22 in 2022 List
This essay originally appeared in the Monday morning newsletter on 1/3/22.
Hello 2022!
While Christmas shopping a weekend last month, I picked up this cute journal from one of my favorite shops in Lincoln Park. I loved the idea of it: each month has one overarching theme (a “primary intention”) and six actions to help you “focus on that intention and cultivate a happier life.”
For example, January’s suggested intention is to “set achievable goals,” and on one of the pages for the monthly actions, a passage reads, “a year is a long time, but if you don’t take advantage of it, those months can roll by without you accomplishing any of the things you are hoping to do. To keep yourself accountable, write down your goals for this year on the following pages. Start with big-picture goals and then add smaller, more achievable goals that will get you to that accomplishment later this year.”
I think turning over a new leaf on January 1 is an exciting feeling. The blank calendar stretches out ahead of you with ample amounts of promise and hope. But, like the journal alludes, nothing can stop the passage of time. This year will pass just like last year and the year before. Before we know it, we’ll be scratching our heads in a few months and asking, “where did the time go?”
Last week I wrote about different approaches to New Year’s resolutions because while I like the idea of resolutions, I sometimes think defining those big-picture goals can be intimidating. I want the experience to be exciting instead of pressuring, which is exactly why I love the idea of a 22 in 2022 List, or 22 things you’d like to get done in the new year.
I find it much easier (and more fun) to start with something like this. And, putting down these various things – big and small, enjoyable and challenging – on paper makes me much more likely to actually do them.
If you are looking for a forward-looking, introspective activity to do today, give this a try! You might just find that forming a list of things you want to do in the new year is exactly what you need to combat the post-holiday blues today. Anticipation is such a wonderful emotion.
It took me a few days to get to 22 things (sharing my list below in case it is helpful to see an example), but the easiest way I found to go about it was to just start a list in the notes app on my phone and add ideas as they came to me. Would love to know if you make a 22 in 2022 list as well!
My 22 in 2022 List:
- Subscribe to a Sunday paper.
- Use one “screen” at a time… trying to limit mindlessly scrolling on my phone while watching TV, etc.
- Clean out my apartment quarterly.
- Buy a new mattress.
- Write 12 monthly recaps to remember all the little things that happen over the course of a month.
- Participate in the monthly activities included in my new “Best Year Yet” journal.
- Read a classic novel… this is actually one of the activities for January from the “Best Year Yet” journal. I’m thinking about reading Jane Austen’s Persuasion.
- Read for 10 minutes a day.
- Read 50 books total.
- Plan a trip to Gainesville for a football weekend. Had so much fun with friends last year. This year I want to plan more time for walking around the campus and strolling down memory lane!
- Pay special attention to the “buffers” in my day.
- Run a long race… signed up for this one in March (love the theme) and am considering maybe running a half marathon in the fall. TBD on if I’ll be brave enough to commit!
- Once a month, send a card or letter to a friend who is on my mind.
- Indulge in a spa day with my mom.
- Road trip somewhere nearby with Chicago friends.
- Purchase a new perfume for the year.
- Start a new tradition of doing something fun on Sunday evenings.
- Invest in a nicer speaker/sound system for my apartment.
- Do something in honor of my grandma on what would be her 86th birthday in May.
- Visit Michigan State – hopefully for a football game! My cousin will be starting her freshman year there this fall and I am so excited for her. 🙂
- Go to three concerts.
- Volunteer a total of 22 hours over the course of the year.
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