Goals update #08

I know we’re nearly two weeks into the New Year for this post, but I’ve been busy in Cozumel and Cancun, Mexico! Sorry not sorry.

Anyway, it’s that time again for a massive goals update complete with:

• 2019 goals revisited
• Autumn goals revisited
• 2020 goals
• Winter goals

Here were my big goals for 2019:

• Start my career: Yes! I graduated in September of 2018 and moved to Los Angeles in January 2019. I worked part-time at a movie theater while applying for “real” jobs in and July, I started my big girl job as a fisheries observer.
• Get a car: I got my 2009 Honda Civic in January before I left for Los Angeles. She still runs well and I even got a new stereo and a blow-up mattress to fit in my back seat. I have a feeling we’re going to be spending more quality time together in 2020.
• Visit three new countries: I managed to visit Thailand with my brother and Mexico over the holidays. That’s enough for me! I really enjoyed seeing quite a bit of Thailand and taking my time in Mexico rather than trying to squeeze 1-2 more countries in our short time of two weeks.
• Visit one new U.S. state: Luckily, my new job as me in Seattle for a few weeks at a time and all around Alaska, so I’ve gotten to be quite familiar with not one but two new states.
• Visit three new southwest sights: I visited the Channel Islands (Santa Cruz) and Salton Sea area this year. I greatly enjoyed them but didn’t quite make three, darn it all.
• Read 35 books: This is the goal I’m most proud of. Not only did I meet my goal, but I over doubled it, reading over 80 books this year!
• Get in shape with exercise and better eating habits: Overall, I can’t say I did too great. At home, I went to the gym quite often, but while I’m working remotely my habits slip. At best, I can go for a run every few days when we’re at port or a hike.

Here were my autumn goals:

• Read 70 books total in 2019: Done and then some! Read over 80 this year.
• Practice Spanish everyday at port (and at home): Internet was too poor in Alaska, but I keep up with my Spanish at home, working for at least 10 minutes everyday.
• Continue to stay in touch with family and friends: This was quite easy as talking to others keeps me sane when I’m working remotely and keeps me tied to the outside world.
• Continue to pay off debt and save money: I’m still struggling with how to create and use a budget, but I don’t think I’m frivolous with my spending. I have a certain amount assigned to savings and debt and I’m doing my best to stick to those if nothing else.
• Stretch a few times a week: This seems to be something I’m consistently bad at but damn it, I’m going to keep trying. Especially since my job is quite hard on the back and want to do everything I can to prevent problems in the future.
• Organize my laptop: I mostly organized my pictures, which was a task in and of itself. I think I’ll finish/catch-up on this next contract.
• Bake and cook more often: I baked for my crew once and that was enough. I don’t find much joy in it and only cook if I absolutely have to.

My big goals for 2020:

• Visit two new countries: My extremely tentative 2020 travel plans look something like Honduras for my divemaster and in one fell swoop visit some friends on the east coast, visit some friends in the U.K. and explore more of Europe.
• Visit three new southwest sights: There is so much to see and do just in the southwest where I grew up, I’d like to see more. Perhaps Havasupai Falls, Death Valley, Petrified Forest, Joshua Tree and some scuba diving of the California coast.
• Visit two new states: I kind of cheated this year as my job brought me to Alaska and Washington. In 2020, I will absolutely visit Oregon (I am going drive to Seattle soon and will pass through) and again hope to visit some family in Montana and/or friends on the east coast.
• Read 52 books: Although my work and lifestyle right now permits for a lot of reading time, I don’t know how that might change in the next year, so I’m starting out “small.”
• Become more mindful of personal finance: I know this goal is quite vague, but I will make smaller goals throughout the year as I find what works and what doesn’t. My big-picture idea is to focus on paying off debt and save money. While this is the perfect time in my life for long-term travel, I also want to be responsible (boo) as it’s also the optimal time to accumulate money with little to no recurring bills. Currently, I am paying 20% of my paychecks to debt and 15% to savings.
• Apply for jobs and network: Although I like what I do now enough, it’s not a career position for me. I want to get to know higher-ups within my company who might be able to usher me into a more research-based position after a few more contracts.

And last but not least, my goals for winter (for reference, I will be spending it mostly in Alaska so my options are limited):

• Keep up with my reading challenge by reading one book a week
• Stay in touch with more family members and friends
• Continue to pay off debt (20% of paychecks) and save money (10-15% of paychecks)
• Organize my laptop (again)
• Watch more films
• Stretch daily

What are you biggest goal(s) for 2020?

Photo by Jasper Garratt.