Happy 2021! Time for resolutions and new seasonal goals. With that comes a massive goals update complete with:
- 2020 goals revisited
- Autumn goals revisited
- 2021 goals
- Winter goals
2020 goals revisited
At the beginning of the year, I had big hopes for 2020 and like so many others, COVID-19 threw a wrench in them. So halfway through the year, I re-evaluated and ended up with:
- Visit three new southwest sights: I went to Patagonia Lake and Joshua Tree National Park with my boyfriend Grant, so almost made it!
- Visit two new states: I got to see a lot of Oregon including Portland, Newport, Seaside and Cannon Beach, but didn’t get around to seeing a second state.
- Read one book a week: I read about double that, 116 in total for 2020!
- Become more mindful of personal finance: I made a debt payment and savings plan that I’m sticking too. I also got a credit card!
- Apply for jobs and network: I’ve had a few interviews that didn’t go through unfortunately. I think the job market has been especially shot recently due to COVID. However, I made a few good contacts in the observing/fisheries world.
Autumn goals revisited
- Continue reading at a pace of about one book a week: Done!
- Read a book over 1,000 pages: Yes! With The Count of Monte Cristo clocking in at over 1,200 pages.
- Apply for jobs: Since being back from my contract I’ve been applying to a few a week per my unemployment. In fact, I had an interview the other day and we’re moving forward with the next steps, so I think I more or less got the job!
- Finish organizing and decluttering computer: Did a lot of this on the boat but I’ve fallen behind yet again.
- Stretch and exercise a few times a week: I wasn’t allowed to leave the boat to go for walks/runs and we were usually moving too much to successfully stretch. Since being home, I stretch and/or break a sweat about half the week.
- Practice Spanish daily: No Internet on my boat, but at home I do it everyday.
- Camp more often: I’ve gone on one camping trip since publishing this post to Patagonia Lake outside of Tucson. Hopefully more is in the future once the weather gets warmer.
- Take my dog Bailey on a special holiday: Didn’t get around to this yet. I’m not sure how much he would like an overnight trip, but I can definitely take him to a lake and see how he likes it.
- Do something with my savings (invest, mutual fund, etc.): Didn’t get around to this yet.
2021 goals
These are my big overarching goals I’m setting for this year. I will use seasonal goals to help me reach them!
- Read 70 books: This might be a bit ambitious now that I’ll have a full-time job soon, but this will really make me prioritize reading which is something I never regret
- Participate in more read-a-thon and reading challenges: Year-long I’ll be using the PopSugar challenge to guide some of my reading and hope to find other read-a-thons that spark my interest.
- Read more fantasy: It’s a genre I’m still learning to like. I found the first Wheel of Time book at a Little Free Library and have the Lord of the Rings series, I think that’s a good place to start
- Read more classics: I know, a basic goal. But I did well last year and hope to continue to do so
- Camp even more: Camping has really grown on my this year and for Christmas, I got a lot of awesome gear and Grant got a Washington State Parks pass! We might wait until the weather warms up for overnight trips
- Take a roadtrip: Highway 101, exploring more of Washington, my cousins in Montana, highway 20… there are so many trips Grant and I want to take in the US and hopefully we can choose one this year once COVID dies down
- Visit two new U.S. states: This should (hopefully) be easy if we take a roadtrip
- Travel internationally: I’m not even going to choose a specific country or quantity. Just please, God, let us be able to travel safely again soon.
- Do something to further my career: Yes, this is vague. Maybe take an R or GIS class, make a science writing portfolio, land an AmeriCorps gig, network, etc.
- Continue to be on top of my finances: I would like to stay on top of my debt repayment and savings plan and also do something like invest or get a mutual fund for my savings account. If you have money sitting in your savings, you’re actually losing money due to inflation, so get on it!
- Continue practicing Spanish: Like so many others, I’m on that DuoLingo grind. I hope to practice for at least half an hour a day, everyday
- Blog more: This year, I was in remote Alaska for half the year so I had very lacking Internet to blog. I take a lot of joy in blogging, which should be obvious as I make $0.00 with my blog (with little desire to do more, I’ve largely given up on promoting) but have continued to do so consistently for over five years now. I would like to make more book posts, personal posts and science posts
Winter goals
Now, for things I want to accomplish for winter
- Read 6 books a month: This is a bit more than my average I’ll need to keep up with my 70 books in 2021 goal!
- Visit two Washington State Parks: Even if it’s just for a daytrip or hike, this beautiful state as so much to offer
- Get a job: I’m not too fussy on what kind, I just need money trickling in and some structure to my day/life
- Explore Seattle: Although a lot of the big-ticket tourist attractions are closed or unsafe, I can still hit the pavement and explore on foot, check out nature areas and get takeaway from restaurants that interest me.
- Practice Spanish everyday for half an hour: Becoming fluent in another language is a huge personal, cultural and professional asset and I want to make it a priority in 2021
- Publish ~3 unique posts a month: Staples on this blog have been reading wrap-ups, favorite posts and months in review. Often, that’s all I publish every month. I hope to step out of that mold and publish posts outside my comfort zone.
Whew! That was a big one but I find making a lot of little goals is the best way to meet my big-picture goals.
What are some of your goals for 2021?
Photo by S O C I A L . C U T.
