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2021 was quite the year, to say the absolute least. It was my first year of Dresses & Democracy, which I started in December of 2020, as well as my first full year postgrad.
As a country, we got a new (and highly improved!) president, plus the first woman in the White House! We went through great threats to our democracy, and we’re still fighting for it every day. We got the COVID-19 vaccine and started to see a light at the end of the tunnel — but also dealt with multiple new variants. We experienced the Great Resignation and Striketober.
Massive changes have happened this year, both on a cultural scale and in my personal life. This year, I got my first full-time job, then quit it six months later to take on a new position working in politics. I moved in with my boyfriend of 7 years. I spent a full year living in my dream city.
In the spirit of New Year’s Resolutions, I thought it would be fun to talk about the goals I have for 2022. Sharing my goals publicly like this is in part to hold me accountable, but also to maybe inspire whoever might be reading this to create some goals of their own. These goals have a range of focus areas that is very wide, which I hope serves as a reminder that there’s always room for improvement in any aspect of life!
Read 40 books, and make 1/4 of them nonfiction.
I got super into reading this year. My goal was to read 30 books; I read 32 (and I definitely could’ve fit more in). For 2022, I upped the goal to 40 — with a caveat. I want at least a quarter of them to be nonfiction. I’d love to read more about history and politics, as well as a few self-help books I have on my TBR list. There isn’t anything inherently “better” about nonfiction, nor do I believe there’s anything bad about only reading fiction! Reading is great! However, I think it would be beneficial for me to expand my horizons. Currently, I’m reading Atomic Habits by James Clear as a nonfiction pick (loving it so far) and The Magnolia Palace by Fiona Davis as my fiction option (got this in my January Book of the Month box, referral link here). You can add me on Goodreads to keep up with what I’m reading too!
Use Duolingo to practice German every day.
I’m unsure if I’ve ever shared this publicly here, but I actually speak German fluently. Half of my family lives in Austria, and I took German in school from kindergarten until I graduated high school. However, since I no longer use it every day, my grasp on the language has become a little rusty. I’ve heard such good things about Duolingo, and I figured that with all the time I waste on my phone every day, I might as well make some of it productive! I’m currently on a six day streak, so I really hope to keep it up.
Get into a routine of working out at least 4 days a week.
I think aiming to work out every day is a lot, and for myself, not super realistic given how busy my work schedule can get (thanks to frequent late nights and early mornings). It’s also daunting for someone, aka myself, who is still relatively new to working out. However, I think working my way up to doing some sort of movement at least half the days of the week is a good start and a doable goal. I really like doing yoga and spin workouts on the Peloton app, and the 12-3-30 workout on the treadmill is a reliable option as well. I won’t beat myself up if I don’t accomplish this every week, but by the end of the year, I’d like to consistently be working out at least four out of seven days per week.
Post to the blog more often (at least once a month).
I definitely slacked on writing blog posts in 2021. There were periods where I went months without writing a blog post. I’d like to get to a spot where I’m posting at least once a week on the blog, but doing so once a month is my bare minimum for the year — because I know things will get crazy for me in my professional life as we get closer to Election Day in November. I also want to start a newsletter for the blog, but I’m holding off on that until I can get it together with consistent posts.
Journal consistently.
I got one of Papier’s wellness journals a few months ago, and I’ve used it on and off since. Journaling was recommended to me by one of my previous therapists when I was in college, but I never really tried it out. I like the idea of getting my thoughts out in writing (duh, I write for a living and I’m a blogger), so journaling feels like a natural choice for an outlet. Like with working out, doing it every day is a lofty goal, so getting to a point where I’m just journaling multiple days a week sounds doable.
Get a grasp on my finances.
When I switched jobs a few months ago, it came with a salary increase by a good amount. I’ve opened up in a prior post about my financial situation growing up, but the short of it is that I didn’t grow up with fiscal responsibility modeled for me. I come from a family where money has always been tight and credit card debt is plenty. Now that I’m making a good amount, I want to get to a point where I’m more responsible with money. I like shopping, but I know I do it too much. I have debt that I need to pay off. I want to start contributing to my retirement and building up my savings.
Follow along!
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