Saturday, January 1, 2022

Happy New Year! My 2022 Resolution Is...

Happy New Year, all! Pretty much everyone I know is hoping for a better 2022 than 2021, and we feel the same. Hopes were so high after the COVID-19 pandemic unleashed in 2020, but it showed no signs of abating in 2021. At least we are so grateful to be fully vaccinated and boosted and we are blessed that our families made it through safe and well so far.

Longtime readers of the blog know that I am a big fan of New Year's Resolutions. (M, not so much.) I love setting a goal that challenges me and pushes me out of my comfort zone, and I'm proud to say I pretty much achieve it every year. The time frame of one year is short enough to seem doable but long enough to help me build better long-term habits. If you saw my last post, you know that I achieved my 2021 resolution of receiving 50 rejections just in time.

This year, I'm taking a very different tack from my usual approach. I decided my 2022 New Year's Resolution will be to do less. Besides "do less" being my mantra for the next 365 days, I have a few subgoals. I want to feel less guilty when I miss self-imposed deadlines for projects and set fewer self-imposed deadlines overall. I want to unplug more when I'm on vacation, savor rest, and let go of the need to be productive every single day. I want to practice saying "no" more often to extra obligations, especially when I don't want to do something or when I'm asked to contribute unpaid labor.

One of my best friends had a hilarious reaction to my announcement of my resolution in our group chat. She said, "What are you talking about? You are literally producing a baby (#Sbitiny) this year!" I'll admit, the fact that I'm about to become a first-time mom was a huge part of my decision to pursue this resolution. Besides just being way more tired than I'm used to feeling in general, I want to make sure I enjoy every moment of parental leave that I have. I want to bond with my baby, cherish the special time with M, and not worry about projects or expectations of what I feel I should be accomplishing during that time. (I even heard some writing moms try to crank out a full novel draft during maternity leave, but I'm not interested!)

We'll see if I can pull off my unusual 2022 resolution or not. Let me know if you have a New Year's Resolution (or if you hate resolutions and they don't work for you) in the comments. Regardless of whether you have a resolution or not, I wish everyone reading this can have all they dream of and more in 2022!

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