A New Kind of Resolution
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. Every week they post a new topic and invite everyone to share their answers. I'm so obsessed with lists - so I obviously love this feature!
Top Ten Resolutions for 2016
I was pondering my 2016 resolutions and realized that I have one main goal for this year:
Keep it simple.
During different seasons in 2015, I went through a reading funk and a blogging slump. While I hated being in the middle of them, both brought things into perspective for me. It's so easy to get caught up in trivial things - to worry about stuff that doesn't matter and put unnecessary pressure on yourself. Blogging has brought wonderful things into my life, but I sometimes have to remind myself to put it in its proper place.
I've learned so much in the last four years of blogging, and I can't wait to see what the next year will bring. I usually look forward to setting my goals for the year - to writing down specific (but hopefully achievable!) things I want to accomplish in the months ahead. But with a baby on the way, I know my life is going to change. So, I decided that I didn't want to write normal resolutions. I don't want goals and numbers hanging over my head.
If I focus on keeping it simple, I'll approach reading and blogging with the right mindset. Here's what I mean:
(1) I'll read whatever strikes my fancy, and (2) stop reading the things that don't. But more importantly? (3) I won't feel guilty if I don't feel like reading at all. I'm going to (4) focus more on reading from my TBR, (5) continue to make re-reading a priority, (6) work on buying fewer books and (7) decrease the number of books I read for review. I'll have a few specific benchmarks for those last two resolutions because of The Picky Pledge (details for 2016 coming soon!), but that's it. I'm going back to the basics - simplicity is key!
And I want to carry the idea of simplicity into blogging, too! So, (8) I'll blog whenever I feel like it - and (9) spend that time working on posts that excite and inspire me. And (10) I'll make sure I pause when deciding whether to say yes or no to blogging opportunities, events, collaborations, etc.
It still feels a little weird that I'm not deciding how many books I hope to read, what challenges I want to participate in and more. I love setting goals and being able to check them off my list! As a planner, it's just ingrained in me. But I'm excited for a more low-key reading and blogging year - it just feels right!
What are your 2016 resolutions?
I decided to not set a number for the amount of books I want to read this year and it feels weird. I just see the challenge sitting there on my Goodreads page... but I'm making myself ignore it. Also, congratulations on the baby. I just saw that news last week as I was reading your re-read challenge wrap up. I did my first Top Ten Tuesday post today. One of my goals for this year is to actually keep up with my blog. :)
ReplyDeleteLOVE this so much! I think it is a fantastic way to approach the coming year that has so many (wonderful! and challenging!) changes ahead. I'm still joining challenges this year, but I also want to keep things simple and am very thoughtful about what I commit to. And I think I've (finally!) mastered the art of letting go of stress and obligation when it comes to reading and blogging. No matter what concrete goal I do set, I am OK with revising (or abandoning) them as I go if I need to.
ReplyDeleteLove the way you formatted your resolutions, first of all. :) Last year was all about buying fewer books for me, so I definitely get that one, but I'm also trying to give more rereading a chance! Looking forward to seeing what you do in the new year.
ReplyDeleteSome very interesting ones here, Hannah. I hope you're able to achieve them!
ReplyDeleteOne World, Too Many Pages (formerly TheDonkeyInvasion)
I love your resolutions so much! I'm on board for all the reading ones and they are on my own list in some form or another. Less guilt in all areas of life including hobbies and reading! Can't wait for the Picky Pledge :)
ReplyDeleteYour resolutions are wonderful! I love the focus on simplicity. Good luck in the new year!
ReplyDeleteI love the focus on simplicity. It's great that you're recognizing the changes coming ahead and taking them into account. I admire that you're able to let go of numbers. I can't quite go that far (I still have a Goodreads goal :P), but I am trying to focus more on just enjoying reading and less on trying to read a certain number of books.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the baby on the way! I totally understand this. It's basically what I did last year (and it was wonderful). I'm trying to focus on books I already own this year as a primary reading goal of mine. There are so many good ones I already have!
ReplyDeleteOh, I love your resolutions! And I love that you just have one main goal, to keep it simple. I think that is my goal down to its simplest (hah) form. I want to get back to a place in blogging that makes it feel more like a hobby than a job, and I've started my way by putting into place some of your more specific resolutions above already. Reading by mood and blogging whenever I feel like had been goals I'd implemented back when I was in the worst blogging (and reading!) slump, and it's worked wonders since. So I'm going to be continuing down this path, and see where it takes me this year. And I especially hope they, and your other resolutions, help you too and make 2016 easier on you prepare for a huge life change! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm always late with deciding what challenges I want to do in a year- there's so many, and a lot of them sound really interesting!
ReplyDeleteI love your main goal of keeping it simple, Hannah! It's definitely something I've been working on since last year, both in terms of blogging and reading, and I LOVE seeing you and so many others feel the same way. It's just nice to do things because you want to and genuinely enjoy it, isn't it?
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