How I Fared: 2021 NYRs

Hello from the other side! Of 2021, with a reference to 2015, bafflingly.

Start every day by reading. This was a RESOUNDING success, and I think I’m going to keep this going next year (but without it needing to be a resolution because the habit’s locked and loaded now). I finished the Outlander series, at least what’s currently published, and read The Truth of the Divine (sequel to Axiom’s End, highly recommend if you like sci-fi, aliens, and explorations of how easy it is to fall into extremism), Everybody Has a Podcast (except you), Somebody’s Daughter, The Box in the Woods, and I’m midway through Ace (What Asexuality Reveals about Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex) and Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents. I’ve also been rereading some old favorites in between finding a new book, and if you have any recommendations for modern (like written about/from the internet age, with Axiom’s End and An Absolutely Remarkable Thing as benchmarks) sci-fi with characters under the age of 40, hit me up!!
Take 2 full days off work a month. I was genuinely worried about this one, and it was touch and go for a minute there, but I’m happy to say it’s been a full year and I never went more than a month without at least two full days of no work (paid, podcasting, or otherwise)
Cultivate 2 non-monetizable hobbies. Painting and window-sill gardening! Looking to maybe actually fully grow something from seed next year, but we’ll see where the world takes me. I’m also just thrilled to have saved my mint plant from the brink of death which feels like it counts?? It’s not just succulents I haven’t killed yet. Quinn’s Christmas gift of an AeroGarden is one I’m really excited to try out.
Save $3k. Success! This was actually already successful mid year, since I spent several no-rent months living with my mom, an incredible privilege I’m lucky to have, especially since, for the first time in fifteen years of owning laptops, I dumped an entire glass of water on the one I bought last year and had to pay for an emergency replacement (and will probably need to pay to get as much data recovery as I can). D’oh etc etc
Make progress on my physical health. I found some salad recipes that Quinn and I have been, to varying degrees, working into our weekly meal plans, and Quinn and I developed some amazing habits for meal planning/grocery shopping in Colorado we’ve brought with us to California. My own burnout and rough schedule around my 18 jobs has kept me fairly sedentary sadly, but I’m hoping some restructuring of my schedule (and one of my new resolutions for next year, shhh spoilers) will clear up some of the emotional energy I’m currently spending to invest in exercise.
Finish a new pilot. I actually finished TWO! Only one is good though, but the other one is technically written and I think there’s something in there. We’ll see, especially if I can recover the script to the bad one because the most recent draft is locked to my destroyed laptop uh ohhh.
Submit to (or prep for) 2 writing contests/fellowships per season. More than done! 14 in total (as of Nov 10), which resulted in being a fellowship finalist for the Stowe Story Labs and a participant in their June Narrative Lab and a 2nd Rounder for the Austin Film Festival. What can I do with that? Not much, but this year of focusing on writing and submitting has taught me a lot, and I’m excited for the year ahead to continue moving forward.
Make at least one room in my new apartment feel permanent. I LOVE MY NEW APARTMENT! It’s the first place I’ve ever lived where I got to pick 100% of the furniture and layout. See photos at the bottom of this post since WordPress is bad at inserting media nicely within a numbered list.
Develop a morning routine. Without a pup my morning routine in California got a little sloppy, but I consistently wash my face, have my coffee, and read before fully starting my day, which is certainly more structured and healthy than whatever I used to do! Could use some work next year, but I’m no longer starting from scratch!
Only say yes out of interest or excitement, not out of fear. This one’s tough to measure, but I do think I’ve gotten better at advocating for myself (sometimes even advocating for myself WITH myself) but definitely I said yes to a few things out of FOMOOM (fear of missing out on money) due to the jarring loss of income and job security I’ve experienced at random in the past. Next year I’m going to work on my scarcity mindset because my status quo with work is not sustainable, and not conducive for the work I actually eventually want to be doing/open for. Also, like, having a life is kind of fun? And I’d like to spend more time on that moving forward.