Less
- eating out
- Jen and I ate out less than once per week on average over the course of the year. In fact, our approach to eating and nutrition evolved significantly; trying at least two to three new recipes every month, as well as eating more vegetarian and vegan food as the year progressed. 🍅🥑🌽 FTW!
- being wasteful
- We did really well on this one, helped in part by relocating to Hastings in May. There is nothing like moving house to place perspective on how much junk you’ve amassed. Reducing our belongings down to the things we need was very therapeutic. Be assured, we sold, donated or recycled everything that we could.
- spending time on ‘urgent but unimportant’ tasks
- Having changed school and role in May, it was difficult to exercise control over this at times. However, as VP, I do have the capacity to decide what to work on and how to approach it which has helped. I plan to continue to work on this as I continue to grow into my new role in 2020.
More
- listening to others well
- I feel that I got better at this as the year progressed. I have always been a good listener at work, having headed some prudent advice from the first Principal that I worked with. But, I definitely needed to be better in personal and social contexts. I feel that I was able to listen well and also learned to better judge when to respond and when not to; although I can definitely improve on this further and will feature in next year’s list.
- running
- strengthening my core and gluteus muscles
- This was going very well up until the move to Hastings in May. Access to a gym at my previous school made this very easy to fit in to my weekly fitness routine. With no gym at my new school, I struggled after the move. However, I have begun to incorporate core exercises and mobility work into my warm down after each run.
- writing
- This was was also going really well, even after the move in May. However, from the start of the new term in September I have struggled. Must do better in 2020.
- random acts of kindness
- Managed at least one per week. 🧘♂️
- buying/eating local foods
- This one was strengthened by the move Hastings. We were pushed out of our Waitrose comfort zone and have had to adapt to buying our food from a range of different sources, including the local grocers, deli and bakery.
- reusing and recycling
- I did as well with this as ever and there was significant shame in downsizing for the move. The realisation of how much surplus stuff we had amassed over 15 years of marriage was revelatory. However, as noted above we made a significant effort to ensure that very little was thrown away. ♻️
- being selective about the projects/opportunities I say yes to
- In the comfort of my previous role I was in a good place with this and I feel that I have done a fairly good job since the move. However, the role is evolving so I must continue to focus on way to exercise control over this.
- improving/optimising my organisational systems
- I had all the right intentions with this one and I have continued with OmniFocus. However, I have found myself wondering if I really need such a complex app? Too often I find myself working from a simple list; perhaps this is all I need as it appears to be my default. The only caveat I would add is that sometimes this happens due to a lack of effort on the organisation/planning side of things.
- learning how to solve cryptic crosswords
- This lasted all of two weeks! However, I did add the Guardian Weekend crossword to the Quick and Speedy ones and my streak went uninterrupted; that’s 417 crosswords for the year. ✍️
- sitting/lying still and listening to albums from start to finish
- I did not do as much of this as I would have liked but it did happen every now and again which was very enjoyable. It will remain on next year’s list and has also inspired another goal for next year.
- visiting galleries and museums
- This started well but due to relocating we have had little time to get back into the city. We have lots of plans for next year, though.
None
- looking at my mobile phone when people are talking to me
- Again, this remains a struggle. Next year, I am going to take to putting my phone in another room when I get home from work. It scares me; the hold that this device has over me. 😟
- spending money on unnecessary things
- We were much more frugal this year. As previously mentioned, the move brought to light just how much unnecessary things we had purchased over the years. We made a significant effort to downsize and not replace things if they were not needed.
- finishing a workout or run and not stretching properly
- I added a roller and some mobility exercises into my cool-down and recovery routines. As such, I had my most injury free year of running. Alongside reading Runner’s World, this YouTube channel helped a lot.