200 Goals, Resolutions & To Do List for 2019

Posted on January 2, 2019 by Joshua

I’d been thinking about sharing some New Years Resolutions about dad life and this website, and then things went crazy.

Two dudes that I’ve known for years in social media circles (Zach and Casey) had already been having a talk like this, ending with Zach (@zachbussey) challenging Casey (caseypalmer.com) to write a list of 200 goals for 2019. And because I’m a sucker who thought it wouldn’t be that hard (and who wasn’t about to stop once I started), I opened a spreadsheet and got to work too.

This list is a combo of goals, resolutions, and to dos for the new year. Some of them are easy one time things that I can bang out and cross off. Some of them are harder one time things, new project ideas, etc. And others, well, they are behavioural and habit based and they’re a 365 day kinda thing.

Note: Some of these are specific to thereviewsarein.com and it would be awesome if you want to check out our music coverage!

And some of them ask for ideas and recommendations. So please feel free to comment or tweet to me if you have any tips or anything to share with me.

More notes before we get to the list…

1) 200 is too many. Don’t try this at home. And if you do, be willing to add small, simple goals to the list.

2) Because this list is so long, I have not tried to rank these goals. They are in alphabetical order.

3) Because fun is good, I’ve replaced bullet points with emojis where possible.

Without any further ado, here we go!

200 Goals, Resolutions, and To Dos for 2019

• Adapt to changing content trends, without losing my style or standards
💭 Allow myself time to daydream
• Allow myself to take time off
• Appreciate big moments as they are happening
🆘 Ask for help when I need it
• Avoid being pulled into conversations and arguments with trolls
• Be a good brother
👨‍👦 Be a good dad
👫 Be a good partner
• Be a good son
• Be a good uncle
😀 Be happy for other people’s happiness (as long as it is not at the expense of other people’s wellbeing)
• Be kind
• Be more efficient
• Be more helpful with chores and cleaning
🚆 Be more productive on GO train rides
• Be prepared to advocate on behalf of worthy causes
• Be realistic with expectations for young Blue Jays players
• Become a better researcher
📱 Become a better story teller using Instagram Stories
• Become a more involved member of blogging communities
• Become a more polished interviewer
• Become comfortable using the WordPress Gutenberg editor
• Believe in myself more
• Bounce back faster from rejection
• Brush up on my French [Duo Lingo? Any other suggestions?]
💰 Budget better
• Build the vintage / rustic inspired hanger we’ve been planning for the condo
🕯️ Burn great candles and enjoy them [Tell me where you buy your wood wicks!]
🏀 Buy a basketball and play with it at the park
• Close tabs when I’m done using them
🎤 Co-host our 10th Movember challenge karaoke fundraiser
• Collaborate on content with great people
• Commit to combating hate and lies with facts and compassion in lead up to Canadian federal election
• Complain less about my grey hair
• Continue to allow myself to just enjoy wrestling content without personal judgement
• Continue to reach out to friends who may need to be reached out to
• Continue to set goals throughout the year
👨🏼‍🍳 Cook more
• Cook on a bbq
• Create a storyboard for a music video
• Create some kind of visual art
📺 Delete things from the PVR
• Delete time sucking apps from my phone
🎵 Discover new music by new artists
• Do maximum research on potential cell phone upgrade
• Do more free-form brainstorming
🧺 Do my laundry more regularly
• Do planks
• Do push ups
• Don’t be afraid to be vulnerable
• Don’t let fear stop me from trying something new
• Don’t let my ego drive my decisions or feelings of accomplishment
• Don’t spend time on ‘what ifs’
🥃 Drink good whiskey [Recommendations welcome]
• Drink less pop
🍺 Drink local craft beer [Recommendations welcome, Durham / Greater Toronto Area, Ontario]
🚰 Drink more water
• Earn new subscribers to thisdaddylife
• Earn the praise of parent bloggers
• Earn the praise of someone new in the music industry
• Eat breakfast more often
• Eat more fruit
📧 Email my MPP, MP, Councillor, etc. as needed
# Encourage more dads to use the #thisdaddylife hashtag in their social media content
🍷 Enjoy more red wine with Jess
🎂 Enjoy turning 37
• Evaluate progress more consistently
† Examine my faith and what it means for my life
• Explore more art created by women and minorities
• Find a cool piece of art at a flea market or second hand store
• Find life hacks
• Find ways to better cope when social anxiety hits
• Find ways to maximize productivity
• Get a new tattoo
• Get back to Twitter and connect with people
🚗 Get my G2 driver’s license
• Give more hugs
• Give more of myself
• Give praise to people doing good work
• Give thanks
• Go axe throwing
🎣 Go fishing
• Go for a picnic with Jess and Ollie
• Go on dates with Jess
• Go to a Blue Jays game at Rogers Centre
🤼‍♂️ Go to a WWE live event
🌽 Go to the farmers market more often
• Grow social media channels, with relevant community members
🎨 Help Jess find time and space to create her art
🎉 Help Jess plan Ollie’s 1st birthday party
• Help Jess with the home office redecorating
👰🏻 Help Jess with wedding plans
• Help others celebrate their successes
• Hit all of my deadlines
⚾ Hit balls at the batting cage
🍽️ Host dinners at home with friends / family
• Hustle harder for sales
• Improve my personal communication
💯 Improve my photo editing skills

