5 Things I Want to Do In 2020
Welcome to a brand new year, friends.
I will admit 2019 wasn’t great and the first few days of 2020 were pretty rough on their own. In the last few weeks, I even contemplated not updating the site anymore. It becomes increasingly hard when it feels like everything I create for work isn’t great and those feelings begin to creep into something I have complete control over…my blog. And at the end of the day having so much air sucked out of your balloon all the time, it can just be discouraging. Such is life in a pretty creative field I suppose. But after talking to some people I love, they changed my perspective on it, and here we are.
I don’t like “resolutions.” I think they are cliche and they are so incredibly easy to give up. The expectation is so great and even with making slight tweaks throughout the year it’s just easy to end up feeling like a failure. So instead, I make lists of things I want to do. That way if I do it, awesome, and if I don’t, there is always next year. One thing I really want to manage in 2020 is the creative balance I talked about above but there are some other things I’d like to do this year.
I’m a little nervous for 2020, but if you’re reading this, I’m glad you’re here. Let’s make 2020 better together!
Try a Sound Bath
I love the sound of Singing Bowls. After my trip to Sedona, I downloaded an app that has an entire catalog of them for meditating. But, I really want to attend an actual Sound Bath. A Sound Bath is a technique where sounds are used for healing, relaxation, and meditation. It’s great for when stress is bottling up. Sounds vary from Singing Bowls to gongs and chimes in alternating tones in order to draw your mind away from your thoughts (often a barrier to meditation). It seems so intimidating, but I found a class locally and now I’m just working my courage up to actually get there.
Make Pasta From Scratch
I think the last time anyone in my family made noodles from scratch Bill Clinton was president and it was merely child labor for a Christmas Eve dinner. The pasta making tools my family brought from Italy are long since forgotten. I’ve been thinking about trying to make them again for a while now. I plan to find my great-grandma’s recipe cards, get some new tools, and get to work. Homemade pasta for everyone!
Travel Somewhere I’ve Never Been
In 2019, I finally got to travel to some places. I visited somewhere I’ve never been, Sedona, and I made a couple of trips to Disneyland (where I haven’t been since I graduated high school…don’t ask how long ago that really was). But, there is such a giant world to explore and so many places I haven’t been to. I have a huge list of places I’d love to go and the beginning of a new decade seems like the best time to lay out the map, throw a pin down, and go.
Take a Yoga Class
I practice yoga at home as part of my daily routine (only lately when time permits). Recently, while looking for guidance and clarity, someone suggested taking it outside my house to a class. Do you KNOW how intimidating that sounds?! Just like the Sound Bath, I’m slowly working up the courage to just do it. Not only would it be good to get out and do something new, but it would challenge me.
Maintain a Healthy Digital Space
On New Year’s Day, I mass deleted thousands of emails from my inbox. Thousands of emails for sales I’ll never shop, restaurants I’ve been to once, and newsletters I didn’t even sign up for. For 2020, I want to undo this. I only want to be receiving emails I’m going to open and that make my life better. As someone who crafts marketing emails, I know how infuriating it can be. With social media, I intend to use it wisely and stay away from things that can be triggering. It’s okay to mute or simply unfollow people if it’s doing more harm than good. I also need to be better at not running to Twitter with my every thought. Screaming into the void is fine…but only once in a while.