For some reason the turn of the new year always brings an exciting aura to planning, setting goals, and looking ahead to what you want to achieve. Humans, myself included, must really like beginnings. That feeling of starting fresh with a clean slate is invigorating, even if the only thing that changed was the last number at the end of the date.

So I will follow suit and put my goals into writing so I can revisit this very post when 2024 rolls around. One important aspect I want to highlight along side calling out each of my goals is how I am setting up systems to help me achieve them. My team at Lucid is currently reading Atomic Habits by James Clear and he is really big on systems:

"Goals are good for setting a direction but systems are best for making progress." - James Clear

So with that, here are my goals for 2023

Life Enhancements

🗃 Continue to improve my organization ️

I took big strides in 2022 with removing clutter from my room and desk. The largest improvements were my digital organization though. I finally bought a hard drive that I offloaded so many photos and videos too after deciding which ones to delete and keep. This was essential for me because the big mess of files on my devices really is a blocker for me to go out and create content.

This is definitely still a work in progress for me, and in 2023, I want to continue to put my digital files into the right place. I also want to start tagging certain photos and videos more so I can easily find more of what I need. Lastly, both with digital and household items I want to remove more clutter. I already have a box in my room ready to be filled with donations to local thrift stores.

📚 Read more books! (20)

I have read a fair amount of improvement/productivity books over the past year and I really have learned so much from them. I also have gotten more into some fiction series and have found them really entertaining. Because of this I really want to read more so I am setting a goal to read 20 books this year. Here are some steps I am taking to help me set up a system to achieve these goals:

• Put more effort into my Goodreads account - This will let me track what I have read throughout the year and I can see what my friends are reading for inspiration! Give me a follow if you want to track my progress!
• Utilize my Kindle - Really been enjoying my Kindle as it makes it so much easier for me to read. I take it with me on all my travels and it sits by my bedside at night.

🚴‍♂ Do some kind of physical activity 3 times a week

Working out has always been a hit or miss for me because I have never been able to enjoy weightlifting at the gym. That was the default for most people working out, but I simply do not enjoy it as much. So I am going to stop kidding myself and focus on activities I actually enjoy. These things include soccer, skiing, swimming, hiking, walks, and even a new found sport - pickleball. I also am very very interested in getting into cycling so I might give that a shot this year! Here are some of the systems I am putting in place to help me achieve this goal:

• Start using Strava - Strava is essentially the social media for workouts and I have a few friends who use it regularly. It's really cool to see what everyone is up to on there, and I know if I use it more I will have more motivation to exercise. Follow me on Strava!!!
• Investing in a smartwatch - I definitely am not a person to recommend going all gung ho and buying expensive gear you may not use. However, I made this investment so I can get more stats on my various workouts because I am a major data nerd. This will add more accurate readings to my Strava workouts when I track them, and make the experience overall more enjoyable for me!
• Get friends to join me - Living in Salt Lake, I thankfully have a ton of friends and coworkers who are also into my various outdoor hobbies! Making plans with a friend certainly makes it harder to back out, and makes the actual exercise much more enjoyable. Shoutout to my pickleball partners this past year!!

Content Creation

🎥 Make 2 YouTube videos a month I am proud of

Consistency is key when it comes to growing an audience on YouTube. This last year I posted around 40 long form videos!!! Really happy with what I was able to do, but it was kind of a lot for balancing my professional job as a data analyst, YouTube, and my social life. At times I felt like I was churning out videos just to do it, and I don't want to compromise on quality. I want to be proud of every single piece of work I put out so this year I am making a few changes. Some systems I have or plan to install include:

• Fine tuning up my Notion board to house videos ideas and planning
• Picking a consistent days of each month to target uploading.
• Removing unnecessary lenses and dialing in my gear so it is easy to create.

📸 Improve my photography

Now that I have a camera and lens that I enjoy using I want to continue to take more pictures and improve my photography! This goal is quite broad so to actually make it measurable I want to write a short blog each month highlighting the picture of the month. This will give me 12 photos that I am really happy with that I can recap, and maybe even print and frame at the end of the year

Adventure

I have so many travel aspirations from seeing more of Utah's state parks to getting to another country. Admittedly, I have my adventuring setups and processes pretty dialed in, whcih makes it easy to hit the road and explore nowadays. These goals focus less on the system and more on the destination itself.  Here are some of the main places I want to highlight and commit to.

⛷️ Ski outside of Utah at least once

I have fallen in love with skiing since moving outside of Utah and I want to try and get outside of Utah to explore one new resort for a weekend. I am leaning towards Sun Valley or Jackson Hole at the moment.

🗻 Backpack or hike Mount Timpanogos

Mount Timpanogos, or Timp as the locals call it, is one of the premier hikes in the area. In the early summer there are beautiful wildflowers, and you can often find mountain goats near the top. I have yet to check this off my Utah bucket list, and am itching to get up there.

🪨 Get to the Grand Canyon

This is one of the closer national parks that I have yet to see first hand. By next winter, I hope to have this checked off my list. I might even feel really adventurous and hike the Rim to Rim trail, but that would be a strech.

Conclusion

Hope you enjoyed reading about my goals and how I plan to achieve them. I look forward to checking back in on my progress periodically! Lastly, I want to wish you all a kickass 2023! Best of luck on hitting your personal New Years Resolutions!

Interested in following along with my journey more or connecting with me? Make sure to follow me on my socials!

Until next time!

-Hawkin