Posted: 1/23/2020 | January 23rd, 2020
If you’re like me, you know how hard New Year’s resolutions are to keep. “New year, new you” starts with the best intentions, but after a couple of months, it’s back to new year, old you.
Old habits die hard, but they can be broken if they are replaced with good ones.
We’re at the start of a new year (and decade), so — as someone who loves a good cliché — I’m going to use this time to build the habits that create a better version of me.
After many years of trying (and writing copious and annoying blog posts about it), last year I finally slowed my travels and moved to Austin. I have a furnished apartment, plants (only two have died so far!), and a recently purchased car (my first ever!).
My days are filled with routine. I wake up, make breakfast, head to WeWork, go to the gym, head home, read, cook dinner, read some more, and go to bed.
My life is the proverbial suburban 9-to-5 I tried to escape from for so many years.
And, for the first January in years, I’m not on the road.
I’ve been enjoying it so much I’ve even begun to dread heading to the airport the same way children dread the dentist.
I used to think routine was a bad thing. It was the thing that killed spontaneity and adventure.
But I’ve come to learn that routine actually creates the framework for excitement and adventure. By scheduling my days and following a routine, I can ensure that I make time for what’s important and for all the things I want to do and goals I hope to accomplish.
So I wrote a list of things to do this year called “Stop Being Boring” with all the things I want to do while in Austin this year: get out more, volunteer, attend city council meetings (first one is next month!), join some social clubs to meet new people, host more meet-ups, and explore more of the city. Now that I have a car, I also plan to see more of Texas and the American South.
Rather than try to read more, I’m going to be a reader.
Rather than try to go to the gym, I’m going to be the person that does.
While I’ve already made some good strides toward eating better and going to the gym, the true test will be when I start traveling in February. Will I fall back into old habits? Maybe. But I’m motivated to break them.
This year is also going to be all about focus for me.
I want to focus on work without getting sidetracked by phone calls or Facebook, so I can end my workday earlier.
The internet makes it easy to stretch it from four productive hours to ten unproductive ones, especially when you work for yourself. Now I’m already sitting, undistracted from my tasks, and getting them done quicker!
Next month, I’m going to Hawaii and Taiwan for three weeks before heading back to Paris and Berlin. In the summer, when the weather in Austin is too unbearable, I’m thinking about the Balkans, and maybe some of the ’Stans in the fall. And then in November, I’d like to finally get to Peru.
And while I’ll travel less this year, what trips I do take will be done with more focus. As they say, what’s old is new again, and this year, I’m going to travel without my computer again. Last year, all my travels were just a backdrop for work — and that’s not how I want to see the world.
I’m determined to make “new year, new me” last the full year. And if I don’t, you’re free to remind me of this post and hold me accountable!
So that’s what I’ve been up to these last few quiet months.
What are your goals for the new year?
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Photo credit: 1 – Evgenii
Sheryl
Yay! Congratulations on all of your achievements! Bless you on your plans and goals in life! Thank you for being an inspiration. ?
Amy M
It’s definitely easier to keep yourself accountable weekly/monthly than it is yearly. My last resolution was to finish the things I’d started (I have about three books that I’ve started writing) and I got about halfway through it. This year’s resolution is to continue with that and finish the remainder whilst *trying* not to start any other lengthy stuff! Best of luck with achieving yours.
PS—if you need workout ideas for when you’re on the road, Joe Wicks (the Bodycoach) has some great youtube videos for HITT workouts which can be done in hotel rooms etc and don’t need any equipment.
Casey Griffin
You’re coming back to Taiwan! When will you be here? Will you be doing a meet-up or anything like that while you’re here? I live in Taiwan and I’d love to go to something like that!
Renuka
“Routine actually creates the framework for excitement and adventure.” This is the key thing. I love this. I’m also someone who dreads the mundane things of life. However, I have resolved to enjoy all the mundane things and small things of everyday life. I have come to realize that following a routine every day makes your life more rewarding and much more exciting in the long run.
Veronika Primm
That sounds exciting, Matt. So you’re going to do most of the out-of-routine activities on weekends? I enjoy having a nice routine too, while escaping the harsh European winter to a Thai island 🙂 Life’s good and I’m so much more productive!
Fingers crossed that you kick a** this year! See you maybe on one of the many blogger conferences (I’m not going to TBEX or ITB this year, though).
NomadicMatt
Come to TravelCon! That’s our baby!
Emilia Cruickshank
Hey Matt,
Something made me pick up your book in the library the other day, and I’m so glad I did’ Love it! Love you! Can’t wait to hit the road again.
Cheers, Emilia
Allison
I love to travel but I also really like routine! Which is why when I was reading your book, I was like, ‘I want to do that!’ but I also really like having a steady paycheck and I own my apartment and have two cats, so that’s kinda keeping me in one place (NYC, so it’s not so bad ;). Your book DID make me want to find some way to take a month or two and travel at some point though! (I did right after college for a month.)
Jesse Larson
Oh man, I loved reading this. I traveled nearly non-stop for 8 or so years and had no home base. Now, I’m in a relationship with a guy who goes to school and works in Santa Fe, NM. This is the first time in YEARS that I’ve actually had a place to call home, and I have to say, I really love it!
I still travel as often as I can of course. Since my boyfriend loves to travel too, we have been taking off for the entire summer (and then doing as many mini-trips throughout the rest of the year as possible). But when we are home, it feels so good to be able to get into little routines and actually have a gym membership and be able to cook my own dinner every night!
I’m so excited and curious to see how you end up liking Austin (which is a place I’ve always wanted to go to but never made it to), and hear more about how you’re creating the right balance between travel and home life!
Rocío
It’s funny, reading this post near the end of the year. How excited and motivated you were to make the most out of 2020, and seeing now everything we’ve been through in the past 7 months, I can’t decide if it’s just sad or if it’s plain ironic how you wanted this year to be a “new year, new you” concept.
It’s crazy to think how hard we were all slapped in the face with this pandemic. I feel like every single person I know had incredible plans and opportunities for the year, and in the span of 24 hours they saw them all disappear. However, I think we will all get out of this feeling wiser, with a new perception of reality, a completely new meaning to Family and Home, and for sure we will get through this becoming a better Us.