I like to call them goals and plans, rather than resolutions. Resolutions carry the implication that you can make up your mind to do something, and that the act of making this decision is all that is necessary to make it happen. In reality, we all know what happens to resolutions without thought and planning behind them. Somewhere about the third week of January, maybe even sooner depending on the resolution, you start skipping days. You eat that extra cookie, or even eat a cookie at all. You skip the gym. Put down that classic novel in favor of the new thriller by your favorite author, and then never pick it up again.

So, goals and plans. Goals are like having a target to aim for, or knowing what the final scene of your novel will be. I know where I’m going, which makes it much easier to figure out how to get there. I have to think about my goals, and break them down into steps. I can do steps, and lists with checkboxes. That’s–not easy, but workable.

So, what are my plans for this year?

Well, I’m going back to school, to do a degree in computer programming (as long as the money lasts). You’re probably going to hear me ranting on and off about this, for various reasons, including ridiculous workloads, and the very obvious sexism that I’ve already encountered. I want to do well in these classes, because I know that being female and older, I’m already starting twenty yards back from where my classmates are. My steps for succeeding in this are:

1. to read ahead in the textbook for every class. Note that I didn’t say I had to understand everything, just that I had to read ahead and be somewhat familiar with the material before I go to class.
2. spend 15 minutes each day studying. It’s not much, which will make it easy to do. This is outside any time necessary for assignments, and outside any time needed to read ahead. The goal is to cover all the material three times before I have to move onto the next topic.

I also plan to carve out some more time to work on scifi and fantasy novels. I’ve been focused on my romance writing (yes, I also write romance) for the past couple of years, mostly because life kind of went to pieces after the death of my husband and I only had brain cells enough for one genre. So I read spec fic, and wrote romance, and tried to keep a foot in each boat. This year, I plan to:

1. plot one of the mad wizard urban fantasies completely in February (because January is tied up in romance stories)
2. plot the Search and Rescue in Space story completely in March (because there’s a week in there where I don’t have to get the kid out of bed)
3. make a freakin’ decision about whether the griffin story will be romance or science fantasy and plot it (in May, because April is exams)
4. write the one I think has the strongest storyline during the summer and fall

Another thing I want to do is get my life organized a little better. I live in an old country house, without much in the way of cupboards and storage. Add that to 20 years living with a packrat who threw NOTHING out, and it’s a mess. My goal is to clear away a bunch of junk we don’t use in the house and the shed out back. My plan is:

1. four days a week, I will pick one thing we never use anymore and throw it away or donate it to charity if its still in decent shape. (Note to self: I’m going to need a box for the charity things.)

And the last thing I want to work on is looking after myself. I put on a bunch of weight, between everything involved with my husband’s cancer, and my own discovery of a fairly serious food allergy. The allergy left me exhausted and I was having difficulty breathing, so my running schedule eventually petered out. I stress eat, and combined with an allergy that puts most savory foods off the menu (hummus, I miss you!), I was constantly shoving sweets into my face. (We have a joke in the family now. If I look at the food on offer at a family get together and realize I can’t eat most of it, I claim the sweets table as mine. I need a flag to plant in the middle of it, like an explorer. 🙂 ) To accomplish this, I want to get my flabby body back into shape and change my eating habits. I plan to:

1. buy fruit that I like, even if it’s expensive
2. make a concerted effort to come up with (and write down) recipes that can substitute for a lot of pre-packaged things I used to enjoy.
3. buy new running shoes (mine are shot)
4. start with 15 minutes a day on the treadmill, until that gets easy.

It looks like a lot to keep on top of, so I enlisted the help of an online and mobile app called Habitica. It’s a game where you level up for doing the things you’re supposed to do, and lose health for not doing them. I’ve added entries for writing, for the treadmill, for housework, for decluttering, and for food. As I get more comfortable, I’ll add in more. Part of the trick with this is keeping the steps small. You’re much more likely to succeed if you aren’t trying to solve calculus problems at the same time you’re learning to multiply and divide.

If you like the app (it’s free!) and you want to play (because apparently you can play in groups), I’m Oldbrasscat. Come play with me!