January ArtLife
It’s on my 20 for 20 list to make an ArtLife Blog post each month, so that leaves me with 6 more hours to get January out. Speaking of which, let’s talk 20 for 20. Basic idea- a list of 20 things I want to do in 2020. This is the third year I’ve done this, and so far it’s been a really great thing for me. I got done a solid 2/3 of my 19 for 2019 list, and I credit my 18 for 2018 list for giving me the nudge I needed to get Grover (my doggo).
For 2020, I’ve got a bunch of somewhat professional items, a smattering of adulting items, a few just-for-fun items, and a couple straight up chores that I really gotta get done. (See picture for the full list.) It took me the first 2 weeks of January to make the list, and since then I’ve started to dive into the following endeavors:
Learn 7 New Dinner Recipes- The struggle of what to eat for dinner is SO REAL for me… “oh, another salad kit with sausage? Tonight we’ll add salsa for pizazz…” My first new one is curried potatoes, which were delicious, even if the house smelled like curry for days. It’s a good smell!
New Audition Songs and Monologues- turns out every theatre in town has heard all of my rep, so I have to do this one… first audition with a new song/monologue is on Monday (wouldn’t you like to know what I’m doing? Sorry, trade secrets. “…Laura remembers back to that audition when the two people before her did the exact same monologue from the same play as hers…” Never again.) Further tweaking of rep to come, it’s hard to find stuff that was written for a 31-year-old.
Keep Track of Monthly Income- Right. As stated above, I’m 31. And that means I should know how much money I’m making any given month, even if I hate the idea of my life being even more defined by this oligarchy we live in. I made a spreadsheet. This year I need to know the amount month-to-month for my healthcare coverage, I’m hoping it will be a good impetus for keeping up with this.
Schedule Time With Friends- I have many dear humans in my life, but I’m traditionally really bad at actually spending time with them. Got a good start in January with some one-offs, hoping to make some standing arrangements in the coming months!
Read 24 Books- For me, this mostly means ‘always be reading something.’ Last year this goal helped remind me to read 41 books. In January, I’ve read 2, 1/4, and 1/2 (because I usually have a non-fiction and fiction read going at the same time!).
Write an ArtLife Blog every month- Ta-DA! Why do this? 1) It seems important as a freelancer to have a record of what I’m doing with my time. 2) Telling people what I’m up to inspires me to actually do things. This is especially important this year, as my time is as yet rather unstructured.
I keep my 2020 list as the background on my broken-screen phone, so I’m reminded many times a day that I’ve got stuff I wanna do with my life. Worked great last year. January is a hard month. It’s dark. Christmas ends, so no more presents until September (my birthday). I get the S.A.D.s, but I’m starting to roll the ball and I’ll keep adding a bit at a time until I’m my usual overly scheduled, but happy self. Over and out for January. Catch me in February, which is tomorrow, so soon!
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