now what?

[llcoolvad]

OK, the past is now behind me. Now to address the things I'd like to do with the new year. These aren't really resolutions, just things I'd like/I plan to do. Maybe writing them down will force me to do them. I liked all the things on the positive side that I did last year. So I think I will do more of all of that. I can add in a few things:

1. MY DIGITAL LIFE: I got a My Cloud personal cloud storage thingie for Xmas. It is time to really get all my files (especially my photos because I have so so so many backups of those everywhere) organized. I want to tag things, too, because the dayjob is rubbing off on me. I'd ideally also like to re-rip all my CDs to lossless, and then get rid of the CDs. My new cloud storage is 2TB, so there's plenty of room. I'm also going to back up Mom's files to the cloud, and organize the heck out of them. I got her a laptop for Christmas, so I need to move her files over anyway.
   
   
2. MY PHYSICAL LIFE: The house is a wreck. I haven't been at full capacity for most of this last year. I need to get a lot of things done. Major cleaning of every room (curtains washed! Walls washed! Books dusted!). And finally address the basement. I've started this last month on a few small projects (closets, pantry) but I need to get more gung-ho and focused. In theory I can lift things now! This is good.
   
   
3. MY MENTAL LIFE: Revisit online learning, do more jewelry-making, make interesting photo sets, etc. I think I have done all the idle Facebook reading I can handle, now. It was PERFECT while I was recovering. Tiny bites of sort-of interesting stuff, read or ignore at will. But my nights need to be a little more fun and productive. I certainly won't be leaving Facebook, but I plan to moderate my usage. Very little during the day, only a bit at night.
   
   
4. MY MEDICAL LIFE: Eat better, exercise, try to get blood sugar way down. Breathing is a good idea. Will try to make sure it happens. I will think about getting a second opinion on sternum options, but maybe mid-year. Not soon. Try to cook better food. Not sure where the inspiration will come, there, but I will try. Keep wearing my FitBit, using LoseIt, tracking everything. Gamify where possible!
   
   
5. MY FINANCIAL LIFE: I am one year away from only having student loan debt left. I will make that happen. If I get a raise, maybe it will happen a month sooner. Once it's gone, I will power down on the student loans. Ideally I'd like a new car in 2016, so maybe the current car can not break? That would be swell.
   
   
6. MY SOCIAL LIFE: Continue as usual. I like my friends. They like me. I will go back to family gathering this summer too. Etc. Try to get out to Western Mass more. Hang with S&V.
   
   
7. MY FRIVOLOUS LIFE: Nail art, funky glasses, silly jewelry, fun accessories. These things bring me tiny smacks of amusement throughout my day. That is good! More pedicures.
   
   That's every aspect, right? Oh, wait.
   
   
8. MY WORK LIFE: Patrick and I had a little chat tonight about how we'd like to be less negative and less stressed at work. So, that. Try to steer the lunch conversation with our bitter colleagues to complaints about CNN coverage or something. I want to also be way more productive. I am capable of a lot more than I've been doing (especially the last four months) so I'd like to crank it up a bit. Even if this isn't the company I want to retire from, this is the company I currently work for. I should be learning more and taking advantage of everything I can. It shouldn't be too hard, now that I'm getting better.

So that's the new year. We'll see how it goes!

Comments

[livingdeb.livejournal.com]

I like how you categorize things. It's interesting to see how your categories compare to mine:

* your digital = something I probably don't concentrate enough on; I suppose it's part of what I call domestic; and next year I plan to check out more online social things (like instagram and twitter) but I'm calling those social; and it's partly what I call creative because of the photos
* your physical = my domestic
* your mental = my intellectual + my creative
* your medical = my physical
* your financial = my financial
* your social = my social
* your frivolous = something I don't focus on formally, though I still do those kinds of things (wee!)
* your work = my career + part of my spiritual (which also includes reducing my environmental impact, making charitable contributions, donating blood, and volunteering time)

Your goals sound great!

[llcoolvad.livejournal.com]

Weirdly enough in the last couple of weeks I started Pinterest, Tumblr, and Instagram accounts, just to see if I'd like them. Not sure about Tumblr, but maybe Pinterest and Instagram. I still don't have much use for Twitter beyond the occasional tv live tweet. I probably have too many people that I follow over there. I keep thinking I might start a second twitter feed for professional purposes, but that's not really me.

[livingdeb.livejournal.com]

I keep finding interesting people who do all their updates in one of these other places. I expect to be mostly a consumer of them (checking for updates) rather than a participant (other than making the occasional comment).

I'm already on Pinterest, just because my sister is there. That's where she keeps all her ideas for stuff to make like recipes and sewing tips. I find it super annoying, though, because it feels like I have to click on the same thing over and over again to finally get to the actual information--probably user error.

And one of my friends is on Google+ and although I get e-mail updates when she posts, I haven't figured out how to comment without joining.

James Ernest from Cheapass Games is on Tumbler.

And my favorite online Spanish guy is the last straw for me wanting to join Twitter, just like Patrick was the last straw for me joining Facebook.

[llcoolvad.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I really spent some time thinking about PHYSICAL vs. MEDICAL. Because sure, physical to me implies my body. But then I was stuck on the whole clean the house category, what to call it. I was searching a way to differentiate it. "Environmental" sounds too green and not at all what I mean. "Home" sounds too cozy. "Domestic" is ok, but it makes me think of maids in nurses' shoes and with feather dusters.

There's gotta be a better word!

[livingdeb.livejournal.com]

Castle!

Only it should be an adjective. Which I don't know how to do, but would probably be less fun (castillian?). Maybe no one will notice since it sounds like it ends in "-al" like most of your other categories.

Hospitality?

Looking up synonyms is not helping! The only real one I can find is housewifely. Ugh. I'm sticking with domestic.

If you don't like "My home life," maybe "My indoor life"? It's really about our stuff--our physical stuff as opposed to our online stuff. Okay, I'm not helping.