I don’t like to set specific goals, as they tend to have the opposite effect on me. I just want each year to be better in some way than the last one.
Here’s what I wrote last year:
Let’s break it down:
- Read
- Clear my current 積読 pile
(hahaha, dream on) - Read more books than last year (32 so far compared to last year’s ~15)
- Discover more authors I like, and enjoy myself.
All in all, not bad.
For next year, I’d like to:
- Read more books than last year
- Discover more authors I like
- Read fewer books I have misgivings about. So far no book I read despite my instincts turned out to be one I enjoyed.
- Read at least one book from my 積読 for every newly bought book I read (note: read, not buy. That would be impossible)
Vague, optional goals:
- Get better at listening. This has already been quietly happening, but I hate working for it. I’m willing to work hard at reading, but listening often feels like a chore, even when I understand what I’m hearing. Anyway, it would be nice to look back and see that I’ve made some progress. Not really a quantifiable goal, I know, but that’s okay.
- Possibly start, very slowly and casually, learning Korean? I’d like my Japanese to be much better before I do that, but nothing compares to the thrill of starting a new language, and watching what previously seemed like gibberish gradually turn into understandable content. So, maybe? Or maybe not yet.
