Last year, I briefly mentioned the concepts of themes in a trial on journaling, one borrowed from the YouTube channel CGP Grey. The gist is at times of inspiration, such as the start of a new year, a better model for goal setting is to start with a high level concept to give direction rather than specific resolutions. With the time of resolutions upon us, I want to take a stab at setting a theme for the year ahead. Over the last few months, I lost momentum with a ton of habits and practices and so I’m currently following the theme “Foundation.”
Themes Versus Resolutions
A few years ago, I started one of the few trials I still stick to consistently. A weekly review that focused on my progress in a few important categories. The idea was to pick a timeframe that was easy to look back at and give myself grades based on performance in those important areas. Rather than a specific resolution, picking areas that I want to focus on throughout the year fell somewhat into Grey’s concept of themes.
Themes serve as a guiding idea to determine how time should be spent. Themes should have three elements, broad, directional, and resonant. While specific goals can be associated with them, the theme itself should be a general concept that can adapt specific behavior as time passes, but still maintain the desired direction. To quote the video, “In picking a theme, go with something that has a nice broad name for the general direction you want to navigate your life.” As time passes, the intention of a given theme may change. The timeframe of a year leaves a lot of room for change, and Grey even suggests having themes for shorter periods like seasons, but in the spirit of the New Year, something always jumps out.
This broad idea serves as a compass to follow when making decisions. When a decision presents itself, the theme can serve as a deciding factor into which choice to make. It can also serve as a general litmus test for what choices I even regard as necessary.
To illustrate with an example, let’s look at “year of health” versus “I want to run three times a week the entire year.” A year is a long time and a lot can change. An injury can prevent consistent practice. Weather or outside conditions may make practice dangerous or unwise. It can even be as simple as running just doesn’t give the spark it once did. Anything getting in the way of that specific goal set months, weeks, or even days ago fails to stick and the feeling of failure sets in. With the theme of health however, running can just be one part of the year. The goal can be to focus on recovering from that injury or to find a new exercise routine that does bring the joy running once had. Maybe even as time passes, fitness was never the big problem, so the focus shifts to correcting a bad sleep schedule or diet. The theme is able to connect to a wider range of behavior that carry our runner to their desired outcome, a healthier life.
To reference the video again, the most important element is that the theme is resonant. Over the last few weeks, I came up with a number of ideas for what to pick as a theme for the year. After all the brainstorming, I kept coming back to the word foundation.
What Does Foundation Mean?
With my eyes on the year ahead, I want to focus on two different areas: my regular habits and really starting just one long term project.
There are a few projects I’ve envisioned getting started over the last few years, but none ever got the full effort they really deserved. Rather than the long, difficult challenge that I knew that should have been, I’d get started, not see progress, and then move onto something else. Instead, I want to focus on getting the basics in order. This will range from habitual practice to tangible progress. The former of those I feel is more critical.
Consistency is something I’ve frequently struggled with over the last few years, but I’ve done a terrible job in the last several months. Getting myself regularly working on a single thing for a sustained period has been difficult. I’ve shifted from jumping between projects to working on nothing at all. Finding the right cadence of practice is critical for making progress.
In terms of the actual progress made on this currently undecided project, it will largely be contingent on the nature of the project. I have a few ideas in mind including a video game, tabletop RPG modules, and a fantasy webcomic, but all of which exist as a vague gesture of an idea. Meditating on which one feels best for the theme will be a focus on the next few weeks.
One major habit I’ve fallen out of is writing. Even the last few weeks, after announcing my return, were chock full of procrastinating and jumping drafts to find an idea I felt I really wanted to share. However, I do have a plan to work on this already.
Trials for Foundations
One of the foundations I want to restore is the act of trials driving the content for my posts. I may still find time to take breaks from trials, similar to last year, to write on broader topics. However, this time around, I want to try something a bit different, to plan and announce a few of the trials I’ll be doing ahead of time.This isn’t an exhaustive list of, but some of the ideas I have as of now.
While the next few posts will be focused on elements of my personal philosophies, I’ll also be starting the first trial in a long time. It’s a simple one but re-establishes elements of another CGP Grey related series of posts, “Spaceship You.”
After moving in May of last year, I slowly started to lose elements of focus in the design of my living space. The bedroom I moved into is much smaller than before, though the collective space is used much more. The biggest issue I run into now is my work and play are at the same desk. Previously, I had two separate areas for work and play which made sitting down to write much easier. To get myself working consistently, I’ve found that getting out of the house completely is about the only solution. Thus, trips to the library have been very productive. I want to turn those trips into a more concrete part of my schedule.
In a completely different corner of my interests, I also plan to finally pick up an idea I’ve had for many years, learning to play the harmonica. An interest grew a few years ago to play music again, and the simplicity and portability of the instrument stood out. By simplicity, I mean more in the sense of it’s overall design, not necessarily the practice of playing. Only time will tell how complex or simple that is.
Trying Out Before Buying In 