WOAH WE’RE HALF WAY THERE // WOAH, LIVIN’ ON A PRAYER!

📸 Improve my photo taking skills with the Canon
• Improve my Photoshop skills
📹 Improve my video editing skills
🧔🏻 Keep my beard trimmed / neater
📚 Keep Ollie’s Library directory up to date
🗳️ Keep vulnerable communities in mind when making voting decisions
• Learn more about local politics, issues, and city planning (Pickering, ON)
• Learn to enjoy quiet
• Learn to love Gritty
😢 Let myself cry when I need to
👂 Listen
• Listen to more music on vinyl
• Live more actively
• Make more dad jokes
• Make more lists
• Make more video content for thereviewsarein and thisdaddylife
• Organize my digital files better
🧰 Organize my tool box
👨 Participate in my 10th Movember
• Pitch a story to Rolling Stone
• Play less Candy Crush
⛳ Play mini golf
🎲 Play more board games with Jess
• Play on the floor with Ollie
• Publish guest posts from great writers
• Purge junk faster
• Purge my closet
• Pursue learning opportunities to expand my knowledge
• Pursue learning opportunities to expand my skillsets
• Push the limits of my comfort zone and court rejection
• Reach out to people whose work I admire
• Read comic books for fun and feel young, but also take in the layers and subtext that make them great for adults
• Read more blog posts
📘 Read more books
• Read more relevant online content
📗 Read more with Ollie
• Recognize my own problematic words or behaviour and correct it
• Reconnect with good people
🎙️ Record a podcast (or more)
• Rediscover my love for crossword puzzles [App recommendations welcome]
• Refamiliarize myself with Linkedin
• Refine my pitch
• Refuse to be embarrased by the art, music, movies, and TV I like
• Remain positive and optimistic
• Remember my anniversary
• Remember that failing does not make me a failure
💬 Remember to answer text messages
🍀 Remind myself consistently of how lucky I am
• Remove toxic people from my social media life
• Replace boredom with productivity
• Reply to business emails faster when I can
📀 Review a concert film
🎥 Review a documentary
• Revisit past failures to learn from them
• Revisit past successes to learn from them
• See the Into The Spiderverse movie
🚭 Seriously consider and create a plan to quit smoking
• Share product recommendations that I believe in
• Share tips that I think will help dads, moms, etc.
🛍️ Shop local
🛒 Shop smart
• Spend less time coveting the success of others
• Support small businesses online
• Surprise Jess with something cool or sweet or something
🏊‍♂️ Swim more
🌳 Take a quiet walk in the woods
• Take a weekend trip away with Jess and Ollie
• Take advantage of new opportunities
• Take chances
• Take good advice
👩‍👦 Take more photos of Jess and Oliver
• Take more portrait and editorial type photos
• Take my vitamins
♻️ Take out the recycling more regularly
• Take the stairs more often
• Talk to my mom about faith and guiding Ollie
• Teach Ollie sports words and names
🏹 Teach Ollie to say “you have failed this city”
💜 Tell Jess I love her every day
• Tell my friends that I love them
❤️ Tell Ollie I love him every day
• Tell Ollie stories about my dad
• Tell people I’m proud of them
• Try Buffalo Cauliflower (finally)
📅 Use a calendar to track shows, interviews, projects, etc.
• Use my fidget cube instead of my phone during anxious moments of watching sports on TV
📓 Use my journal / notebook
• Visit my dad’s grave
• Visit the library more
• Visit the Royal Ontario Museum with Jess and Ollie
• Watch a big sporting event with sports fans (not in stadium)
• Work smarter
• Write / Compile / Edit an oral history
• Write a guest post for another platform
• Write a real essay
• Write a short story (fiction)
🎶 Write a song
• Write about baseball
• Write more feature stories