I know we’re over halfway through the month, but I finally feel like I’m starting to be able to think about the year ahead. I don’t love the concept of “resolutions,” but I do enjoy goals – something I can try to check off my to-do list. And even if I don’t end up meeting all my yearly goals, I like thinking about them in terms of the direction I want my year to take. I might not accomplish everything I hoped to, but they will shape the choices and decisions I make, which is the whole point!

Read every day

I’m kind of setting myself up for success with this one, because I love to read and consider reading a treat way more than a chore. Lately I’ve been starting my days by listening to an audiobook while I wake up and drink my first coffee, and it’s been a really great way to ease into the morning. I don’t want to “force” myself to have to read in the morning every day, though, so I am just keeping my goal to reading daily, at whatever time works best. And if I only have time to read for 10 minutes, that’s fine! It’s the habit of reading more than the amount of reading that’s important to me.

Intentionally spend more in-person time with friends

This is similar to a goal I set last year, which I was medium at, so I want to try again. Life gets so busy that sometimes it can feel so exhausting to try to plan in-person get togethers with my friends. Now that we’re all older, our schedules are much harder to combine, and many of them have kids, which can make it even trickier to find the time! But every time I do see them, I’m reminded how nice it is to connect in person. So this year I want to be intentional about doing more of that. It doesn’t need to be some elaborate, planned out event – just hanging out together to give us time to catch up is all I’m looking for!

Get on top of my sleep

I am really good at talking about how important sleep is, but really bad at following my own advice. I have to be careful about this one, because if I think about it too much, I start to overly stress about not getting enough sleep, and that’s not healthy, either. So this year I want to work on finding the right balance! Less procrastinating and late-night blogging, more setting myself up for a healthy bedtime and making sure my body is getting the rest it needs. Historically, I am not great at balance and I am great at procrastination, so I’m going to take it slowly, but I do want to try to get to a healthier place by the end of the year. I know that having SMA means I need more rest than others might, and I want to be better at honoring that.

Rediscover my inspiration

I love writing here and on my new Substack – I absolutely have no plans to stop. But over the last year, I struggled a lot with burnout. And sometimes, this resulted in me writing and publishing a post just so that I’d have something to go live and fill a hole in my content calendar, not necessarily because it was something I especially cared about. I’m always so afraid that if I skip posting for a day or two, I’m going to lose all the readers I’ve fought hard to find – even though you all have shown me that’s not true! So this year, I want to be more mindful, and not just post for the sake of posting. I want to thoughtfully plan out my content, and know that if there’s a day here or there where I don’t want to post anything, or don’t feel like the post is quite ready, that’s okay!

Grow my Substack

I started my Substack somewhat on a whim at the end of the summer, but I have really been enjoying writing there. It lets me have the time and space to write things a little more long-form and personal, and I don’t feel like I have to worry about SEO or the analytics of my posts as much as I do here. It’s been really freeing! So I want to really dedicate time and effort this year to growing my readership there, too. It will never replace this space, but just exist in addition! Right now, I have around 100 subscribers there, and I’d love to double that number by the end of the year.

Make more time for hobbies

I bought a very cute needlepoint kit about a year ago… and have yet to touch it!! This goes along with the procrastinating, really. I have no problem making time for reading, but other than that, I find myself wasting too much time and then having to rush to get my work done, not leaving enough time for hobbies until the weekend. And then I need time to just decompress and zone out… which I do for too long and feel like I need to be productive again. I want to be better about leaving myself some free time to explore hobbies – like needlepoint – without feeling stressed.

Say yes to things outside my house

I love working from home – it has truly made me healthier and made my life much, much easier. Returning to the office wouldn’t be possible for me. But it has also made me incredibly comfortable with just me, my TV, my laptop, and my books as my own company, in my own house. Getting ready and leaving the house can feel like so much work! But then, without fail, I end up having a great time when I do venture out into the world. So I want to find a better balance at saying yes to plans – when they’re things I’m genuinely interested in – even if they require me to go out.