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Goals are hard to set when you are not sure whether you have to move countries in two or five months time. Perhaps a goal would be not to panic and try to take things as they come, but this one is kind of moot; I know I can't or at least not better as I already do. Still, here a few things to aim for in 2018. I know those are not SMART goals, but so far this kind of general guidelines seems to have worked best for me.
- read 52 books, at least a third of them from the "1001 books to read before I die"-list, with the usual split between languages and gender and with a slightly more international focus than I would naturally have. This is down from this year's goal, but I expect the books be harder and longer, more (contemporary) classics than in the last two years.
- keep being active, somewhere between pilates, hiking, running and perhaps occasional bouldering or swimming. With as much hiking as possible, it makes me happy.
- buy less clothes. I know, I am repeating myself here, but well ... Who knows, maybe I'll actually manage one day?
- write papers, apply for permanent jobs, write observational proposals. All of those things without panicking and with less self-doubt. Asking for help early and not expecting that others will think me stupid when I do.
- be less of academic dating service. I love this - I love bringing people who can profit from knowing each other together. I love hearing a collaborator talk about a project they are stuck on and suggesting them to talk to another collaborator of mine who would help. There is a certain thrill in seeing a project take off this way. The problem being that others don't do much of that for me. And I'm slightly fed up helping others for fun if they don't help me out of their own accord.
- Embodiment. I know this tells you nothing, but it does tell me something. I've done a few things last year (changing my usual hair cut, getting a few massages, taking care of that one tooth ...) and the one before that (mainly being naked in Iceland) that made me feel good and I want to follow up on them.
- keep meeting friends. This year was full of visitors staying at my place; I got to cook with friends; I got to meet a few amazing people from LJ; I found a dinner buddy for fancy places in Amsterdam; I chatted a ton on WhatsApp; I played board games. Some of these thing will disappear because I'll be too far away from the people who made them possible, but I know that I can find new ones. Not too much, not too little of being social, just find the right balance. I think it really worked this year.
- keep some kind of order and organization. This does include the bullet journal (yes, it works for me!). And this article that
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twodottedlines linked to and that really resonated with me: Being Organized Is A Gift I Give Myself And Other People. So yeah, remember this.
- work towards more flow moments in my life, especially in my work. This does also mean taking time for certain things, blocking off days for a certain project. It will be harder once I'm teaching, but I have to think back to finishing the paper this summer and how it, well, flowed ... Yeah, I want more of that in my life.
- enjoy travelling.
- enjoy food. (Though this will be harder without my dinner buddy :( There aren't many people willing to invest in starry places - even though those ones are certainly not the only ones with great food. And though the general this particular bullet points means all kinds of food, but the Michelin restaurant visits will definitely be harder to get ...)
- write DW/LJ at least once a week (on average). I know why I fell out of it (just too much to do), but I also know that it's something that I need to stay sane. And also the above about friends? A lot of it would not have been possible without LJ and will not be. So: post. Communicate. Keep this connection to the world alive.
