People don’t like seeing Christmas decorations when Halloween hasn’t arrived. We all hate hearing about Black Friday before Thanksgiving has even arrived especially when stores try to convince us to shop the night of Thanksgiving. Christmas ends and suddenly we’re thinking about our New Year’s Eve plans and how we can make it less disappointing than the year before. It’ll always be disappointing because it’ll never be as magical as it is in your brain. Everyone makes New Year’s resolutions, including the people who say there New Year’s resolution is to not have one.

The problem is the majority of us don’t keep them. For most of us, January is cold, we’re still broke from Christmas, and goddammit, every treadmill at the gym is taken up again. We decided on that one special night when we countdown to the new year that the next will be different but different can be difficult. So instead, let’s just start our New Year’s resolution now that way when January 1st hit we’ll already be on track during the regular days of our lives instead of making promises we can’t keep on the tail end of the Holiday season. Here are some of mine.

• I’ll either figure out how to “fake it until I make it” or just give up on faking it entirely and dedicate endless amounts of time researching on how just to make it.
• I’ll keep the words in mind “You can only control yourself” whenever my life feels out of control.
• I’ll completely shut off once a week. Desktop, laptop, tablet, television, and smart phone completely turned off. I’ll write in notebooks and read on the floor if I have to keep my devices out of view.
• I’ll take a walk once a week and not to work out or lose weight but just to be outside.
• I’ll say yes just as often as I say no and vice versa.
• I will go to BookCon, NY Special Edition, New York Tolkien Conference, and New York Comic Con.
• I will find, pitch, attempt, or whatever I have to do to find some freelance writing work. It’s something I have to try to do.
• I will go to Madison Square Garden.
• I will go to a stand-up comedy show. Not just some random night at Carolines but for a comedian who is touring that I love.
• When I go to BookCon, NY Special Edition, New York Tolkien Conference, and New York Comic Con I will say hello and talk to new people.
• I will think better of myself.
• I will only buy one book after I’ve read three I’ve never previously read.
• I will buy, take care, and love that Russian Box Tortoise I’ve wanted since 2007.
• I will write every day. Five of those days will be for four hours each day.
• I’ll give up coffee for one month, maybe two, and deal with the caffeine headache.
• I will write and submit a short story, even though I hate short stories.
• I will follow and comment on someone’s WordPress blog including someone who follows this one.
• I will fill at least four notebooks front to back.
• I will allow only ten minutes to take it personally when friends and family criticize my book or just plain don’t like it.
• I will have a designated nap day. Maybe I should combine nap day, walk day, and the day I turn off devices?
• I will rewatch Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, and Scrubs.
• If I have a bad day I won’t eat unhealthy food to try and reassert control over my life. I will eat, I don’t know, too much asparagus or something?
• I will make a To-Do list every day.
• I will once every two weeks throw said To-Do list in the garbage and not do any of it.
• Stop reading bad news and using excuses about “staying informed.”