Rolling into 2022

My friend Paul has nominated me to share my goals for 2022. As one of my goals for 2022 is to be a more consistent blogger, I felt this was the perfect place to start (a bit early).

The Rules

• Thank the person who nominated you. (Thanks Paul! I needed a prompt to write, I’ll be honest)
• Write your own goals for next year.
• Write how you’re going to achieve these goals. (can’t promise anything for this one)
• Tag at least five blogger friends.
• This last one is optional, but in 365 days, write a post about whether or not you’ve been successful.

1. Blog More Consistently

I got a new job in August, and thus writing fell by the wayside. I didn’t want to share a lot about my job here for privacy reasons, and I think I used that as an excuse to not write more regularly. In truth, I think I spent too much time getting in my own way. I’d think I had nothing to write about, or that I had too much to write about and didn’t know where to start, or that no one would care about what I wrote about, or that I didn’t know how to write about what I wanted to write about. And I think I was being too hard on myself. My next posts will be easy to write–rounding up movies watched in 2021, talking about some books I read recently, some other round ups–but after that I want to make a concerted effort to write more frequently and not get as stuck in my own head.

2. Workout more consistently (even when its hard)

I love working out, I love being active and I always feel BETTER when I do it. And yet, because I work irregular hours and have to take my own initiative, I struggle to keep up a workout schedule consistently when I am not taking scheduled classes. It was easier to be consistent when the weather was nicer–if I didn’t feel like doing yoga or fitness workouts, for example, I could go for a nice long walk exploring nearby parks or to the botanical garden, and I always felt good afterwards. But as the weather got colder and greyer, I felt less and less motivation. I’ve also had some health problems flaring up and kicking my ass recently, and that lowered my motivation even more. As I live in Toronto–where cold weather is guaranteed for at LEAST the next two months– I want to make a point of getting into a consistent rhythm even before it warms up. I’m not one of those people who is going to get up every single day at 6 to work out with the sun, but if I can guarantee at least two days every week, I think it will be good for me.

3. Have plans for after this job

The job I am in is a contract position which finishes in June. It is likely I will have the option to renew my contract for the 2022/2023 school year, but I have yet to decide if that is an opportunity I want to take. The problem is, I don’t know what else I want to do! And I want to actively work at figuring that out. It’s something I didn’t think much about during the first few months of this job, since I wanted to focus on the job itself, but it is time to start. If I return for another school year, I want it to be because it’s the right thing for me and what I really want, and not just because I don’t know what else to do. I want to make an effort to make lists about what I love about this job, what fulfills me, what I definitely want from the next few years of my life, what I definitely don’t want, and then take action based on conclusions I come to from there. This is maybe more of a goal for the first half of 2022 specifically, but that counts.

4. Spend more time with people I care about

We are currently in another wave of COVID-19 cases here in Toronto, but once that settles down, I want to make more of an effort to reach out to people to spend time together. I find between work and the global pandemic, it’s so easy to try and make plans and never get around to them, or to make excuses to not spend time together. But I love my family, and I love (and miss) my friends, and life is short. I am committed to actually making this happen this year.

I nominate:

Is it cheating to say whoever wants to do it, can do it?? I just don’t know who has been nominated already! So if you see this, and you haven’t been nominated yet, consider yourself hereby nominated.