Resolving Less, Enjoying More

It is a staple among news outlets for the first of January--that obligatory story on the percentage of Americans who accomplish their New Year's resolutions, and how YOU can stick to yours (much like this article from the Wall Street Journal).
 
The advice (make resolutions manageable; have a strategy; tell other people; reward yourself) is never interesting. But I have to confess, it always inspires me. I love making resolutions. And I am often encouraged by the fact that I usually make some kind of progress, however small, toward my goals.
 
So with the burst of renewed energy we are supposed to feel on January 1, I started my list: Write fiction, study economics, learn Mandarin, play the guitar, get scuba diving license. And then I created a strategy for achieving these goals. In one day, I told myself, I would spend 30 minutes to an hour on each. Which means I would wake up at 6 a.m. every day, and guard against interruptions in the evenings.
 
Okay, it would be hard. But it still seemed doable. I'm used to living the highly scheduled life.
 
It took two days and some good advice from a loved one for me to realize that I'm also usually completely exhausted.
 
Maybe other YPers know the kind of fatigue I'm talking about. I graduated from college at 22 and hit the ground running. And with every step, I was driven by this voice in my head telling me that if I didn't apply for every internship and fellowship and writing gig, take every extra class, and say yes to every unpaid responsibility; that if my day weren't 17 hours long, and if I didn't get everything done on the arbitrary deadline I set for myself then I would be…do I dare say it?… a failure.
 
For the last six years, my "free time" has been ruled by my "to do" list. Of course, I could never do it all, but the pressure of the list helped me do a lot of it. Today I'm approaching my 28th birthday. I've reaped the benefits of my hard work, so (thankfully!) I can't call it waste. But I have learned one thing that I want to share with you: Resolving and scheduling may get you somewhere, but it takes out a whole chunk of fun along the way. Everything becomes like work, and there is never time for play.
 
What I really want to do this year is curl up with a good book, or go for a walk, or play my guitar, or take a nap whenever I damn well please. It won't be easy. It might be the hardest resolution I could make. But that's how I know it is the right one. And I hope that this non-resolution resolution might release some creativity that has been bound and gagged lately. Or at least, that it might bring a sense of well-being that I'm starting to believe no career success or pant size or musical ability ever could. Whatever your resolutions this year, good luck with them. But also YPers, consider giving yourselves a break. You might realize that you've earned it.
 
If you like this story on keeping New Year's resolutions, read this story on charitable giving on a small budget.