Goals For 2022

I used to make New Year's Resolutions, with a mix of doable and difficult to achieve tasks. The biggest for years was always “make some friends”. But I kept hitting a wall; it’s a mix of introversion, awkwardness, and living life completely oblivious to the fact that I’m autistic. It makes a ton of sense now, but I can’t say I’ve gotten this friendship thing under control.

I’m going to stop chasing the ghost of friendship and stressing myself out. I will continue using the penpal app, Slowly, as it’s my main source of socialization, and isn’t as demanding as instant chat. Plus I have met some pretty nice people through it. These interactions are often very casual, and aside from one correspondence that lasted several months and over 200 letters, short lived.

I’d also like to finish writing two other books, one that will probably be more novella length, but the other, which I’ve been working on for years and only recently settled on a satisfactory plot, will be a full fledged novel. I would’ve finished it this year, had I not gotten sidetracked by my recently finished novella (originally intended as a short story). But I should be able to finish drafting it by summer, if I’m diligent enough. Or autumn, at the latest.

And while it’s technically something I started this month, I want to get back into the habit of consistent reading. For me, that means at least one book a week, five a month, sixty a year. I have a long backlist of books I want to read, not including my ever growing collection of visual novels.

Video game backlog! I cleared most of that this year, a solid 53 out of 70, but I need to do the same for 2022. I have a habit of buying games during big Steam sales but slowed down a lot this year and actually played a few before the refund limit. I’d like to have fewer unplayed games and intend to keep it that way.

I’m a cynic by nature but I’m working towards being more optimistic. Granted, I was also very depressed and miserable for most of my life, due to my upbringing and wage slavery. Allergies and sinusitis aside, it’s been a good while since I’ve felt truly down.

And finally, I want to finish constructing the miniature bookstore I bought when the pandemic started, as I knew I would be confined indoors for a while and needed something to keep me busy…but didn’t actually start on until sometime this year. And haven’t touched for a month or two. I did all the “big” parts (shelves, base, etc), but need to make time to assemble the tiny books and other bits. I love detailed work, I'm usually too busy or tired these days.

I’ll be making status updates and using my task app to hold myself accountable. And possibly get my ADHD addressed to make the process much smoother.