How many of these resolutions/goals will I achieve?
Not in any order in particular:
1) No
buying cars!
I’ve blown so much money buying/selling cars,
time to give it a rest. Financial priority is moving to a new house in the
future (March 2019)/debt reduction and security.
2) One
Track-Day
My nice car really needs to be allowed to stretch
its legs on a racetrack. For now, one track-day and let’s see how it goes - if I really love it, we'll do more.
3) Work/Career
is Priority (for time)
Work/Career is and should always be your
priority in life. Even if you have family, you need income to provide good
things. Work hard and strive for excellence; and have passion, curiosity, and enthusiasm for
what you do (if it’s like a hobby all the better - “work is my hobby”).
4) Sub
20-minute 5km
I believe this is an achievable goal. I failed
last year with numerous injuries, so hopefully this year we’ll do it! Running is one of the things I enjoy, and I'd love to be reasonably good at it.
5) Happiness
is a choice! And practice the principle of sanuk!
Choose to be happy. Find fun in whatever you
do.
6) Civilization
in moderation, but play games to the conclusion!
Civilization does seem to fulfil some mental
need. Since I never finish games, and it is always good to finish what you
start, and I’m sure it will limit the amount of Civ I play, one rule for this
year is to finish what you start.
7) No
changing (reneging) on decisions
You should only spend so much time as necessary
to make-a-decision, and - once you’ve made that decision - no going back (reneging
is very wasteful.)
8) Be happy
with a simple and humble life
It is good to better yourself and your
situation (and the situation for those you care about). At the same time,
simple and humble is good. A proponent for the "philosophy of a simple life" just wants health and happiness, no
desire for anything more (no desire for material possessions) - anything else is a bonus.
9) Be prudent
and efficient with money
Only spend so much as you need, accepting life
is about experiences, experiences are good, and money is no good to you once
you’re past this life (“you’re a long time dead”).
10) One trip
to Thailand this year
I’m keen to limit my trips to Thailand to maximum one a
year (preferably Jan - Feb). So, we need to come up with a plan... Apart from a Lake District trek - which I've already committed to (there is still time to pull out if I decide the cost of new equipment isn't going to be good value - i.e. if I don't do much trekking) - I'd like to try out a driving holiday next.
11) 8 hours
work every work day
I’m very fortunate to be able to work from
home at times. If I’m not engaged on something billable, I must always aim to do 8 x 45
minute sessions of productive stuff.
12) No (minimal)
YouTube; plenty of reading
YouTube became a big-time-waster for me last
year, fortunately I think I’m bored of the content, so we’ll just stick to
educational stuff this year. Reading is good!
13) No
checking emails on iPhone
Another big-time-waster. You can process emails
much more efficiently from a computer (laptop); so - unless you’re going to be
away from a laptop for a while - abstain from constantly checking, checking,
checking...