I stopped making resolutions.

I used to be that person saying "I will do X" and "I will become Y." But, after years of never doing or becoming, I just decided to stop. I was tired of setting myself up for failure. Every time I failed to follow through on a resolution, I felt guilt and shame. Who needs that? I finally realized that the only person I was disappointing was myself. 

Now, instead of resolutions, I take a look at my to do lists and decide which things need to get done in the upcoming year. If it's a big project or goal, I decide which particular steps need to get done in order to make progress on those items. It's kind of like resolutions, but I find that making things actionable works better for me. (Something about getting to cross things off a list is just so darn satisfying.)

Last year, I also decided to try doing little things to help me focus on what's important. I think about what thing we could do every month to come together as a family or which activities will help me relax. Then, I take all of this and put it in the front of my bullet journal. I limit myself to a two page spread for everything. That way, it's a reasonable amount of stuff for the coming year. Do I get to everything it? Of course not. But, I find that this has been achievable and non-guilt inducing way for me to get things done.

How do you set up for the new year?

Remember how I ended 2021 reading Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone? Well, I am still reading it. If this were a normal book, I would be finished. Instead, since it’s the size of three novels, I am about a third of the way through. Bees have made an appearance, but no one has had to say goodbye to them yet.

• The market is stifling innovation. [The Atlantic]

• A Belgian book village looks to its future. [WaPo - gift link]

• In praise of dead week. [The Atlantic]

• Academia needs to do better by adjuncts. [Elle]

• I will never not read about ways to improve my handwriting. [The Postman's Knock]

• We're (fingers crossed) about to get a better look at space. [Short Wave]

• This podcast is ostensibly about community change but it offers an insightful look at what it means to be inclusive while relying on expertise in a participatory democracy. [The Daily]

• How dates transformed the States. [Gastropod]

• 2020: the year in sound. [The Daily]

• How and why to be alone. [Life Kit]

• The origins of fake holidays. [Planet Money]

• But does the Michelin Star style of cutting onions cause fewer tears? [Senpai Kai]

• My parents could not stop talking about this satire of Hallmark Christmas movies they saw. So, we found we could stream it and watched it while everyone was in town. As a fan of Hallmark movies, I can tell you that A Clusterfunke Christmas is spot on. It also just works on it's own. [Comedy Central]

• We had a lot of random food leftover from the holidays. What better way to use it up than to make fried rice? I sauteed carrots, celery, and chicken tossed in rice, green onions, peas, eggs, and a packet of seasoning. Topped it all off with some soy sauce and called it a day. (I like diced sweet gherkin pickles in mine.) I could make my own seasoning, but I used a packet from the store. It's just easier. [Sunbird]

• Every two months, our condo building offers a household goods donation pick up. This week, I whirlwinded through our unit and pulled every item we no longer use, want, or need. I amassed a veritable pile of stuff (mostly kid's clothing and toys - but also that Wii we haven't touched in two years) to donate. These are all still good things, but we just don't get any use out of them anymore. It feels good to start the new year out with a cleaner space.

• On top of the donation whirlwind, I took pictures of everything that remains. A few years back, I read that it's helpful to have a "home inventory" of your belongings in case you need to replace them after a disaster. Now, once a year, I take pictures of everything and input it into an online spreadsheet. The first year was the hardest. Now, I can just copy the spreadsheet from the previous year and update the information. For my next iteration of this project, I want to make a list of the most valuable items (in terms of price and/or family history) so that we have a provenance document to reference. (Cause being a librarian makes you do things like this.) [Forbes]

Since I mentioned to do lists at the top of the Wrap, I want to shout out to Google Keep. This online notetaking app has been great for my running to do lists, shopping lists, and packing lists. I love that I’ve got one place to keep my lists - which is really handy when we’re out grocery shopping or I need to remember what I forgot to toss in to the diaper bag. Right now, I’ve got a list dedicated to the thank you cards our kiddo needs to write. I also love the archive feature. That really came in handy when I wanted to reference all the ingredients we needed for holiday meal planning last year. Plus, you can share the list with other people. That way, anyone can update it as needed.

After a long holiday break, I go back to work this week. Luckily, the university I work at took one look at Omicron and decided we should all start fully-remote for the time being.