2009 Resolutions:

Last year I didn’t make any resolutions at the beginning of the year as I normally do, my thinking being that I rarely complete even half of them and well before six months are up I’ve abandoned them altogether, only to be faced with a sense of failure at the end of the year, when I’m writing the next lot. So 2008 was my resolution free year, and I found that I really missed the sense of direction I had in previous years simply from listing the things that are important to me. Come 2009, resolutions was back, but with a twist.
This year I decided to make my resolutions very simple and indefinite. I divided up the areas of my life I wanted to work on and then listed what was important in those areas, with just one word. The idea is that I’ll gain the sense of direction from having priorities, but without the predefined boundaries of set goals. This way I can update my resolutions each month, or according to the kind of progress I’m making with them. So here are my 2009 resolutions, with short explanations of each item or area:

Qur’an:
- Memorise
- Revise
- Ahkam

I want to learn the entire Qur’an, and I have no excuse really for not knowing more. Revision is obviously an important part of the learning process, and I need to really study the Ahkam, in order to recite it correctly.


Religion:
- Pray
- Read
- Apply


I need to really focus on my prayers – improving my concentration and sincerity as well as reciting longer surahs, and praying more voluntary prayers. Reading will help develop my concentration in prayer, as well as the fact that I have advanced enough in my religion to be able to read and understand more complex subjects. Application will, I believe, naturally follow on from this.

Health:
- Skincare routine
- Sunscreen
- TV
- Fiber
- Sleep

My body is a mess. I’m a wreck. Really, I am. I have awful skin, which I did not expect to have in my twenties, and no skincare routine whatsoever. And it’s not gonna get any better as I get older, because I don’t use sunscreen, so I’m gonna wind up with leathery, extra-wrinkled skin. Not nice. The TV fits in with the health thing because I can use my workout videos, etc, and so will get back to the whole exercise thing again (the gym didn’t work out). Fiber is important in any diet, and if I eat more of it, I’ll be eating less junk. I hope. And sleep is all-important – I need a routine to get my body clock back in order.

University:
- Work
- Attend
- Pass

this, I think is pretty obvious. I’m in my last year, I have a heap of research projects with my lecturers, tutors and myself rightly expecting a higher level of understanding and study. I also need to tighten up on attendance and, of course, pass.

Friends:
- Email
- Fone
- See

I’m a lousy friend. Really lousy. It’s not that I don’t think of my friends, that I don’t care about them, or that I’m so busy that I don’t have the time for them, because I do, but I’m just too darn lazy! So I’m gonna email the ones abroad, fone the ones here that I don’t see often, and meet up with my friends that live within my area.

Crafts:
- Knitting
- Crochet
- Other

I love the sense of accomplishment from making something and actually finishing it. I can’t count the number of projects I’ve started over the years, and I can’t think of one that I actually finished. I’ve been able to knit since I was 7 and able to crochet (basic crochet – nothing fancy) since I was about 12 or 13. I’ve never ever made anything with those skills. I’d also like to do more sketching, photography – I love landscape photography! – baking, and other stuff I haven’t even thought of yet.

Life:
- License
- Internet
- Work
- Writing
- Money
- Travel

This category consists of the things that will generally improve the quality of my life. I need to get my driving license so that I can drive places I need to go to. I need to start using the internet more to my advantage, that includes everything from online banking, to looking up stuff I’m interested in, to blogging. Work is a fairly obvious improvement, especially as I’m graduating this year. Initially I’ll carry on working in translation, expanding my work load (and therefore pay check ;-p) and developing my skills. I’d like to start working on some other projects in other areas, and just figure out what I want to do with my life, career-wise. I’d also like to look into writing more, with a view to getting something published. I don’t know if I’ve got what it takes for this, but the only way to find out is to try. And I need to sort out my money. I need to start saving money (I fancy myself a little nest egg), as well as spending it better and sort out my banking. Travel is something I love, and for me it doesn’t necessarily mean leaving the country, or even this city. There’s so much to see and experience right here, for free, or for very little money. Of course, that doesn’t mean that I don’t want to travel abroad, because I’d love to, but it’s not the only form of travel.

So there we have it: my resolutions for 2009. And the reason I’m only putting them in my blog now is that I’ve spent the last month testing them out to see if they’re any good, which they are.