Now that the virus or viruses of January seem to have departed my body, I found the energy to do a focused look back and forward. Processing has been running in the background, but it isn’t until I put words into a summary that I can call the process complete.

Each time I consider posting this type update, I question why I’m doing it. I could just write my review and goals in a journal without putting it out in the world. Is there any benefit to you, my readers, in this sharing?

I love reading letters and diaries of those I admire. I’m terribly nosy that way. I don’t mean nosy in a gossipy way. I’m looking for bits of wisdom, for insight into why a person did what they did (e.g., why did Jefferson argue for liberty while enslaving others?).

I don’t possess enough wisdom to engender such admiration, but I might have information that may be helpful. Through the years, I’ve pieced together advice from here and there that has helped me. Helped me do what? Helped me live my life closer to my values. I get off the path constantly; these reviews help me get back to living a life of meaning.

So here I go…

(Note, in two previous posts, Goals for 2022 and Reflections on Goal-Setting, I wrote in detail about my general thoughts on goals so won’t repeat here how I use different terms like resolution, goal, and habit, and my Betty White philosophy.)

Here’s how it went with the four specific goals I posted for 2023 (the first three being do-overs from 2022):

Reestablish a morning devotional practice—As the months went by, I tried and failed and tried and succeeded, failed again, and I can say this habit is reestablished.

Weekly review of to-dos, priorities, projects, and goals—While still looking to improve, by using Google calendar and email in new ways, I have FINALLY achieved this goal.

This review matters to me because I frequently experience time-warps. If I don’t plan, then days, weeks, months can go by before I realize I’ve neglected my priorities.

Google allows you to have more than one calendar under the same account (and to share calendars across accounts). Hubby & I share one where we put our appointments, joint and separate travel, anything of which we both need to be aware (especially important as a one car/no public transit family). I also track the grands’ school and vacation days.

I have another calendar called “ideal week” filled with what I imagine the “ideal me” should do every week—walking, creating, homemaking, all scheduled at times I imagine might work. It helps me keep my priorities in view.

Google allows you to toggle which calendars display so I can see our real week and my ideal week at the same time or individually. I have the combined view set up to email me a daily agenda.

I also started taking advantage of the “schedule send” feature in Gmail. One example—Christmas day 2022, I didn’t hear from folks I expected would be calling or texting their joyous greetings. Hubby and I were home alone. I pouted. I cried.

Did I call or text? No. I sulked. A couple of days later I wrote myself an email, scheduling it to arrive on December 23, 2023. The subject line—Don’t be a brat. I told myself not to sit around like an entitled queen, that if I wanted contact, I should be the one reaching out. I laughed when it arrived and took my own advice.

November 2023 found me in the doldrums, the shorter days and gray skies glooming me. I’m going to try a targeted email for 2024 to see if it is as effective as my Christmas email was. I copied the whole of my pal Linda’s blog post, “The Yellow Light of November,” into an email that will show up October 30th. Linda loves November. I’m going to try to follow her lead.

This year I’m adding a ‘year-at-a-glance’ calendar to help in the planning department. I’m prone to postponing important projects to a ‘someday’ that never comes. I’m hoping that seeing all of 2024 plotted out will make those “somedays” turn into real days. It’s filling up fast.

Create a study—a room of my own—As noted at the mid-point last year (in My Work), this goal morphed. I chose to develop a studio on one end of our overly large bedroom instead of a study in a smaller bedroom.

This has worked out great with more changes to come in 2024. One day Hubby happened by a local school as workers carried out a desk to the side of the road for garbage pick up. It proved a perfect addition to my space.

Having my art supplies, my computer, and printer all close at hand, flat surfaces and great lighting, have fueled my creative endeavors. I made six altered books, started a nature journal, filled a sketchbook, made abstract collages, bad paintings, and wrote 33 blog posts in this space in 2023.

Yes, the walls need painting and I want to move the bed to a different room, set up a work space for Hubby (I discovered I missed him too much), and find a spot for my loom and sewing machine, but I’m declaring this goal achieved.

Keep a Commonplace book—even though I’ve decided to revamp my Commonplace book, the 2023 version proved a great success. Through it, I developed two good habits—tracking my ‘storyworthy’ moments and books read. The sections for quotations and stats (e.g., my weight) were sorely neglected. I care about having a place for quotations but tracking stats was more of a lark when I set up the sections.

