“Resolutions” is really a very big word, my goals are not very ambitious. Smoking/food habits/fitness are pretty much under control, it’s an ongoing improvement process with no clear end result. In 2008 I’ll aim to improve my productivity and improve the quality of my spare time via these:

1. Take at least 2 weeks of vacation (preferably away from Toronto)
For most people vacation is something they take for granted, not something to strive for. We find it hard to take 2 weeks off for a “formal” vacation every year. Vacations take time to plan, so there’s the laziness factor. Then, there are “control freak” issues since I’m just unable to let things go and want to be there for the clients (which has really spoiled them to an incredible degree, don’t recommend it). And third, since we have the luxury of taking time off whenever we need it, usually 2-3 days, burn-out creeps up slowly, not on a regular annual basis.

2. Watch TV maximum 2 hours per day
This includes watching DVD’s which is what I’ve been doing lately. Waiting through the commercials is such an aweful waste of time. Even if I’m usually in a listening mode and rarely sit still to watch anything, 2 hours per day of TV means about 30-40 minutes of commercials, or about 180 hours of commercials a year. That’s more than a typical work month!

3. Email less but with more substance
Email eats up 1-2 hours of my time a day, and I don’t get paid for it. I’m getting email-weary. Calling and chatting is much more pleasant and somehow takes less effort. And I think it also builds better relationships and more meaningful connections than email unless you take time to write out deep conversation-style letters.

4. Be kinder to people and complain less
Yes, this is also a productivity goal in a way.

“I have learned through bitter experience the one supreme lesson to conserve my anger, and as heat conserved is transmuted into energy, even so our anger controlled can be transmuted into a power which can move the world.” — Gandhi