I’m not much of a resolution-er, but at the end of every January I do like to take some time to reflect on my overall goals. This gives me an opportunity to identify areas where I’ve been successful and those where I need some more work. Since I’m a well-rounded nerd, I have a few different subsections of goals.
Reading
Last year, I didn’t quite meet my reading goal, but I came pretty close. I used Goodreads to track my reading progress and I had aimed to finish 40 books throughout 2018. Unfortunately, due to one DNF book that I couldn’t bring myself to count against my goal, I only read 39 books last year. Overall though, that’s way more successful than my 2017 reading list of 25 books.
For this coming year, I’m keeping my reading goal the same, but I’m hoping I can eliminate the winter reading lull in order to keep up my progress and meet that 40-book milestone. I’m especially excited to take advantage of the cross-platform reading potential that my new Kindle Paperwhite will afford me – especially now that it’s waterproof.
Gaming
2018 was really about broadening my gaming horizons. I really invested into the Playstation ecosystem, buying a PSVR and delving into some PS4 exclusives like “Spider-Man,” “Horizon: Zero Dawn,” and “The Last Guardian.” I also took a chunk out of my backlog on Xbox, finally playing “Late Shift” (“Bandersnatch” is not original darnit!) and “Sonic All-Star Racing.” This year placed a bigger emphasis on co-op games too, so I’d get to spend some quality time with friends – I played through a couple LEGO games, as well as “A Way Out” and “Destiny.”
In 2019, I’d really like to continue that trend of playing with friends. It definitely brings another element to video games and lets me spend time with people I love while I partake in a hobby I love. My other major goal? Finally playing “Kingdom Hearts 3.” I’ve only been waiting half my life for the game to release. Otherwise, I’d like to continue chipping away at my backlog and trying out different game genres I normally wouldn’t touch.
Health
Wow. This past year was a mess in terms of health. After trying to switch to an all-vegan diet, I discovered that I had antibiotic-induced IBS/GERD. It was a long journey to figure out what I could and couldn’t eat, and my wellness routine was totally shaken up. Now, I kind of have a digestive-health plan in place and I’m back to being settled in terms of diet. I’m also feeling revived in terms of energy level (cruddy winter weather notwithstanding), so I feel confident that I can hit the gym running. No pun intended, really.
My goal for this year is to get back into a healthy eating and exercise routine. I’ll be testing out – and hopefully sharing – some new meal plans and food items this year, and getting back into tracking calorie and macro-nutrients in my food diary. I also have a really great plan for maintaining a good regimen. Tacos are my kryptonite, so I’m holding myself to a new standard – I can only go out for tacos if I have hit the gym 10 times that month. If that’s not motivation, I don’t know what is.
Blog
2018 marked the birth of “Diary” and it was a rollercoaster of a year. It was fantastic to get back into writing op-eds, reviews, and research pieces on a regular basis after a long hiatus when my last website shuttered its doors. Unfortunately, life events took their toll and I wasn’t as active or consistent as I would like to be when it came to posting new pieces and interacting on social media.
This year, I’d like to amend that. My goal is to post at least once a week if possible. I’m hoping to spread out my writing a bit more – last year I would get excited about a new piece and post it quickly – and save pieces that aren’t time sensitive in a bank so there will be a constant stream of content. I’m also going to deviate a bit from my regular segments. At one point, recipes and food discussions were weekly and reserved for Monday’s. Now I would like to take advantage of inspiration when I get the urge, and write about things I enjoy while I’m motivated to do so.
Once I get into a consistent habit, I can venture back into weekly segments or expanding the number of articles per week.
Ultimately though, this blog would be nothing without my readers. So, I would also like to connect more with you all! If there is anything specific you would like to see or share, please let me know!
What are some of your goals for 2019? I can’t wait to find out!
Diary of a Healthy Nerd 