Inspired by Chris Guillebeau at The Art of Non-Conformity, I’ve been completing an annual review for the past four(!) years. All it means is that I block out several days to reflect on the past year and plan out what I want to work on in the year to come.

On the surface, it seems the same as setting new year’s resolutions, but for me it has been much more effective. It’s helped me to:

• move to New Zealand for two years
• consistently study Spanish
• train for half-marathons
• motivate myself to socialize and make friends
• and last but not least, start this blog!

This has been a mixed year. I spent several months in an unmotivated, lethargic funk, which took me awhile to get out of. On the positive side, among other things, I’ve been learning to be more open with my friends and family, which is a huge step for me.

Here are a few of the things I’m going to work on this year:

Blogging

I’ll post every two weeks while I’m not working and then once a month when I start working again.

Get a good job in a decent city

When I’ve finished traveling in Latin America, I’ll most likely be finding a job in the U.S. I want to live somewhere with some character, rather than your average ugly, congested city. Ideally, I want to live somewhere where I can bike or walk to work, where there’s a good-sized population of people my age and it’s close to nature, with a cost of living that’s not too high. I’m very open to suggestions!

Dating

Despite starting this blog, I didn’t date much in 2015. I plan to focus more on dating, starting a month or two after I’ve moved. I don’t have specific goals yet, but something along the lines of setting up an online profile and going on at least two dates per month. Maybe I’ll make a goal of asking a few guys out or giving out my number? (This is scaring me already!)

Self-Confidence

This seems to be the main thing that’s keeping me from feeling more comfortable dating. I thought by focusing on improving other aspects of my life, self-confidence would follow. Apparently not always.

I’ll start with simple things like putting a little more effort into my appearance and improving my posture. If that’s not enough, I’ll look into something more, like a good book or online course.

Exercise

The clichéd resolution. I have a habit of becoming an abusive tyrant when it comes to my own diet and exercise habits. Either I stick to my workout schedule perfectly or I’m a complete failure and a worthless human being.

Instead, this year I’m going to focus on exercising consistently in ways that I enjoy, starting with short jogs and some yoga. It doesn’t really matter what I do or for how long, as long as I get some exercise most days. If I find myself dreading it, I’ll try a different activity.

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I have several other projects I’ll be working on, but I won’t bore you with all the details. However you decided to ring in the new year, whether it was by setting resolutions, a late night out, or by ignoring it altogether, I hope 2016 brings good things for you.