New Year's Resolutions

It's that time again where we all resolve to do the same few things, do them diligently for the month of January, and then backslide only to repeat the process all over again the next year.

Before getting to 2016's resolutions, I'm going to report on how I did for 2015.

My 2015 resolutions were as follows:

• Exercise 20 minutes per day 3 days per week.
• Get a permanent job that makes at least $X per year. (where X was a number I privately chose but didn't disclose on the blog)
• Reduce my debt by $Y. (where Y was a number I privately chose but didn't disclose on the blog)

I failed at every single one of them. I don't really have any excuse for failure to exercise. I used to be really athletic until I got sick, but I've had my thyroid under control for a few years now, and I haven't gotten my exercising mojo back.

As far as the job goes, there just aren't jobs for lawyers anymore. So I started my own law practice in October. My income from my practice is measured in negative numbers. This led to a failure of goal three as well. At least I didn't go any further into debt, so that's something.

Now, on to 2016.

1. Exercise 20 minutes per day 3 days per week.
I'm feeling pretty good about this. I signed up for a free martial arts class at church that meets every Saturday, so that's one day covered. There's also a local pickup basketball league that plays 3 mornings per week. I also have several exercise videos saved to my Amazon video queue. If I fail at this one, it will be out of laziness, not out of lack of opportunity.

2. Make a profit of $X at my law firm.
X is slightly larger than last year's X because self-employed people pay more in taxes for the same amount of income, so I'll need to increase my income to offset the higher tax burden.

3. Write at least twelve book reviews.
I read a lot, and I like to think about all the big ideas in the books I read. I don't really have many people to talk to about the books I read, though, because I don't often read book club type books. I figure at least some of the stuff I read might be interesting to other people, and even if it isn't, writing book reviews will keep my mind sharp and active. I envision one per month, but I phrased it as 12 per year instead to give myself more flexibility.

4. Organize my apartment by the KonMari method.
The book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up has taken the country by storm this year. I have way too much stuff, and it's just sitting in bins in my closet. It's time to get rid of all the stuff I don't need. I've read the book, and now I want to put it in practice. I'm in a Facebook group of other people also doing it, so I'm going to have some moral support. It's also going to end up being one of my book reviews, and I figure I can give a better review of the book after I've used the method.

Here's to a productive 2016 full of personal growth!