New year's resolutions 2010

Happy New Year! In an attempt to encourage myself to keep them, I thought I’d blog my new year’s resolutions. Here they are:

• Give less, do more

This will be the year I give up my long standing Greenpeace donation as well as donations to NSPCC and Cancer research. I feel kinda bad about this, having been a Greenpeace member for over 10 years. I didn’t take the decision lightly, but I now have three children and am considering starting a business - things will be tight. Equally I’m starting to feel that a lot can be achieved through direct action, and there are many other contributions I can make that are not financial. I therefore intend to do more letter writing and campaigning this year. I might even get my conservation volunteering boots back on.

• Grow my own

Growing your own veg seems to me a complete win. It’s good for the environment, it’s rewarding, it’s good for you and it tastes great. I’ve never had a proper garden, but this year I have no excuse. Considering also buying a greenhouse.

• Work smarter, not harder

There is a lot I want to do with my life, and at the moment I’m nowhere near getting it done. If I try to physically do everything myself, I’ll never get there. This year I’m going to step back and delegate more. I’m going to focus on the areas where my skills can add the most value.

• Read a book per week

This may sound ambitious, but I’m going to try to read an average of one book per week. I have way too many unread books sitting at work and at home. Time to read them or stop buying books.

• Relax and play

2009 was kinda crazy. I submitted my PhD and viva’d in March; my wife gave birth to twins in April, making us a family of five; we bought a house and moved in August. All of this whilst managing a European software development project, coding, writing papers and running a number of side projects. Towards Christmas, I was starting to feel a strong sense of burnout. So… in 2010 I need to set aside specific relaxation times in my weekly routine. These can be used for meditation, reading for pleasure or creative play etc.

My overall theme of the year is ‘flow’. The plan is that by doing less in some areas, I can achieve more in the aspects of my life that are most important to me. Let’s see what happens!