Hats off to 2012! Wherever you are, I hope you’re able to reflect on the highs and lows of the year with honesty and humility. Among the many year-in-reviews and recap videos, I found this one particularly gut-wrenching- 2012: What Brought Us Together

With 2013 fast approaching, it’s list time. I love these handy things. They’re the most basic tool to getting organized when one actually keeps track of them and checks consistently. While charting course for the New Year, I’ve started to think about the ways I can make 2013 better – more authentic, challenging, and meaningful – through…you guessed it!…lists.

Charlie O’Donnell, partner and founder of Brooklyn Bridge Ventures, writes a weekly newsletter about tech events in NYC. (Sidenote: If you are new to the space and want a quick way to get acquainted with NYC tech, ‘This Week In NYC Innovation‘ is a great place to start.)

Last week, he included a compilation of list topics to think about for the new year, which I found very useful:

• Three people I’m actually friends with that I would like to be better friends with.
• Ten people I should know, but don’t.
• Five people I’d like to help be successful.
• Three things I’d like to learn.
• A physical goal (a time, a measurement, or just being able to be more bendy, less creaky, etc.)
• An emotional goal.
• Something you’d like to close the book on and move on from.
• Three ways you’re going to try to get more sleep.
• Read a book a month…list the first three you’re going to read.  (Might I suggest re-reading the Great Gatsby before summer.)
• Five people you feel like you’re supposed to be friends with, but really don’t like, that you’re going to unfriend/disconnect/ignore.
• Three things that you’ve been procrastinating on that you’re going to get done.

I like this list for its holistic approach. It takes into account practical, emotional, physical, and educational goals. There’s also heavy emphasis on improving relationships, while understanding that not all interactions are created equal (ie. friendships vs. idols vs. mentorships, even un-friendships are included).

I’m sharing a few of my goals from this list because I firmly believe if it’s not written down, it doesn’t exist. Here’s to accountability!

3 Things I’d Like to Learn This Year:

1. How to cook (I’m keeping a list of my favorite dishes and recipes to learn – open to additions!)
2. Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign, PhotoShop, Illustrator – open to help!)
3. Bible Literacy (open to fellow faith buddies)

A Physical Goal

• Be able to do this without sounding or looking like a gorilla. (Getting rid of the pooch would be nice too.)

3 Ways to Get More Sleep

1. Having a set bed time. I’m setting it for 11:30 – 7:30 (for now) which gives me a healthy 8 hours.
2. Completely turning off an hour before bed. That means, winding down and turning off the computer/TV by 10:30 pm.
3. (Hm, I can only come up with two.)

2013 Book-a-Month List (in no particular order; open to other good reads)

1. The Alchemist, by Paulo Coehlo
2. On the Road, by Jack Keruoac
3. The Education of Henry Adams, by Henry Adams
4. Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison
5. Behind the Beautiful Forevers, by Katherine Boo
6. Ulysses, by James Joyce
7. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, by Junot Diaz
8. The Influencing Machine, by Brooke Gladstone
9. Change by Design, by Tim Brown
10. Lean In, by Sheryl Sandberg
11. St Paul Trois Ch Teaux, by C. Joybell C.
12. The Power of Habit, by Charles Duhigg

3 Things I’ve been procrastinating on that WILL get done

1. Submitting to Thought Catalog
2. Exercising
3. Calling a loved one..because in this day and age, it doesn’t happen enough.

The full list of notes are currently scribbled in my TextEdit, and I’m well aware many will remain unfulfilled. Life tends to begin (how dare it), pushing these goals to the dusty, untouched crevices of the mind. Hard to say which will stick and which will be thrown to the wind. Life is unpredictable. Either way, it’s here for the love of lists.

“You may not know where you’re going, but you know that so long as you spread your wings, the winds will carry you.” 

– C. Joybell C.

Happy New Year! I wish you all a fruitful 2013 with many healthy happenings.

future inspiration personal well-being #lynne guey 2012 2013 charlie o'donnell lists NYC organization resolutions