UPDATE: 21 for 2021
If 2020 turned us all on our heads and forced the world to slow down, 2021 hit me like a hurricane. If you read the 2021 recap, you already know that our family spent the better portion of the year in a move that would not end. All said and done, we’re thrilled with how the year ended and are so excited to be in one place for more than a year—which is something we haven’t been able to say since 2018! But enough about that, this blog is all about the 21 for 2021 List.
So what is this 21 for 2021? For the uninitiated, I’m a huge fan of the Happier podcast with Gretchen Rubin and Elizabeth Craft. At the beginning of every year, they create a list of x number of things to get done in the coming year. 18 for 2018, 19 for 2019… you get the idea. Along with these items, they choose a one-word theme for the year to inspire and help shape their goals.
Here’s what I chose for my one-word theme for 2021:
Like a breath of fresh air, my theme this year is O P E N. As you read the list, you’ll see open means a lot of things. Open to new ideas and ways of thinking. Open to accepting challenges. Open to the possibilities that come from the unpredictable. An open heart to those who need it most.
Once again, this word fit perfectly for the year as there were plenty of challenges and possibilities, and because of this, 2021 is probably my worst year yet for accomplishing my aims. In 2020, I committed to making a One Second Every Day video, and did the same again this year (even though it wasn’t on the official list). Here’s a look at the past 365 days, one second at a time:
For those that prefer to read, here’s how everything shook out:
1. PROOFREAD!
Meh… off to the races with a lukewarm start. I’d say I got marginally better at proofreading emails and texts before I hit send, but there is still plenty of room for improvement. I think the issue I ran into with this aim is that I never found a concrete way to interrupt my current habit to making lasting change. It’s the journey, not the destination for this one I guess.
2. Explore the possibility of a side hustle ⭐️
LOL, oh my. This one took a much different course than I had intended when I was making these in 2020. When I wrote these, I was toying with doing an Etsy for my knitting or some kind of freelance work… and then we received word that we would be moving back overseas. With the way that my full-time job was structured, I knew there would be no possible way to stay once we moved, so I ended up quitting at the end of May. In early July, one of my former bosses reached out to me about possibly doing some freelance associated with the job I had while we lived in Las Vegas. So for the rest of the year, I worked about 10 hours a week doing a side hustle… and only a side hustle. The universe has a funny way of working out sometimes.
3. Read 52 🚫
I didn’t quite make it this year, and ended with 42 books. My book blogs also fell off in April, due to the craziness of the second half of the year. I hope to resurrect this one and do better in 2022, which should be totally feasible since we aren’t moving (hooray).
4. Dedicate time to mental health and wellbeing — 21 minute daily mind dump during the workweek 🔁
This one gets a star, but it morphed a little bit pretty early on. I did the mind dump pretty faithfully in January, but after being gifted a Headspace trial from a friend, I switched to daily meditation. Admittedly, I fell off the track in the midst of moving, found my way again, and fell back off during the holidays. I see a lot of value in this practice, so expect to see a revised aim for meditation in 2022.
5. Stay informed — consume the news at least once a day ⭐️
Did this one most of the time with relatively no effort. I realized all I had to do was give myself permission to take five minutes from my day to read (and that no one would notice if I replied to an email or message after those five minutes).
6. Give back ⭐️
I ended up making 22 hats for Hat Not Hate over the course of four months. After learning that we were moving overseas, the donation deadline accelerated from August to May, and I think that helped kick my butt into gear. My favorite part of this project was that it gave me a ton of space to try new techniques (more on that later).
7. Find another creative outlet — cocktail crafting 🔁
This one was an ill fit for the year. I started making cocktails every Friday the first couple of months of the year, but quickly lost steam when it became more difficult to craft drinks with the ingredients we had on hand. Since we found out we were moving overseas in the summer, we didn’t want to buy anything we wouldn’t be able to use before we left. Then there was the whole mess of moving, living like a nomad for multiple months, and by then, I had lost interest in something that was in conflict with realigning to my health goals.
