As we begin a new year, a lot of us look backwards and see some areas of their lives that could be improved. That is certainly the case in my life. I made some good progress on some of my goals but fell short on many others. I thought I would try something new and post my resolutions here on the site to hopefully hold myself accountable. At the end of this year I can revisit these goals and see how I did.
1. Buy less stuff
This is my big one for 2023. I have fallen into the trap of buying way too many things. I have found that as I make more money, I simply spend all of the extra on things I don’t really need. I am committed to drastically cut down on my spending in 2023. I have actually been doing this since the beginning of December and my goal is to continue doing so all they way though the end of the year.
2. Make better use of my free time
As someone who works full time and has two young kids at home, I don’t have a ton of free time. However, looking back on the last few years, I am disgusted with how I have spent a good portion of it. I have wasted so much time mindlessly scrolling through Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, & Twitter. I became so consumed with social media that I have neglected some of my other favorite hobbies, such as playing videogames and reading. Social media is absolutely an addiction and to be honest, it has not been good for my mental health. I started to get rid of some of it in 2022. I got rid of TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, & created a new Facebook account strictly for marketplace, with no friends. But the one platform I have been unable to rid myself of is Twitter. I love Twitter so much but it is time to let it go as well. I feel like by making a clean break from all social media, I will hopefully be in a better place mentally, have much more time for the hobbies that actually bring me joy, & I can hopefully be more present when I am with my wife and kids, instead of scrolling on my phone for no good reason. Along with that, I also really want to cut down on the amount of time I spend on YouTube. Even though I don’t really consider it social media, I still get sucked in to this service as well. I plan to continue using it but really limit myself to how much I do.
3. Get back into running and cycling
About 3 years ago, I made some big changes in my life health wise. I quit drinking all soda and caffeine. I went from getting almost no exercise to getting some everyday. I fell in love with running and cycling. Sitting here today, I have kept up most of these changes. I still drink water and nothing else. I still routinely get exercise, though it’s mostly just walking these days. But, I have not kept up with my old habits of running and cycling. I want to get back on track with these two activities in 2023.
4. Read more
Before I got sucked into the time suck of social media and reading articles online, I used to read a lot. I got back into reading a little bit in 2022 but this year I really want to get back to reading regularly. I want to try and read at least 1 book a month to start with. This seems like an easily attainable goal so I am hoping that at the end of the year I will have met or even exceeded it.
5. Post to the blog regularly
My last resolution for the year is to post more frequently and consistently to my blog. I should have plenty of time to do it since I am no longer using social media and I really enjoy it when I do. My goal is to post at least once every two weeks with the hope that I can actually get to posting once every week.
So those are my resolutions for 2023. Do you have any resolutions you would like to share? Do you think setting resolutions is a fools errand? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
ibmacin.com 
I like these. Buying less stuff is forefront as I come off Christmas shopping.
I support you getting off SM too. My last holdout, too, was Twitter but as you know I let it go. A “missed it” sometimes in the first few months but after that it finally fell away from my mind. Even after Elon’s antics made Twitter top tech news later in ’22, I didn’t feel like going back. I wish Twitter had turned out better, but that ship has sailed I think, as it has for all social media as it devolved.
Cycling is something I’d like to do, but I just run sometimes instead so I don’t have to own a bike and maintain it. I just need decent shoes. Simple. And, of course, self-discipline. But my Apple Watch actually helps me with that…
I’m aboard the 12-book annual train too!
You wanna blog regularly? You got my support for that too 🙂
Me? I don’t do resolutions; I know I’m unlikely to keep them all year. I do make a list of goals I’d like to accomplish during the year. It gives me stuff to aim for, but it’s okay if I don’t meet those goals. Like house projects, I always have some, but I pick a few major ones to complete each year. So this year, for example, I plan to re-floor and paint the master bedroom. I also aim to start and finish Xenoblade 3 on Switch! Also, read 12 books. Another is I need to get back to daily Bible reading, even if just 15 minutes a day. And I plan to do another diet/exercise period to lose some weight. Last year I did that and lost 32lbs!!
Happy New Year!
Jason,
Thanks for the kind words and encouragement. The first few days without twitter were the roughest. I would constantly find myself unlocking my phone and trying to navigate to the app which was no longer there, truly a sign that it had become too big in my life. I am already finding that I have have much more time now that I’m not mindlessly scrolling on it anymore.
Good luck on your goals for 2023 as well. And awesome job on the weight loss! I also need to get back into the habit of daily Bible reading as I have fallen off as of late. Something to add to the list and I should have plenty of time for that now.