Welcome to 2019. Everyone got their goals and resolutions ready? Alright, we can begin now.
We Suck at Holidays
How did you do over the holidays? Did you recharge? Did you pretend to work like I did, only to be distracted by cookies rolled in powdered sugar and Cyber Monday sales that lasted until the ball dropped?
I’ve noticed more and more that people take vacations or completely close their offices from Christmas to New Year’s Day. I’ve also noticed a lot of people going into work dreaming of warp speed productivity only to be stifled by Christmas Cheer and the rest of the world is on a week-long siesta.
But still, many of us pretend to be planning for the new year, clearing out our inboxes, making lists and checking them twice (oh sorry, that’s Santa). No, we make lists and charts and then forget about them on or about January 17th at 3:07 pm. Then, it’s business as usual.
Here’s an idea. Let’s shut down for the holidays. Let’s turn it all off and enjoy life. If you work in the medical field, retail or hospitality, cover your eyes as this may not be possible. Yeah, yeah, I know…life isn’t fair.
Wait, you completely disconnected and didn’t work for a week? Congratulations. You are my hero. Carry on with your bad self now.
GOOOAAAALLLLL!
The rest of you, let’s make this a 2019 goal, one that we actually keep. You have 300+ days to make a plan, talk to your employer and figure this shit out. No more pretending. No more half-assing our work (also known as browsing Amazon and Instagram) for a handful of days in the ghost town we call an office (or your kitchen table). Let’s take some time to unplug and then, come back to reality in 2020.
Oh and what about all those other goals and resolutions we made while nibbling on candy canes and Hannukah gelt? You know, the ones to completely reshape your life, lose the equivalent of a Prius in body weight, and win the lottery? Keep at them. And if you fail, or simply choose to not remember you set them, so be it. At least you tried right?
Keeping Up with The Kartrashians
Personally, since I’m struggling with what I want to be when I grow up, I didn’t set any goals, but rather set three words. My words are Focus, Frugual and Flow. They deserve a post of their own, but I want to touch up frugal for a moment. A large number of my friends (and not just the Millennials) are choosing a more simple life – minimalism. It’s the buy less, do more mentality. We all have a lot of shit in our lives, do we really need to buy more? Studies have proven that people get more joy from a vacation than buying an expensive car. But who needs studies? If you want the car, figure out how to get it. If you want to cut back on spending or accumulating, then do it. I’ve chosen frugal because I’m a bit of an Amazon addict and I don’t always really need to have “it” right now. Let’s see how long that lasts. Anyway, this is a long-winded way of saying, chose goals or live your life the way you want to and not based on what “social media” is doing.
Put the Internet Down and Go to Work
If you are reading this, it’s because you are procrastinating about doing something else. Stop. Right. Now. and go…
Happy New Year! Remember, everyone has shit. Be a good human and you’ll do just fine.