New Years resolutions have a bad reputation. So much so that many people refuse to make them because they never come to fruition. Maybe that should read they are never able to do the work to make them come to fruition. I can't say that I am big on making resolutions but as a new year begins it is always good to hope that this year things might just be a little better than the last. In this year in particular many of us are hoping that things will be much better or at least return to the normal of our fondly remembered years like 2019 or even 2014. As we pasted through those years they may have seemed so so but compared to 2020 they were the best ever. Haha.
Getting back on track. This year I have started a clean out of my home, a two bedroom unit in the south of Sydney where I live with my wife. When I moved in I was sure that this was a stepping stone to a house but 20 years on I am not really that much closer to achieving home ownership. Also over those years I have accumulated so much stuff. What kind of stuff ? All kinds of stuff. Books and magazines, drinking glasses, endless piles of paperwork and much more. Add to that my wife moved in with her stuff as well in 2012 and you just end up with more things that you have places to store them. As a result of all that you just can't get the place clean and tidy because you don't know where to begin.
Well, I didn't know where to begin. I do now. Throwing things out. That's where I have begun. I am trying to either put 100 items away each day or throw 100 items out each day. I am going to keep doing this until I can find my home underneath the rubble. At the moment, a couple of fairly committed weeks in I have been focussing on books and magazines, today I threw out some old drinking glasses and found another pile of old bank statements and similar mail that for some reason I kept but now it just takes up space.
Why am I throwing instead of taking it to charity? I have tried that approach before and all I ended up with was a heap of bags in the hallway that I was going to take to charity. I also figure that once I get the place orderly I will then be able to regularly take things to charities. In this early phase it is all about making a significant impact on creating a clean and tidy home to live in. The method that creates the biggest impact in the shortest time is the winner for me right now.
I am at the point where whilst I can see some improvement in the state of the apartment I can also see where I am lacking. If I was to lose motivation now I would have got little from the changes so now is the time to just keep pressing on until significant change is seen. I guess this is the point where most New Years resolutions let us down. We start out full of running only to drop the ball before the implementation of a really good idea becomes something we can hang our hat on as a fantastic achievement. The next fortnight on this one will be decisive one way or the other. I will either have a significant change or just another idea that a lack of commitment allows to fade away.
What are the other challenges for the New Year? Well, firstly monetising this blog for one. Actually that's probably the wrong approach. Really I should be aiming to dedicate myself to the process of putting out good quality content and then spreading the word through social media or any other method that springs to mind.
I often wonder how fit people find the time to go to the gym every day. I suppose the answer is simple. They make exercising a top priority. I on the other hand make it an afterthought. The results are there for all to see (unfortunately).
I have made it back to the computer for another session of typing so I guess that is a small win. Looks like I'll achieve 15000 steps as well so I am off the hook exercise wise. I also chucked another hundred items into the bin. Another 20 odd books plus some more paperwork from a decade ago. Small wins can add up over time.
I hope.
Another thing I would like to do is start a podcast. Initially I was going to start a food related podcast as a companion to this blog and that may well happen as well down the line. However, I have been thinking this week that I may just have some fun with it. I am thinking of contacting a mate and seeing if he is interested in getting together on a weekly basis and recording for about 30 minutes and see where it takes us. Each week we would bring a half dozen ideas with us for topics of conversation and then we can both go away and do a little research on the topics. I envisage a glass of red or a nice beer in hand for the conversation and discussing nice beers or wines we have been buying or the latest from the cricket or the footy, or anything else that jumps to our collective attentions. I haven't as yet discussed this idea with the bloke in question but we shall see.
The biggest thing for me though, this year has got to be starting my own business in the food space. I would love to be giving you incites in six months time about what it has been like starting out on my own and creating my own little food production business. Just have to be sitting down over a cold Beer Chang in my retirement years in Chiangmai province in Thailand aged 65 and thinking of the great years in business selling mixed nut butters, aged vinegars, preserves and so much more. I don't want to get rich just pay the bills and be answerable to me. Ahh, the life that could be. Hopefully it starts this year.
Anyhow, I think that is about enough for now, until next time happy 2021, may we look back fondly.
