Obligatory Resolutions Post

Wow, I remember writing last year's post... doesn't seem like a year!  Similar feelings, with some differences.  For one, with the grace of a sabbatical I actually caught up with all my delinquent writing this year.  Philosophy's off.  I'm not behind on anything with WPH.  I'm actually on the front end of any new books and have chapters written ahead of any new contracts...

1. I come back from Germany quite determined not to live the way I was living before.  Because I wanted the curricular dream of the seminary to make it to reality (including onto Blackboard), I funneled all the design down to the details through myself the last two and a half years.  No more.  The baby is birthed and, for good or ill, the umbilical cord is cut.  I can die now...

Or at least, I do not intend to kill myself any more.  That means I resolve this year to do the administrative half of the Dean's job during daylight hours.  That means delegation.  It means a new approach to emails.  It means discipline and focus.

For example,

• manageable to do list each morning, broken down into micro-tasks of about 20-30 minutes each 
• work on one pressing but not "must do today" task a day
• only reading/answering emails in between micro-tasks

2. Last year I resolved not to try to write more than 6 pages toward writing projects a week.  Wow.  What a good idea... that I somehow forgot.  I need to renew that one.  It probably means less blogging.  It will be hard not to want to try to write more but my goal for this year is to slow down and set manageable goals.

3. Last year I resolved to read about 30 pages a week of something scholarly.  Failed that one too.  This year I'd like to say 30 pages a week of something.  It's not really a lot of reading.  In fact, it's a depressingly small amount.  But I've learned that the turtle goes a lot further by slow, consistent movement than the hare sitting around thinking about big goals but not doing a lot of running.

4. Here's a new one.  I was thinking I might start trying to read through Psalms in Hebrew this year, just a verse a day at first.  I'm not sure how far I'll get but why not start.

Do any of you have a major New Year's resolution to share?