blogcutter

Like many people I know, I'm averse to the idea of New Year's "resolutions" because I see it as setting myself up for failure. Some folk reformulate them as goals, objectives, plans or priorities, which already sounds better to me - still optimistic, but reflective of the fluid and evolving nature of human decision-making. I've chosen the word "directions", which I like because it can be as broad or narrow as one chooses to make it. Broad as in "I'm headed in the right general direction" or narrow as in directions (or instructions) for assembling a particular product. Also, the word "direction" doesn't necessarily imply that a specific milestone or endpoint must be arrived at by a specific date. So if, on December 31, 2023, I haven't exhausted the possibilities I saw with heading in one of my preferred directions, that's fine - I just take stock of where I'm at and if still appropriate, think of what else I want to do.

With that in mind, here are three roads I want to travel along in 2023.

1. Improving my French

2. Spending less time online and more time in real life

3. Succession planning (planning for this phase of my life and beyond)


I could go on at length about any one of the above but for now I'll limit myself to a few specifics.

1. When I worked for the government, I was in a bilingual position and had occasion to speak and write French in the course of my work. Since I retired, I rarely seem to use my French, even though my daughter's family lives in Gatineau and the grandchildren all attend a French school. I recently joined the Alliance Française and plan to attend at least some of their monthly "Café Discussions" and book group discussions. There are also options in terms of films, discounts on the NAC French Theatre series and other cultural events as well as more traditional courses if I decide I want those.

2. This one is a bit tougher as more and more things these days can ONLY be done online. And of course there's the pandemic. But even though I'm an introvert, I'm definitely feeling the need to go out and do things and interact with real people beyond my immediate household. I think the main thing is to know what I'm going to do each time I go online: read my e-mail, write my blog, do some specific banking or shopping or booking of appointments or research or even play Solitaire or 2048, as long as I follow some self-imposed time limit. Two or three online sessions per day sounds about right and in most cases each session can be quite short. The rest of the leisure time that I'm at home can be spent reading, listening to music, watching TV or DVDs, etc. When I have the opportunity, I'll go out with meet friends, visit museums and art galleries, go to movies and plays - whatever.

3. I debated how how to phrase this one. If I say I'll be putting my affairs in order, that could sound as if I think my death is imminent, which I don't. I do have a RIF and a will (which needs updating) and many of the things that others in my age group have but mainly what I'm thinking about here is a little more prosaic. While continuing on my decluttering journey, I really want to think more carefully about the possessions I definitely do want to keep. For example, with respect to books, I'm gathering a few treasures together in one bookcase and plan to put little annotations with them, indicating why I value them. For example: the books of short stories written by my Grade Six teacher; the ones with interesting dedications in them; the one that mentions a childhood friend; the ones written by or about family members; the ones that made a particularly profound impression on me for whatever reason. When it comes time for my survivors to sort through my belongings, it will obviously be totally up to them what they keep and what they discard - but at least they'll have an idea of my retention rationale, which may also influence theirs. I've gained a lot of useful and practical ideas from Margareta Magnusson's book on the Swedish art of death-cleaning and I understand she has a new book out, which I definitely want to look at.

So those are my self-guided directions to life in 2023, the closest I ever want to get to New Year's resolutions