:
1. Write and publish a book.
I had this resolution last year and worked to achieve it. My novel-in-progress reached more than 30,000 words. Then came the famous writer’s block. And the decision to focus more on the craft market than on the book. When December 31 came, the story was unfinished and unpublished. Even though I was not able to completely accomplish this goal, I’m happy to say that there was progress somehow, considering the story had less than 10,000 words at the start of the year. With the craft market no longer my biggest priority this year, I believe I will be able to make more progress on this goal and hope.. really, really, really, really hope that I will be able to get this done before the year ends. :-D
2. Stick to the budget and save at least $10,000 this year.
Ooh, that’s big.. (but really, I wish it would be more than $20,000…but I guess that would be too much to ask, eh?). A couple of days ago, I revisited the budget plan that I made several months ago and forgot. Because I hope hubby will be able to join me here in Melbourne this year, then having a place of our own and start a family, saving enough money should be a bigger priority for me this year more than it ever did. After creating a semi-detailed budget forecast for the whole 2012, I found out that if I’m careful enough, I would be able to achieve this. I just need to stop eating out too much, shopping in op shops unnecessarily, and stay out of eBay as much as possible!
3. Sleep earlier more often.
Why do I like staying up anyway? Just to browse Facebook and blogs and eBay? Or reading Agatha Christie or some other celebrity magazines? Oh, c’mon. What absolutely unimportant reasons to stay up and sleep after 12 midnight, then feel tired and sleepy during the day because I missed a few hours of sleep. Gone were the beautiful days of me strictly putting the lights off at 10:30 pm, so I can rise up at 6:00 or 6:30am feeling oh-so-refreshed. I really need to return to that ultra wise and healthy habit.
4. Send hubby a nice, loving email at least once a week.
Because he’s been staying here and there, due to study, work and other errands, I was terribly annoyed when he wasn’t able to get the mail I sent him for his birthday, then me, receiving it several months later, marked “Recipient unknown, return to sender.” I spent several days composing a really funny and, yeah, corny, story for him to enjoy on his birthday, just for him not to get it at all? How annoying. That’s it. I’m emailing… aside from the daily SMS messages… to keep the love alive always and forever.
5. Maintain the online craft store and regularly add items to it.
Hey, Mareeyah, will you please stop being stingy about the 35 cent listing fee? You’re so hilarious! You pay a lot more than that when you join the craft markets. And will you please stop buying materials? You’ve got enough already. Sell what you have in stock before you buy some more. (Thanks! Good reminder… and thanks for embarrassing me.)
6. Behave more like that 21-year-old girl in Cagayan Valley on the 18-month quest.
(And visit Cathies Lane more often!) Okay, this one’s a little bit personal, so I’ll leave it at that, with just me and a few kindred spirits comprehending that. :-D
Hmmm…. I guess I’ll leave it there for starters. As I used to say, I can always make more short term goals every now and then, but there’s no use making too much resolutions and ending up not accomplishing 90% of it. Good luck to me and I hope I get them done so I can get a nice present from Santa by Christmas. Hahaha!!!
