Let's Talk Goals
2023 is winding down, go out in style
I’ve written the opening to this post three different times, but each time I stalled out and didn’t finish the post. And the openings were tied to a specific time, which means they no longer translate. You will have to take my word for it, they were groundbreaking stuff. Hopefully you will accept take number four. With Thanksgiving in the rearview-mirror that means the holidays are fast approaching, followed shortly by New Year’s resolutions. Why not get a jump on resolutions and list a few goals I hope to accomplish before the curtain falls on 2023. Clearly these have no binding force of law, but maybe if I put them out in the world in this public fashion, I will feel inspired to achieve them. Is there some irony that I would be getting more things done off this list by doing them rather than writing about them? Perhaps, but I’m choosing not to dwell on that. Let’s go with some bullet points, shall we?
Clean and organize the basement. This has been on my “goals” list ever since I lost my job in the fall of 2020 — suffice it to say I have not made much progress. Every now and then I chip away, and I actually had ambition of getting this done before Thanksgiving so we could banish Rory and my nephew to the if they were being annoying. Alas, I ran out of time and energy. But the one thing Rory has consistently requested for Christmas is a drum set, and if we are actually going to get him one (shhhhh, don’t tell him) it’s going to need to live in the basement. I tend to function best with some sort of deadline, hopefully this motivating factor can make it happen.
Send out the Cookson family holiday card. If you have not received a card from the Cooksons the past few years, it’s not because we don’t like you. Well, maybe it is, I’m not sure who is reading this. Most likely it’s because twice in the past three years we ordered cards and failed to mail them. Not this year! Caryn is in the midst of designing an impressive card, and then it will be moment of truth time as I attempt to mail it out.
Last year’s unsent holiday card. Will anyone see this year’s? Actually write some of the elusive children’s book I’ve been talking about ad nauseam. I think I first mentioned this theoretical book in a new year’s post in 2021. It’s now nearly the end of 2023 and I have a Google Doc titled “Detective Declan” with a lone incomplete sentence to show for it. I’m no longer saying I will finish a draft of the book, but I want to at least write some of the thing. Detective Declan will solve a case, damnit.
Mail my “Dear Mr. Badger” letter to Mr. Badger. Speaking of Declan, finding Christmas presents for him is a very tricky task. I’ve never worked up the courage to actually send the draft of the letter I wrote to the CEO of Badger technologies, but I think it’s time to shoot my shot. Plus, if I actually clean the basement I will have somewhere to put the thing. Win and win.
Reach the 122 post plateau. When this piece of art goes live, it will be the 108th post I’ve written since I began my Substack in January of 2023. If I can get to 122 (or, quite obviously, write another 12 posts before the end of the year) it means I averaged one post every three days. Yes, most of that work was done last January and February when I got off to a hot start, but a post every three days feels like a reasonable pace. Actually I didn’t really start until a bit later in January, but then we are really getting more specific than necessary. 122 posts total in 2023 is the goal.
Average three trips to the gym per week.. My trainer actually wants me to go four times, which I have managed exactly once in the few months since I started — though an untimely back injury had something to do with that. The goal remains four, but if maybe I sneak an extra in some weeks, perhaps it will even out over the final four-plus weeks of the year and will send me into 2024 with some positive habits and momentum.
Find a new activity with Sunny. Our Sunny is a delightful dog and keeps me company and entertained many days when I’m home. But I feel like she’s already getting bored of the things I do with her most days. I am challenging myself to find something new and fun for us to do. I don’t know if it will be trying to teach her a new trick, or something else, but there is no need for our dog/human relationship to get stale.
Book a regular weekend babysitter. For reasons that probably aren’t too hard to ascertain, Caryn and I don’t go out on dates very often. But as the boys are getting a little older, and some of the kids we know in the neighborhood move into responsible age, I’m committed to getting a regularly scheduled evening out on the books on a monthly basis. I have not yet confirmed this with any actual sitter, but for the first time in awhile it feels achievable.
Finish two books. I’ve recently bemoaned how little I actually read books, so let’s set the bar high and see if I can make some progress. I’m probably 25 pages into the extremely nerdy sci-fi book Dune which is many hundreds of pages. If I can stay on task for that one, I have a much lighter piece of non-fiction I believe will be a quick read.
That feels like enough for now. Maybe I can squeeze another post or two about my progress, which I’m sure will be just as riveting as this one.