“Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.” – The Great Gatsby
Here in Wales, the university school year starts fairly late, and it was only a couple weeks ago that I arrived back for the academic year and moved into my student accommodation. Since I’ve been in education in one form or another almost my entire life, a new school year always feels like the start of something new, much more so than New Years Day.
So, on that note, I decided to start my blog over, all fresh and shiny and new. I’d had a complicated, expensive website hosting plan for several years, but I’m not doing much other than posting blog updates here and there, so I decided to keep my domain and move to this simple WordPress blog. It’s all I really need.
And as with every “new year” there comes some resolutions, or goals. Here are mine:
1. Write Every Day
This is for fiction, specifically, because I’ve got plenty of academic writing to keep me busy forever. It doesn’t have to be a massive amount, just get something down every day. 100 words is better than zero.
2. Treat my PhD like a full-time job
This is important and something I’ve already started doing. I have no more traditional classes to attend. I don’t have a “schedule” at all. It’s just me and my thesis, stumbling around trying to make progress. In order to avoid the pitfalls of just staying in my pajamas in my room all day, I’ve made a goal to go into my department’s PhD office Monday through Friday and sit at my desk during regular working hours.
3. Exercise at least three times a week
Again, something I was doing already (until recently). It’s something I need to make a conscious effort to maintain.
4. Travel
I want to see the entire world, and while I’m over here, I want to see more of this part of it. I already have a trip planned to London next week for data collection, and hopefully Dublin in November, and possibly Scotland. Next year, I’m hoping to finally, finally, finally go to Paris. Maybe Rome.
5. Make the most of every day
This is a really general goal, but it’s probably the most important. What I want more than to specifically write every day and exercise at least three times a week is to look back in a year on the twelve months that have passed and know that I lived life to the fullest.