In taking a look at my plans for the new year, it is time to talk about last year’s goals. I did well, completed 60% of my goals, and made progress towards others. But I have also been doing a lot of reflection since becoming a dad. I have watched priorities shift and seen how I am capable of making time for the things I really want to do.

The internet seems to believe that everyone has priorities — often a listful — but only the top 3 items are regularly accomplished. For example, people with fit bodies (i.e. not me) have fitness high on their priority yearround. For others, their priority is taking care of their children. And for still more, it is eating healthy homecooked meals.

These priorities are often ingrained in daily life, sometimes in ways I did not notice or make goals for. As I considered my 2025 goals, especially the things that did not get done this year, it became clear to me what my priorities have been.

1. Write. I had four different writing goals this year, and I finished all of them: rewriting a novel, writing a new novella( 50k words), posting regularly on my website(44/52 weeks), and publishing a new series of short stories.
2. Expand my social life. One of my goals was to join a parenting group, which did not exactly happen, but I did join a new community, made a bunch of new friends, and I am putting out the effort to see and stay in contact with them. Another goal was playing roleplaying games regularly, which has continued with two different friend groups and even some solo elements.
3. Develop hobbies. This year I kept track of every time I spent 15 or more minutes working on a hobby. I started weaving chainmail at the beginning of the year, and it has been fun, allowed me to create personalized gifts, and inspired me to try making more things. I continued scrapbooking, and I started baking sourdough every weekend.

This final priority really surprised me because it has brought so much joy, creativity, and inspiration to me. There were several major changes in my life this year including an unexpected job change and the birth of my first child. Despite how those things rocked my world, I found solace in my hobbies.

Truly, I cannot express how much I think everyone should develop hobbies: things that are not for profit, but bring you joy. The French philospher Albert Camus once said something akin to “The literal meaning of life is whatever you’re doing that prevents you from killing yourself.”

I have been fortunate in my life that I have not had to deal with chronic depression. However, I have had my share of waves, and this year, those waves were noticeably shorter because I was working on and creating something that brought me joy at least 15 minutes every day.

So going forward, I will still be writing down 10 goals to complete for next year, but I have a new favorite that I hope will remain on my list for years to come:

Practice a hobby for fifteen minutes per day for 5 times per week.

Happy New Year! What brings you joy?