Shut up. I'm talking.

Welcome to 2011 people. It’s New Years Resolution time.

I have never ever made any resolutions before, I think once I toyed with the idea of stopping eating cereal but that was a weak attempt at answering a ‘What are your resolutions’ question.

This year however I have some things that I want to write down which I can then look back on and compare notes. So here it goes.

In no particular order:

1. Work harder - I would be kidding myself if I said that I worked to my maximum last year. Usually they say time flies but for me 2010 lasted forever and a day, motivation was at 85% and the result was that I didn’t work as hard as I could have. That will change for 2011. It’s not about longer hours it’s just about smarter hours.
2. Train for a purpose - Sitting at a desk is not a healthy and natural environment for a human being. To combat this I train 3 times a week, however I have never really enjoyed it much. This year intend to train for a purpose, be it martial arts or training for a marathon. I need to train for a reason this year so that I can stay motivated and of course get fitter.
3. Blog more - I doubt this will actually happen but I have been thinking about it for a while. I will try to commit to writing AT LEAST once a week, it really cannot be that hard.
4. Design less - Last year I must have designed what felt like 100 sites. Between Themes, Client work and Personal projects it was just never ending and even though I went through some good phases there were also bad phases from border-line burnout. This year I plan to farm out some of my design tasks so that there is more variety in our theme offerings etc.
5. Let go of the reigns a bit - Marc and I do everything at our company. We have maybe outsourced 2 tiny little projects since we started Obox 5 or 6 years ago. We are always so scared of trusting people with our work however this year that has to change if we are to grow revenue etc. This is also kind of related to resolution #4 in that we will employ someone and we will pay other people to do some of our work.
6. Eat healthier - I have simple tastes, to me a Big Mac tastes better than some of the best food at the most expensive restaurants made by the best chefs. The knock-on effect is that I eat a lot of junk food. This has been a long time coming but it has to stop. This isn’t a resolution, this is a requirement - A call to arms.
7. Focus and maximize better - Whenever I pick something up I always want to be the best at it. This is quite a problem for me as I never know when to stop. Be it getting the highest score or just beating a mate at something. This is also something that has to go. I realised last year that whenever I read an article about someone great I would say to Marc “I wonder if I can apply myself to have some of those qualities” - I need to realise that I can’t try and be good at everything, I need to focus on what I am good at. I know my strong points so it is time to stop taking them for granted and maximize them as best I can.

So there you go. Seven resolutions that may or may not be fulfilled. Let’s see how it goes :) What are your resolutions? @obox be on twitter and let me know.

Happy New Year.