Did you make
any New Year resolutions and have you stuck to them, or broken them already?
My record in
this department is mixed. I never kept
them growing up, but succeeded in 2011 with a plan of controlling the amount of
alcohol I would have per week.
Last year’s
resolution was not great. I vowed to
watch one news bulletin every day, whether that be BBC, ITN, Channel 4, Five
News or Sky News. It lasted 10 days, and
I know the news is normally a depressing thing to watch but in reality, I should
have done better with this.
By the end of
last year – my lack of stability and security led to me making several misjudgements,
and I really wasn’t happy with my personality either. So, rather than make one resolution, I
decided to go for an ambitious target of eight in 2013.
The chances
were that two of these wouldn’t see the year out, but I want to stick to these
for as long as I can, and my target is for five to at least see out the year.
So – here are
the eight resolutions I have made and how I have fared so far in 2013.
1. Limit
my use of Facebook
This is priority number one. It’s true;
Facebook has at times taken over in a big way.
When you start feeling insecure about a number of things – ranting on
social media is not the right way to go about things. Trust me; I have learnt this the hard
way.
I have taken breaks from this
before, lasting from a week to a month in November 2011 – and although I stayed
away for these periods, I always came back and slipped into old habits.
My target for
2013 is to only use Facebook for one hour per week – limiting my status
updates, and focusing more on published links, radio show promotions and
YouTube video clips.
Two weeks in
and I have stuck to this just. There are
no restrictions to Twitter and LinkedIn, but this had to be done and I hope to
keep it up.
2. Exercise
more
 |
| The exercise bike could & should get a lot of extra work this year... |
Back in the
college days, the best description for me was ‘couch potato,’ because that is
what I was. I use the home gym
frequently in summer, but not enough in winter – and my lack of
general fitness is a concern.
My plan was
to do some stretches at least in the winter months, before doing longer gym
routines in the spring and the summer.
Unfortunately,
this hasn’t started yet – so it is a fail, but it is something that I want to
start soon.
3. Stop
being so paranoid
This was a big
problem that needed to be ratified. I
often got paranoid about the smallest things – and it got as ridiculous as
thinking I had done something wrong, when I probably hadn’t.
This also
involved taking things far too personally, over-hyping arguments and even
getting concerned if I didn’t get a reply back to a message.
The amount of
paranoia I had was so crazy, things had to change and for the
better. In 2013, I am aiming to relax
more, not worry so much about the small things and appreciate more what I have
at my disposal – both in terms of friends and family.
Already I feel like I’m making progress on this front.
I like to generally think I’m a nice, caring individual but at times, I
act like the biggest clown around. This
year – that won’t happen.
4. Watch
my choice of words
In today’s
day and age, it is important to have two personas in my view. That is both a personal view and a
professional stance. Mixing up the two
can lead to trouble, especially with the use of words, particularly explicit language.
This is a bad
habit I have picked up throughout my education and needs to stop. I know that swearing is wrong and we all do
it. I probably will still have moments
where I utter the wrong word, but more control needs to be shown.
This is a
trial and error resolution. I’m doing
what I can in January, but if I say the wrong type of language, I feel
guilty. In February, I’m considering
setting up a ‘Swear Jar,’ so if I say a bad word – I have to put some money
into the jar and then, I give it away to a good cause. It is the only way I will learn.
5. Start
to support a charity
This is
something I would like to invest in, and especially once I get the paid
breakthrough in media, whenever that will be.
I haven’t
decided which charity to get involved in and how this will be done yet, but it
is a venture that not only I would like to do, but feel it could be a good
thing to have on a CV. Plus, it will be worth it to some who aren't so lucky.
6. Be
less controversial
In my life, I
always have had a strong opinion on many topics in current affairs, and this
can range from questionable refereeing decisions in football to the latest
wrangle in the coalition government, and that is despite not having any serious
interest in politics.
Taking a phlegmatic
approach to things that you simply can’t control, rather than act like it is
the end of the planet is the best way forward.
I will still agree/disagree with decisions/principles/proposals – but hearing
both sides of the argument would be wise.
I feel like
this resolution is on track – although I can’t help think that the future of
the coalition isn’t great when David Cameron compares his relationship with the
Liberal Democrats to a tin of Ronseal! That
wouldn’t fulfil anyone with much confidence.
7. Learn
shorthand/a new language
 |
| Learning shorthand is something I need to do |
As a trainee
journalist, shorthand is still a practical and useful skill to have. I did a brief bit of training right at the
end of my UoN journalism degree, and even purchased a book to do it in my own
time. Then the Total Football position
came up, and I completely forgot about it after mid-June.
I’ve been
hoping to learn a new language too over the past few years, but never stuck to
it. So, these are two things I would
like to start and have a firm grip on by the time 2013 concludes.
The bad news
is – I haven’t started either yet so this is already broken. However, this doesn’t mean I won’t do it either. I still could do with learning
both, and that is something I will be starting real soon. However I have said this before, especially
about the new language…
8. Keep
caffeine levels down
I had a high
amount of caffeine in my diet in 2012, especially if I was having an energy
drink and a can of fizzy drink in the same day.
So in 2013, I’m
limiting my caffeine drinks to one cold drink + two hot drinks. Trying decaf coffee is something I have
already done and it still has a nice taste, just without the high caffeine
boost which is a good thing.
At the
moment, I have stuck to this so far – so I’m pleased with this.
My diet has
never been the best, and is something I want to work on in the long-term. It won’t happen overnight so if I can control
this area in 2013, I will be delighted.
I can move onto another aspect in 2014.
So there you
have it, I want to make plenty of changes.
Two of these eight have already been broken, but it could be worse – it
could have been eight from eight. So I’m
relatively happy with how my New Year Resolutions are going so far. I hope I can keep this up longer-term until
the end of the year.
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