The end of the year always has a familiar feeling to me; feelings of reflection and feelings of inspiration. The new year, although just a flip of a calendar does always feel like a fresh start. I debated whether or not to share a New Year’s resolutions post because they’re already oversaturating the Internet, and to be honest I’m not quite sure anybody cares about resolutions other than their own.
Nonetheless, after writing my 2016 Year in Review and reflecting back on all the wonderful moments 0f 2016, I saw the spaces in my personal and business life that needed improvement and thus set to work making resolutions to be better. My hope is that by sharing these resolutions I’ll be able to keep myself accountable to following through with them and maybe even inspire a few resolutions for my readers.
Stop Multitasking
This past year, I’ve consistently found myself juggling three different tasks at the same time. I’ll be sitting at my laptop researching for a new article and suddenly switch over to working on a school essay and then switch over to editing photos, etc etc. This year I want to make it one of my goals to give each individual task my full and undivided attention.
Be Conscious of Keeping a Better Posture
Being hunched over a laptop or sitting in a lecture hall everyday has caused be to develop some incredibly poor posture habits. In 2017 I want to get rid of these bad habits and work on sitting up straight more often.
Incorporate a Mobility Routine into my Workouts
Although my strength gains in the gym this past year far surpassed all goals I had set, my mobility seriously hindered my ability to push beyond any PR’s I hit. I used to be incredibly strict about stretching and maintain good flexibility when I first started working out, but it seems my inner bro has gotten the best of my lately and mobility and flexibility work has become more of an afterthought. In 2017 I plan to incorporate a mobility routine at the beginning of each of my workouts to improve my hip and shoulder mobility, as well as a proper stretching routine afterwards to maintain and increase flexibility.
Start Doing Weekly Yoga
Going hand in hand with my resolution to incorporate a mobility routine into my workouts, I want to start adding in yoga sessions to my weekly split.
Be Able to do 10 Unassisted Pullups
This has been one of my new year’s resolutions for the past three years. I want to be able to look badass doing pullups in the gym, but never seem to actually put in the work to reach this goal. This year I want to make pullup training a core focus in the gym so by the end of the year I can do 10 consecutive unassisted pullups.
Squat 250 pounds
Earlier in December I hit 2 new squat PR’s and was able to squat 3 reps at 205 and 1 rep at 225. This year I want to continue to smash these old records and hit new PR’s like a 250lb squat.
Upload 2 YouTube Videos per Month
As mentioned in my 2016 Year in Review, A&A’s YouTube channel is still new, but something I want to make a priority this year.
Publish 2 Blog Posts per Week
While focusing on pursuing new outlets such as YouTube, I still want to maintain the consistency and quality that readers expect from this website. My plan is to maintain a consistent editorial calendar and publish new, exciting content at least twice a week.
Spend More Time Improving my Photography
When I first started this website my photography skills were horrendous. I shot everything on an iPhone and used a ton of filters. Now I’ve upgraded to a real camera and downloaded programs like Lightroom and Photoshop. I want to spend a lot of time in 2017 better learning how to use these programs to edit my photos and how to take overall better pictures.
Maintain a Budget Tracking Spreadsheet
Like most people, I stress about finances. I find the only time I’m not worried about money is when I am accurately tracking it and keeping on top of my spending. However, I always find this time consuming and it never lasts very long. This year I want to maintain a budget and stick to it in order to stress less about money.
Have you made any resolutions for 2017? Comment below with your goals for the new year!
