2009 Resolutions for the New Year
Focus
I produced quite a bit stuff and exerted a lot of creative energy last year, but my energies were scattered across all sorts of experiments—Philadelphia Sheriff Sales, quickerly, tinydb, Spreadmob, Swipestats, Convomonitor, Layer Six Labs, blogging, tweeting, and reading. Next year, I want to focus this sort of energy on one or two big ideas.
Delete the adjectives
I can’t believe how much you can improve your speech and thought with this exercise: don’t use adjectives. Start by deleting adjectives from your writing, then try deleting them from conversation. You may find yourself speaking less, using more metaphors or analogies, or sounding like a poet.
Devote more time to girls
In 2008, I spent a lot of time networking with business / industry folks (feels like 90% dudes). In 2009, I need to take a break from drinking scotch with tech buddies to meet some of the lovely women of NYC.
Visit Argentina
I’ve been planning on going for some time, but have kept postponing. I will go this year.
Help move bit.ly towards ubiquity
I want to see bit.ly inside of Gmail, Facebook, Instant Messenger, Twitter, Outlook—anywhere people go on the internet. I want to see bit.ly on iPhones, Blackberries, and Android phones—any device people use to connect to the internet.
Start practicing guitar again
My guitar is in Philly. I need to retrieve it, get the action adjusted, put on some new strings, and find some teachers on Youtube.
Encourage friends to publish
This past year I have written more publicly than I ever have before—I’ve learned lots, both through feedback / conversation and also simply by taking the time to collect thoughts and write them down. I want all my friends to enjoy the web conversation as much as I do. Publish, friends!
Experience more live music
Two performances that made me move this year were Stevie Wonder and Angelique Kidjo. I’d like to find similarly inspirational / groovy music on a smaller, local scale.
Consume less
Eat fewer calories, drink less alcohol, use fewer plastic bottles, waste less electricity, donate/sell old books, buy less stupid shit.
* * *
I think this is my first New Year’s Resolutions blog post, which amazes me. After a year of pretty consistent blogging, it would seem strange not to publish my resolutions and I can’t believe I haven’t done this before. Hopefully by publishing, I’ll be held accountable for this stuff by my friends and perhaps will inspire / remind some others to think about the upcoming year.
What are your resolutions?
Comment or reblog with your list!
[ update: lots of people have commented on the “delete the adjectives” bit—fyi, got the idea from this blog’s title: http://scout.tumblr.com/ ]
