2023 Resolutions

When I think of a good New Years resolution, I think it needs to touch on three things:

1. Focused - Having 100 things means you’re spreading your attention too thin - and less likely to actually move the needle on any one thing
2. Ambitious - It can’t be a layup, it has to be something you stretch for
3. Finish - You gotta do the thing, not just write about it.

And for a years now, I’ve written ambitious New Years resolutions - and the formula is the same each time:

1. Get really ambitious - new year, new potential
2. Document ALL my ideas into a notes app but no prioritzation
3. Get really exhausted and not look at the resolutions for the rest of the year

For example, here are my 2020 resolutions:

2020 Resolutions

1. Volunteer 2/month
2. Lunch w/ new person 1/month
3. Bike to work 2/week
4. Run Half Marathon
5. Write what I’m thankful for 1/day
6. Finish pet project
7. Play team sport 1/week
8. Write an article 2/week
9. Practice public speaking 2/month
10. Pass GCP/AWS cert
11. Hike 4 National Parks
12. Read/Listen 1 book/month
13. Weekly goals check-in
14. Headspace 1/day
15. Journal 1/day
16. AK/Holly Date 2/month
17. Start a business
18. Woodworking 1/two months
19. Get 4.0 GPA
20. Score 90% on all GRE sections
21. Have complete mastery of finances

…okay, so I failed requirement #1. And unsurprisingly, I didn’t do any of these things.

Here are my 2021 resolutions:

2021 NY resolutions

1. Finish flight school
2. Successfully fix a car
3. Run a half marathon
4. Convert into the PM ladder - FINISHED
5. Buy a house - FINISHED
6. Start a company

Great! Definitly have a bit more focus and these are definitly ambitious but did I get to requirement #3? Nope. I started almost all of these in 2021 - but I only finished 2 out of 6.

So this year, my big focus is not necessarily starting new things but FINISHING what I’ve started.

2023 NY Resolutions

1. Finish NFL GM Game
2. Finish Scheduling
3. Run a half marathon
4. Cook more