8. Say yes if you can 🚫
I don’t really know how to assess if this was achieved because it’s not a great goal to begin with. There isn’t really anything to mark progress or not and it’s too dependent on what is going on.
9. Digital declutter 🚫
Started strong and then petered out on the declutter. I did clean up my apps/home screen and my emails, but my phone’s camera roll still needs a lot of work. Please enjoy this random photo that should definitely be on the cut list.
10. Leave reviews ⭐️
I don’t buy too many things online (or in general), so this was a pretty easy task to accomplish. I’ll keep doing this one, especially for small businesses because I know it helps them the most.
11. Work on flexibility — yoga/stretching at least three times a week ⭐️
Once we were settled in Germany, I was much better about carving out time for yoga, and it’s probably because I have my own little dedicated room here! I’m not sure if I did enough to see big benefits yet, but I want to continue down this path until it’s more of a daily practice.
12. Gift knit Christmas ⭐️
I had a lot bigger goals in my head for gift knitting, but doing all of the hats really ate up a lot of my knitting time. I was able to finally make Mark the hat he’s wanted for a whole year, plus upgrades for my whole family for their Germany visit, so I’m calling it a win!
13. Take a more vested interest in finance 🚫
Nope. Didn’t happen and it really needs to.
14. Pass the Air Force PT test 🚫
Another aim that was probably for the wrong year. I racked up the least amount of miles this year since I started consistently running, opting to often walk instead in the Alabama heat and humidity. Hopefully I can revisit this one in 2022.
15. Write a book 🚫
I wish I could say that a lot of these didn’t happen because this one did and that’s just not the case. I did start a note of ideas, but didn’t work to see if any are worthwhile. Have I mentioned how time-consuming an overseas move is?
16. Understand how the camera works 🚫
I didn’t, and I really need to now since Mark got me a camera of my very own. We had two cameras in Japan since we were often geographically separated in cool places, but then consolidated to one once we return to the states. Now that we’re back overseas, we decided it would be nice to have two again, so I really need to get in the habit of taking it with me in 2022. In the meantime, here’s photographic evidence of me not using our good camera.
17. Make a new friend ⭐️
Yay! I’m really excited to put a star here! Moving to Germany has been a great transition for our social lives since a few of our friends also live here. They’ve introduced us to their friends, so I have a solid social calendar once again. I’m also excited that we’ve created a few different activity groups. I’m now in a classic literature book club, a craft night and a weekend run meetup. Connections are what life is all about and I’m happy that my cup is finally getting refilled in this arena.
18. Participate more in meal prep ⭐️
I actually cook a lot now and it’s mostly thanks to moving overseas. Since I quit my job, I have so much more energy for daily cooking. Even if I’m not making the full meal, Mark and I are at it together which makes the evening more cozy and enjoyable. I’m mostly proud of my Christmas dinner spread that I made while my whole family was visiting (of which I have absolutely zero photographic evidence). It took nearly all day, but turned out so well. I’m excited to continue flexing my newfound kitchen skills into 2022!
19. Figure out how to do stranded colorwork knitting ⭐️
As mentioned above, my charity goal helped me not only try colorwork, but discover that I enjoyed it and that it wasn’t overly difficult to do. I ended up making 10 different colorwork hats this year, with Mark’s Home Alone Hat as my crowning achievement. Next step is to make a colorwork sweater!
20. Finish updating my website portfolio 🚫
I had earmarked this for something to do while we in the middle of moving… and then didn’t do it. Good news is that I saved a bunch of bullet points, kudos and samples from my full-time job before quitting so I have everything, I just haven’t put it all together.
21. Learn German ⭐️
Ja, ich lerne Deutsch, aber ich spreche noch nur ein bisschen. I’m 340 days strong in my German learning journey (and counting), and have every intention of continuing to ramp it up in the coming years. If you’re interested in learning a new language, Duolingo makes it fun and easy. I am by no means close to fluent, but I have learned a decent amount since I’ve started that has made navigating my new home a lot easier.
There you have it! All 21 for 2021. While I didn’t do quite as well as I would have liked, I’m excited to review, revise and get after the 22 for 2022 List—coming to a blog near you soon!