2017 Non-Writing Resolutions

Happy New Year, everyone! Welcome to 2017, where the possibilities are endless and it can’t be any worse than 2016. *knocks wood*

I’ve already shared my thoughts on writing resolutions. I have a few in mind that I would tentatively like to meet, but I know all too well how much real life can just fuck you right over. Therefore, I’m not going to create a list for writing resolutions for this year. Instead, I wanted to share some of my doable non-writerly resolutions with all of you. Because why not, right?

#1. Spend Less Money on Food, More on Groceries

Eating out is such a money drain for me, and it’s one of my biggest vices. All my Man has to do is hint he doesn’t want to make dinner and immediately I’m all OMG TAKEOUT CHICKEN WINGS FROM THE BAR UP THE STREET?? It’s awful.

So, for 2017, I’d like to learn how to cook more delicious, different meals so I’ll be less inclined to dive into food I didn’t prepare myself. It might add a bit more to the grocery bill, but overall, I think it will save us money long-term if we stop dropping a cool $50 on sushi every other week.

#2. Increase Gym and Yoga Time

Now that I’m making strides in my post-concussion recovery (yeaaaay to no meds!), I’d like to get my body back to a healthy place. If you’ve been following me for a while now, you’ll know I’ve basically been in chronic pain for the better part of three years, all from various injuries or health problems. There’s no telling what’s to come in the future, but I’d like to start guiding my body back to where it should be for a overall healthy twenty-five-year-old.

I’ve already started doing yoga from home and I’m really getting into the swing of it. Usually it’s just 10-15 minute sessions, nothing crazy, but it’s a nice accomplishment to feel my body getting stronger—and I’d like to continue that trajectory. We actually have a gym membership that we pay for and never use, but I think I’ll finally take advantage, especially during the cold months when I can’t walk the suburbs as easily, and throw myself on a bike and treadmill a few times a week.

#3. Read for Pleasure

This is HUGE. I already read a lot for my internship. Some of it I love, some of it is awful, but I love doing the internship overall. It does, however, eat up a lot of my at-home reading time. It was much harder when I was more severely concussed and had to allocate my reading time to one thing or the other.

As I continue to improve, I can finally start reading for pleasure again. And my goal for 2017 is to read what I want to read. I went on a huge BookBub/freebie downloading spree over the last two years. It’s been great. I think free books are a fantastic way to entice readers to take a chance on a new author. BUT. I want to say I’ve enjoyed maaaaaaaaaaaaybe 40% of the freebies I download, and I’m pretty sick of not liking what I’m reading. I get enough of that from my internship slushpile.

So, I’m going to make sure I take a bit out of my fast food budget and start buying books I’m really excited to read. Sure, I’m going to keep downloading freebies because that fits better into my budget in general. I mean, how do people afford it when they read one book a day? They don’t. It’d be madness. Freebies are awesome. Still, I’m looking forward to nabbing books I’m dying to dive into when they’re on sale—or at full price. But it’s time to enjoy reading again.