2020 Intentions

Posted on January 5, 2020
Define success on your own terms, achieve it by your own rules, and build a life you're proud to live. - Anne Sweeney

Happy New Year!

I never really liked making New Year's resolutions. Resolutions seem so....restricting. My goals typically change throughout the year, so for the past two years, I've been creating New Year's intentions instead. These serve as a reminder for how I want to live my year, and I implement smaller goals throughout the months. I've listed the 8 intentions that I want to focus on in 2020 below.

My Intentions

LIVE INTENTIONALLY: In November of 2017, I read Marie Kondo's The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up. It was one of the first non-fiction books I read of my own accord in a while. I immediately started folding my shirts the "Marie Kondo way", decluttering all the *stuff* in my room, and coming to terms with the fact that I buy too much junk. Two years later, I'm still nowhere close to living in a minimalist space, but the items in my life spark joy and make me truly happy to use them. I've expanded my aim to live intentionally to my mind, digital space, journaling, and so much more.

PRIORITIZE SELF CARE: I started focusing more on self care this past year. When I started college, I spent my first four semesters being utterly sick back to back, and my health negatively impacted my academics and happiness. I felt crushed at the end of my sophomore year. Admittedly, I wanted to drop out or transfer back to a school in Texas where it wasn't so cold. Last semester (junior fall), I took a lighter course load and focused more on my health; my grades, happiness, and relationships all improved. I intend to continue to improve my eating, sleeping, meditation, journaling, and wellness habits.

BUILD MY PERSONAL BRAND: Trying to figure out who I am and what I want. Will use my website, social media, and journals to do so. Also want to try out capsule wardrobes! (but in the summer/fall because Ithaca is too cold in the winter/spring to limit myself to ~30 clothing pieces)

CREATE: I built this website during Thanksgiving Break of sophomore year. I've always wanted to start a blog/resources section, but I never knew what to write about. I was too scared of publishing anything I write unless was absolutely perfect, and that hindered me from posting *anything*. Here's to writing about what I find interesting and just posting those thoughts. Thanks to my sorority big, Caitlin, and friend, Cameron, for inspiring me to start blogging 🙂 I also intend on keeping up with my bullet journal Instagram account (@katiedocuments) and focus on creating simple spreads.

KEEP CURIOUS: This goes along with the previous intention, but also applies to my reading and academics. I missed my goal of 50 books last year by reading 35 books (however, this is an improvement from 28 in 2018), so I'm trying that challenge again. I plan on using Scribd to listen to more audiobooks, as I sometimes daydream or get bored or doze off while reading physical books (yikes). I aim to read at least 40 books that focus on scientific theories, habits, and startups/venture capital. As for academics, I intend on buckling down on my study habits (going to apply Cal Newport's advice from his blog and books) and maybe start a new venture/join something cool on campus.

EXUDE LOVE AND COMPASSION: I'm not the greatest at checking up with friends I don't see on a daily basis. I don't have most social media on my phone and almost all notifications are turned off, so I don't see if friends message me through social media. I intend on actively checking in with my friends and reaching out to new people I want to meet.

EMBRACE CONFIDENCE AND SELF LOVE: I struggle with confidence and self love. I'm pretty harsh on myself, as I'm a perfectionist. College has taught me that failures are inevitable, and being a perfectionist gets in the way. I intend on embracing confidence and self love through being consistent with workout plans, taking proper care of my skin (shoutout to Ipsy for great skincare finds), and journaling.

BE DISCIPLINED: Procrastination is the death of me. This winter break, I've been watching too much of the Flash and YouTube. I need to be more disciplined, and I intend on doing so through following my morning/evening routines more consistently (I'll add trackers in my bullet journal). I intend on using YouTube LESS to procrastinate, and implementing the 5-minute rule more. As for academics, I intend on powering through study sessions by discovering as many hidden study spots as I can find (minus Olin Library because I can never focus in that place).

Happy New Year! Here's to the start of a great decade.


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