It’s been said before, but a year is a ridiculous amount of time to make a resolution for. I can barely think a week ahead, personally. If I did make any resolutions at the start of 2014, they are long since forgotten and superseded by the actual year, which was far too full of searching for school uniforms, navigating train delays, watching Orphan Black and scouring London for edible gluten-free bread to allow any time for the relentless programme of exercise, self-improvement and carrot sticks that I might have planned.
No, the time to make resolutions for 2014 is now – three days before it goes away forever. Like undergraduate essays, some things can only really happen on a last-minute deadline. So the question is: what didn’t you do this year that you can do by Wednesday? For example:
- You can’t acquire a habit of exercising in three days. But you can download a running app like TempoRun, which motivates you using your own music, or Zombies, Run!, which motivates you using the desperate groans of the undead.
- Who have you been meaning to forgive, compliment, or announce your undying love for? Do it on Jan 1st and your communication will be buried under the weight of everyone else doing the same thing. Do it now, and you’ll get in first. (Disclaimer: the value of forgiveness, compliments and undying love can go down as well as up. Consult your inner adult and at least one trusted friend before sending any emails you may later regret.)
- Intended to watch a TV or movie series but never got round to it? You should just about have time, provided you had the foresight to take these few days off work and/or not have any children. Snuggle under a duvet, place a bucket of popcorn within easy reach, and on Jan 1st you can emerge blinking from the world of downtown Baltimore/St Mary Mead (delete according to taste) ready to face 2015 with only 99,999 shows left to catch up on. Win.
- Book you’ve meant to read? Again, you’ve got time before 2015. Or try an audiobook version – restful to the eyes, lots of free options, and can be combined with Netflix’s Fireplace For Your Home (on mute to avoid the Christmas music) for a relaxing winter experience that will leave you feeling like you’ve achieved something for almost no effort. 19th century novels are a particularly good bet, especially ones with long descriptive passages so you can have micro-naps and still follow the plot.
- Want to make the world a better place? (And prevent yourself weeping uncontrollably every time those ads with the starving children come up on daytime TV: I assume that’s not just me.) Then go here, pick a charity, donate. Or sign up for kiva.org and you can give the same money over and over. Or if donations aren’t an option, bookmark The Hunger Site and Free Rice and arrange a reminder to visit them regularly. Or sign up for local volunteering.
- Have a vague desire for self-improvement or to generally make life better, but short on actual plans? Some quick ideas:
- Check free things to do near you (e.g. Time Out’s guide to free London, pick one to do, pick a day to do it, and stick to it.
- Join meetup.com, search for a group to join, and sign up to one of their meetings. And actually go.
- Play the Wiki-Link Game until you’ve learned something you didn’t know.
- Write to a local politician about something that matters to you.
- Use a site such as Supercook to identify a recipe you haven’t made that uses ingredients you already have, and make it.
- Think of one nice thing you could do for someone you know: look after their children for an hour or two, help them declutter their bedroom, lend them a book they think you’ll like. Make the offer. Don’t worry if they don’t take you up on it, and leave it open for the future.
- Think of one nice thing someone could do for you, and ask for it. Seriously. People usually like being asked favours, if they’re not put under pressure about it.
- Write a review of a book you like by a little-known author and publicise it. Link to a blog post you’ve enjoyed. (I’m not hinting. Fine, I’m hinting, but you can pretend I’m not.) Back a crowdfunded project you like the look of. Join Arts Emergency. Do something to support people who are creating things.
- Write a limerick, haiku, sonnet, amusing tweet, flash fiction – something short. If you enjoyed that, aim to do it weekly, then daily.
Am I following my own advice? Well, one of my Old Year Resolutions is to write one more blog post before 2015, so… yes. And I’ve achieved it simply by telling other people to do things. Now it’s time to dig out that Sopranos box set, eat some popcorn, and work out how to write a pithy, sounds-a-bit-profound end to this post. I’ll come back to that. Maybe next year.
