2015 proved to be one heck of a year. I bought a house, got married, started a tiny urban farm, made new friends, traveled internationally and across the US, and started my own meetup. Despite accomplishing all this - I failed every single one of the goals I set myself. How did I let this happen? I checked in on my goals in October, yet still didn't make them a priority. Here's what I learned from failing every. single. resolution I set in 2015:
1. I don't do daily or weekly goals
I had two semi-regular goals for myself this year: Draw weekly and run a mile daily (wtf was I thinking?!). The mile runs lasted until the day before my wedding (I made it 5 months - actually fairly impressed with that). I couldn't even tell you how long the drawing thing lasted - maybe a week tops. If you remember, I also had a daily drawing goal for 2014.
Daily goals take a lot of time, commitment, and most importantly, routine. With all I had going on this year, I didn't afford myself the time. Also, other than the fact that I vaguely work from 9-5 M-F, I have no schedule set. Lesson learned. No daily goals until I've set these other things up for myself.
2. I can't assume anything
Looking back at my resolutions, I realized I assumed two of goals would happen with no action plan. This year I planned to "be my healthiest". It was vague, and I even said that when I wrote it out on the blog. With my wedding in April I visualized myself eating salads, drinking water, running daily, and doing yoga all the time to become this fit, kickass bride. NOPE. Other than my daily run, I'd set no action plans for this. Instead I found myself with a crippling Dr. Pepper addiction, going to Chick-fil-a weekly, and exercising less than I have in years.
Another goal I'd set was to spend less on clothing, food, and drinks. What I missed from this resolution was how much "less" actually was and a budget plan for this year. I assumed that with purchasing a house and a wedding, I'd be more frugal. Now I'm just poor, but I've had many tasty beers from the new Charlotte breweries :)
3. I set too many resolutions.
My mom said to me this year: "You set too many goals. If I accomplish one thing each day, I'm happy". I don't think I got that gene, but perhaps it's something I need to take into consideration. Every year, I set at least 5 resolutions - some of which I never even get around to (remember when I was going to take up sewing?). I've learned I need to cut down on the number of goals I set for myself and be realistic of my time.
These resolutions haven't all been a failure though. Here's a look at my individual 2015 resolutions and the progress (albeit small) I made on them:
Draw Once a Week. Definitely didn't do this, though I did draw A TON this year. Not only that, but I became more confident in my drawing abilities. I can credit part of that to starting up Dine & Draw CLT - where I have to draw once a month. I also participated in a drawing competition back in September which I HAD to be prepared for, so I woke up early every morning to get a little drawing time in beforehand. While I didn't do a weekly drawing, I did accomplish better drawing skills and confidence than I had in 2014!
Write More About My Work. Still, so, so bad at this. I currently have to two work-related posts written, but sitting unpublished because I tell myself they aren't good. Need to get over that. I did however, get a monster blog post published in Smashing Magazine earlier this year. That has to count for something right?
Make More Time for Side Projects. I failed at making the weekly schedule I wanted to for side projects, but I did have a few projects I wrapped up this year. I started Dine & Draw CLT and started doing more illustration work!
Run One Mile a Day. 5 months (with the exception of some snow days). Good enough for me!
Be My Healthiest. Okay - I was terrible at this. I did start cooking more than I ever have at home - though it's still rare!
Spend Less on Food, Drinks, and Clothing. While I did fail at spending less on food and drinks, I succeeded in the clothing department. I started doing something called a capsule wardrobe this year and spent less on clothing than I have in years!
Stick to a Writing Schedule. Nope, sorry ya'll.
Hope you all have a happy New Years Eve! I can't wait to share what my resolutions for 2016 are after this post. How'd you all fare on your 2015 resolutions?