Reviewing my 2020 Goals

No doubt about it, 2020 was bad. It started bad, the middle was bad, and despite some positive announcements recently it’s going to still be bad at the end. The opening year of the decade was obviously drunk and should go home.

At the beginning of each year I make my list of goals that I can discard by the time the Millennium Eye fireworks have finished. In a normal year I never seem to get close to meeting any personal target I have set myself.

2020 was not a normal year.

I did a lot of personal growth.

I should read more

This has been a constant goal for the past few years and has met with failure every time. Then I went on holiday and something changed. For the first time in a long time I read. It helped there were no children around, but I sat and turned pages. Books on Chernobyl, stories about Greek heroes and a history of football.

I reread His Dark Materials, attempted some classical fiction from Milton and Louisa May Alcott, picked up digital versions of books on my shelf I’ve yet to get to, even started to dabble in some non-English authors.

Towards the tail end of the year the number of books I’ve read has dropped off thanks to spending my time following the news, but I have a healthy list of novels to focus on next year.

Make something

I spend my life with keyboards and pixels. By day, I make charts and by night I do nothing productive. I need to make more in my life and fill an urge to create something corporeal. I have plenty of options. I could restart making models or maybe learn to sew? I just need to do something with my hands that isn’t pressing squares down to make a character appear on a screen.

I’ve started to sew with Mrs V, thought about learning embroidery, and continued to master BBQ.

One hobby I did rediscover during lockdown was LEGO. Lots of Lego. Star Wars Lego, Jurassic Park Lego, Architecture Lego, Super Mario Lego, City Lego, Harry Potter Lego. I mean it’s all for the little dinosaurs in my life, but the joy of following a set of instructions semi-mindlessly for hours on end has been therapeutic this year.

Maybe write more

Nope, let’s move on

Get under 30 inches

Although I have been fitter than I have been for a few years I could enjoy improving further. Along with Mrs G I ran a 5k race, I joined a gym and lost weight for the first time. Now it is time I really sped up the health improvements and gain some muscle definition along the way. The next step is fitting into some slim waist trousers.

At the start of lockdown we brought an exercise bike and a treadmill, then I started running on the streets. Then like Forrest, I kept on running.

I’ve lost about 15 lbs since we started the year and today I threw out every medium shirt I owned as they are too baggy.

2020 was a terrible year, but I would like to think that I did not waste it.