Like most people at this time of year I’m full of good intentions, but rather than setting myself ‘resolutions’ I’ve come up with a list of attainable goals instead. I missed my Goodreads Reading Challenge by 1 book in 2017 (ok I realise 50 odd books is a fairly decent amount), well initially I thought it was by 7 and as this was mid-December I didn’t think there was any chance of getting through it. Then Goodreads started asking me to add the missing read dates to books marked as read last year, and lo and behold!
Anyway, this year I’ve lowered the goal amount to 55, and compiled a list of specific books I want to read that are art/philosophy themed. I did this in 2016 and it was a great way to get stuck into some of the more intimidating books on my shelf, so a selection of 12 for the year (one a month) has been drawn up.
In addition to that I’ve also selected a handful of books I’ve been meaning to read spanning vintage through to 2017, classics to comic books, that will give me variety, the plan being that when/if I hit a reading slump there should be something in that pile to go to. It’s also handy to turn to in times of read-a-thon’s of which I plan to do more of this year.
So aside from reading goals, some of my other 2018 aims include:
- Improve my Swedish skills – I’ve been learning via Duolingo for about 18 months, I love watching Scandi-Noir TV and although I can pick up some bits, I’d like to be a bit more conversational in preparation for another trip to Sweden in the next year or so. The ultimate goal would be to read one of my favourite Swedish authors in the original language but that will require proper classes, some time in the future.
- Spend more time making art and being creative. That includes frequenting the print studio more often to work on new projects as well as maintaining my blog more often to get back into writing.
- Set up a webstore for my website, something that is long overdue and I just keep procrastinating on for no good reason, other than it’s arduous.
- Getting my fitness back on track – a popular resolution often discarded, but I’ve let my fitness slip due to a knee and elbow injury at the end of summer last year, they’re both finally feeling strong enough to get back out there so I’ve agreed to do a 7km run at the end of April at Blenheim Palace.
- Fill the ‘Steal Like An Artist Journal‘ ~ I actually got this back in 2016 but haven’t really used it yet, it’s a cool journal full of prompts ranging from drawing, writing, thinking and dreaming to get your creative juices flowing
- Get back into film photography and enjoying experimenting again rather than seeking out the ‘perfect image’
So after the weekend, once the Christmas tree comes down on the 6th January (yes I like to keep it up as long as possible, it makes my room look way cosier), I’ll get stuck in to a much more creative 2018.
What are your goals for this year? or do you not bother with this sort of thing?
Culturenator 
One reply to “Obligatory New Year’s post”