Other Highlights of 2023

Freyja joined our family last February (don’t get a puppy when it is freezing outside!). She brought our elder dog, Henry, joy. Running zoomies with her made him stronger (he left us last week). Now she brings us comfort with her goofy antics and lap snuggles.
My brother’s 80th birthday party. I’m so happy he is still traveling round Helios with me.
My nearly Pintrest-Perfect reorganization of our linen closet. It gives me hope for the rest of the house.
Two “long lost” cousins found me through this blog. I was able to help them connect with other family members. I hope to meet them this summer. This is a blog-outcome I didn’t anticipate.
PT for my knees and shoulder greatly improved my quality of life.

That’s a wrap for 2023.

Goals and Resolutions for 2024

Keep a Commonplace Book—Although I called this goal a success in 2023, I want to make more of a habit of writing down quotations and poems. I’d like to organize the book in a way that will help me with research for my writing.

I decided it would be better to track books in a word-document that I can easily search. I don’t know how many books I read in years past; I was delightfully surprised to find that the number for 2023 was 73. If I continue to keep the list on paper, answering the question, “did I read that already?” will become an onerous slog through my sloppy writing.

If you keep a Commonplace Book, I’d love to hear how you use it and organize it (comment below or email anniesjourney77@gmail.com).

Keep an Art Journal—an art journal is a cross between a written diary and an illustrated one. I’m moving my “storyworthy moments” here, instead of in the Commonplace Book. I’ll still keep a written journal, the place where I moan and groan and get into details about life.

Note: In the sample pages below, I blocked out some personal stuff in the photos, but not in the actual book.

Read at Least Two Nonfiction Books a Month—Of the 73 books I read last year, only 15 were nonfiction books. Nonfiction stimulates different parts of my brain than fiction doand contributes to my creativity.

Become a Walker—This is an audacious resolution for a person with bad knees. But the knees have been doing better with PT and the benefits of walking are so significant, I want to become a walker again. I used to walk many miles every week. I will use my walking sticks and my cane. I may go slow and may not go far, but I’m going for it.

An Outing Every Week—Even though I started the year with COVID, 2024 brings an end to planning around the pandemic (for me). As the world became a safer place, we did little to come out of our COVID cave. Being retired, we have freedom we never had before to take in shows, visit museums, get out for walks during the daylight. It’s time to stop being such homebodies.

Routine leavings—grocery shopping, picking up the grands, etc.—these don’t count as “outings.” The outing has to special. Last week, we went to the Henry Ford Museum. While we spent more time driving to-and-from than we did in the museum, it was still worth it. This week, a grand opening of a new art supply store. Next week, we’ll see Jeff Daniel’s play, Diva Royale.

We will also ramp up the traveling. We’ve not done much as the pandemic wound down—partly because we were out of the habit and because old Henry was too disabled to go to a kennel. We had to use up our credits for cancelled 2020 flights by December 31, so 2024 will see us in the air. Several driving trips are also on the books.

Other Stuff—The above are specific things I want to accomplish in 2024. There are also general life goals that I’m always working on like:

Respond from values, not the moods or mistakes of myself or others.
Create a home that is comfortable and inviting.

Eating more veggies, spending quality time with friends and family, completing home projects, gardening, and improving my creative skills are general areas I’ll be focused on when I do weekly planning.

Word of the Year

2022 was my first time having a ‘word of the year.’ I chose joy. In 2023, I chose determined. 2024’s word of the year may seem odd. It is sorrow.

For the past two years, Alexa has responded to, “good morning,” with this as part of her routine:

Celebrate all that you are thankful for. Seek joy. See the joy in nature, in smiles, in love, in the little things. Act in ways that bring joy.

For 2024, I changed it to:

Live peacefully! Participate joyfully in the sorrows of the world. Figure out what that means.

As you may know, I’ve been pondering the Joseph Campbell quote, “participate joyfully in the sorrows of the world,” since I came across it last March. I wrote about it in a June post, “Joy.” But I’ve not wrung it dry. I’m on a quest to understand it more deeply. Other wise ones have expressed similar sentiments. I’ve decided not to run from sorrow, but to embrace it, to figure out how this inevitable emotion enriches us.

What are your goals for 2024? Do you disdain the notion of goal setting altogether?

Whatever your inclinations, I wish you the happiest new year.

Review of 2023 and Goals for 2024

Other Highlights of 2023

Goals and Resolutions for 2024

Forgiveness

A Quick Hello in the New Year