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54 Goals for 2020

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Happy New Year! Happy New Decade!

I know the date is arbitrary, but I love the start of a new year, just as I love the start of a new week: there’s something so motivating about starting over. So as I did last year, I’ve written down a list of 50 51 52 53 54 (I keep thinking of more!) things I want to accomplish. (Yes, 20 would have sounded cooler, but I can’t narrow it down.)

I’ll be shocked if I accomplish them all, but the beauty is in the attempt. Life is Sisyphean in nature (at least, mine is), the struggle towards the heights is enough to fill a (wo)man’s heart, etc. etc.

Without further ado, my 2020 goals are:

  1. Write 12 hours per week (ambitious!)
  2. Finish drafting my epistolary YA
  3. Draft 2 new books
  4. Limit social media usage significantly (as in, never hit the 1-hour per day limit)
  5. Yoga 4x/week
  6. Cardio 4x/week (commuting counts)
  7. DRINK MORE WATER. 10 glasses/day
  8. Book a freelance writing job (or two, or three)
  9. Stay on budget (my new lower budget)
  10. Do 4 chores per week
  11. Only buy secondhand clothes or domestic, artisan-made brands
  12. Learn where to compost
  13. Find a new therapist
  14. Buy a new TV console
  15. Start an email newsletter for this blog
  16. Do something joyful and seasonal and surprising every month
  17. See or talk to friends twice a week
  18. Read 52 books!
  19. Be a great mother and wife
  20. Get back to pre-pregnancy weight
  21. Hang more art on the walls
  22. Make photo albums of wedding, honeymoon, and years of life
  23. Go to France
  24. Stick to an anti-inflammatory diet during the week
  25. Post to this blog once a month
  26. Work on posture
  27. Journal once a month for myself and my daughter
  28. Learn how to make novel aesthetics
  29. Become a writer mentor
  30. Be weirdly friendly to strangers (be the change you want to see in the world, etc.). And maintain a childlike enthusiasm for new things
  31. Try new recipes from my cookbooks
  32. Be more aware that bad feelings will pass
  33. Breathe through my diaphragm
  34. Don’t be so hard on myself
  35. Go to the Met and Cloisters with my baby (I miss them)
  36. Get a collapsible stroller in order to brave the city with my baby
  37. Do a family photoshoot
  38. Get an author headshot
  39. Be a better listener
  40. Do an overnight trip with my husband, without the baby
  41. Do a “me-time” meal, or even just a coffee, at least once a month
  42. Monthly massages
  43. Try volunteering somewhere local
  44. Read all the books on my owned TBR. ALL OF THEM.
  45. Get my baby in swim lessons
  46. Ask my parents more questions
  47. Speak more slowly and with more confidence
  48. Make an official author website (part of this one or a different one? Time will tell)
  49. Make Board Game Night (or afternoon) a thing again
  50. Do a little journaling each day, the way I used to
  51. Try using Scrivener for writing
  52. Use my library card!
  53. Be a friend to myself
  54. And … dare I say it? Do a yoga headstand without needing the wall!

Photo by Jamie Street on Unsplash

Posted on Wednesday, 1 January 2020

Filed under Blog, Life

Tagged: , , ,

6 responses to “54 Goals for 2020”

  1. Love the list! Nice balance between professional, creative, and self-care/mindfulness. I also love the “buy secondhand” goal; I never managed to get it to exclusively second-hand, but I spent a few years shopping primarily second-hand. Not only did I feel less wasteful, but it saved so much money, especially with a little one who outgrew clothing at a break-neck pace.

    Happy new year!

    • Mary Kate says:

      Yes, so far I haven’t needed to buy clothes for my baby — SO many hand-me-downs from cousins — but once I do, I intend to buy secondhand for her as well. Happy New Year to you too!

  2. great list! The best thing I did in 2019 was severely limit my social media time. I took the apps off my phone and only access them once or twice a week – and I have 4500+ followers on my facebook page for my writing. I love the second hand/artisan idea – I will borrow that idea šŸ˜‰ Can I suggest the last one be taken with a grain of salt however. I have been doing yoga for over 20 years and can easily do a head stand, but I choose not to as I know too many people who have sustained stress fractures. better to work towards an unsupported forearm balance as there is no pressure on your neck. Once you have that in your bag of tricks, a headstand will be okay as you will have the upper body strength. <3

    • Mary Kate says:

      Thanks for the advice. Forearm balances just seem so hard! But I’d love to be able to do one eventually!

      • Me too. Iā€™m working with a series of exercises my teacher gave me. Iā€™m nearly 49 and the idea of damaging my neck doing a headstand terrifies me and is my motivation for sticking with my sad little forearm preparation šŸ˜‚

  3. […] I love making resolutions. I love the turning of the calendar, I love making lists and I love reaching […]

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