New Years Resolutions

[jrising]

I love New Years resolutions. A ritual opportunity to adjust the choices that make up life. Like everyone, I struggle (read: give up frequently) on them, but part of the joy is to understand that process and resolve better.

I'm expecting a big semester, starting soon: my Complexity Science course, bigger and better; finishing my thesis; being substantively involved in three large projects and several small ones; and getting a job. My theory of organization this time is to schedule-- my work days are specified to the hour on the projects I hope to finish by the end of the semester:


My resolutions are mostly following the same idea, recognizing time less as a limiting factor than as an organizing principle:

• Additional morning exercise (15 min. / week)


• Personal or professional blogging (30 min. / week)


• Review my colleagues interests and activities (30 min. / week) [next year follow-up: usefully encode my network]


• Write to distant friends (30 min. / week)


• Deep reflection on goals and activities (1 hr. / week)


• Go for a hike outside the city in every month [next year follow-up: hike the same trail every month of the year]


• Read a journal cover-to-cover every week [next year follow-up: become a regular reader of one journal]