2021: Resolutions, Goals, and Plans

DISCLAIMER: This post is not sponsored by Notion.

2020 was a crazy year for many people. Between the global pandemic and the political situations in the US, it has been quite stressful. For me, however, I've had the most personal growth in 2020. I had low points and high points but overall I feel satisfied with where I am. I am far from perfect, but I love myself and I'm able and willing to learn from my mistakes. This brings us to this year and my goals, resolutions, and plans. I had a lot I was going to do last year but I experienced a lot of change that threw everything out of balance. So this year, I have made goals that I believe are more realistic and doable. Since I am planning on going to university full time this fall, I also considered my workload and schedule when I made them. My resolutions have smaller goals to help me achieve them. For instance, one of my resolutions this year is to be healthier, and one of the goals for that is to run a mile in 8:30 minutes. Another resolution is to improve my French but my goal for that is to test at the A2 Level. Goals need to be measurable and specific so that's why I use those to help guide my resolutions.

I use Notion to help me organize my life and in this case, my goals. It's really simple to set up and get to work right away with. My goals are organized by category and where I am in my progress of getting them done. I also have a habit tracker that I like to use to help me stay on top of things. I've kept it really simple so it's not overwhelming and I don't feel too disappointed if I don't check every box.

As for my plans this year, I will be officially going off to university if the circumstances allow it. And since I'll be away from my family and experiencing college life, I want to make sure I'm extra prepared. That's where the financial, travel and life wiki templates are useful. I can make checklists, budgets, and organize my links. It's critical that I'm well set up this year before the summer so I can be prepared for full-time college. But these are only examples in my life, let me explain how you can be prepared for 2021.

Step One: Create Your Resolution

This is where it all gets started. It doesn't have to be specific or even realistic in this stage, it just has to be an idea of something you want to do. So your resolution could be something like "become more cultured". Now that's very vague and it varies from person to person, but all you have to do is figure out what it means to you. When that has been decided, you can move on to the next step.

Step Two: Determine Your Goals

Once you have decided what your resolution is, you can create more specific goals to help you achieve that resolution. For instance, your goal can be "read one classic a month" or "watch 5 plays". It really depends on what you're interested in but it has to be done by you.

Step Three: Work on Your Plans

Now, this isn't technically a step three but more something that should be done alongside steps one and two. You don't have to have big plans every single year, but it's good to have a general idea of what you want to achieve. Some plans may seem too big but it never hurts to see if they're possible. This could be the year you decide to take that advanced class, do something new that scares you, or start a new project. Take the plunge and see what journey this year takes you on!