I’ve kept exactly one New Year’s resolution in my life. One year in high school, I vowed to make my bed every day. I’m still pretty good about doing it on the mornings I don’t go to the gym before work. Other than that, my resolution track record is not great.
This year, I want to try something a little different (for me). Just like a million other bloggers and Instagrammers, I’m choosing a word to focus on this year, rather than one hard and fast resolution. I’m incorporating this word into my life in multiple ways, all with micro-steps that will, hopefully, make failing pretty difficult.
So, without further ado, let me introduce my focus in 2020: investing.
My focus on investing this year is a reflection on how much time and effort I put into working and saving in 2019. I spent a good part of last year feeling burned out, thanks to a lot more freelance work than I should have committed to and more weekends away than at home.
While I love being busy, last year felt like being busy for the sake of being busy. I never felt fully present. I was either at home writing for a client while battling FOMO or spending time with friends while stressing about getting everything done for the end of the month.
In 2020, I want to focus on thoughtfully investing my time and money into things and experiences that make life better, not busier.
Investing in My Skills
I love working. That’s part of the reason it’s so hard for me to see burnout coming, even if everyone around me can spot it from a mile away. This year, instead of spending all of my creative energy on other people’s projects, I want to save a little bit of it for myself.
I’m excited about investing in these professional-ish skills in 2020:
- Learning basic Photoshop and Lightroom skills
- Opting for manual camera settings once in a while
- Writing for fun, not just because it’s on my to do list
- Upgrading and expanding my blog’s footprint
Investing in a Home
This is a big one! It’s also a big reason I said yes to one or two too many projects last year. It’s going to take a lot of time and energy (and money) to find the house that becomes our forever home but I’m really, really excited to tackle this investment in 2020.
Investing in Experiences
In 2019, we didn’t take a real vacation. There were a lot of wonderful weekends away, but they’re just not the same. We’re in the midst of planning our first week-long vacation since our 2017 trip to Costa Rica and it feels so good.
We’ll watch more than a few of our favorite people say “I do” this year and I want to have the time and energy to truly enjoy these celebrations. The same goes for concerts, brunch, beach days, family time and a lot of other things I wasn’t 100% committed to last year.