(I’m currently on vacation with my family and wasn’t able to write my 2019: Year In Review in time. Normally, I publish that first, but it’ll be up later this month. The next two weeks of blog posts are already scheduled.)
Hey, guys! Happy New Year! Now that it’s 2020, it’s time for me to share my goals for the year. Looking at my goals, I was able to separate them between “big goals” and “little goals.” The top three are definitely my main goals for this year, while the final five are more fun or less serious. As always, I will update throughout the year with quarterly check-ins and monthly goals, so I hope you stick around for that. If any of you are interested, I use the Powersheets Goal Planner to plan out my year (I highly recommend it). Let’s get into it.
Last year’s post – My 2019 Goals + Word For The Year
//My Word For 2020
I’m honestly really stressed out about 2020. I’ve already dubbed it my “quarter-life crisis year.” A lot of things are going to change. I’m going to graduate college, for one thing. The first five months of the year are going to be very familiar. I’m going to continue attending college. Once I graduate, everything will shift. I’ll no longer be a student. I will, hopefully, be starting a job in the field I love, but I know the transition into entry-level work life will be a mixed bag of difficulties and joys. And that’s if I get a job. I’m more worried that I won’t get a job after graduating and will be unemployed for a while.
The other part of it is that I’m the only one of my close friends graduating in May, so most of my peers aren’t going through the same thing with me. This makes it feel more like a solitary stress. I know I’ll figure everything out when the time comes, but there’s a lot of uncertainty that comes with this time.
That’s why I picked the word beginning as my word this year because I want to remind myself that that’s what’s going to happen in May. I keep feeling sad that college is ending. That this chapter of my life is almost over. I’m very familiar with my situation and how to handle student life, but I have very little experience in a traditional work environment (I’ve been self-employed for most of college). I’m glad I know what I’m getting into. I’m not going to be sitting at a desk all day or expected to wear professional clothing, but I know it’s going to be a transition.
I’m trying to frame all of this in my mind as the beginning of something great. It’s the beginning of my career, building financial stability, and eventually living on my own. This year is the start of the rest of my life, and I want to remember that.
//Big Goals//
1.//Get A Job
As you just read, getting a job is a huge priority for 2020. I have a list of companies to apply to, but I don’t really know where to start. This process is probably going to be long and stressful, but it’ll be worth it in the end. I know once I land a job, there will be a huge weight lifted off my shoulders, and I am excited to start working with people with special needs. My goal to start working by the end of June, but who knows what will happen.
2.//Pay Off Student Loans
I’m lucky that I have a manageable amount of student loans. It’s still a lot of money, but I’m sure I can pay it off before the six month grace period ends. I plan on moving back in with my parents when I graduate. Sometimes I consider just getting my own place immediately, but I know it’s the smarter financial choice to save money and live with them again. Plus, they want me to move back home. I come from a culture where it’s completely normal for adults to live with their parents in their 20s, so it’s not as dramatic as it is for other Americans who move back home. This will help a lot with paying off my student loans quickly, saving money to move out, and traveling.
Other Financial Goals For This Year
- Meet with a financial advisor
- Open a retirement account
- Get another credit card to continue building credit
- Save enough money to move out in 2021
3.//Travel To South America
I’ve been considering my travel goal for 2020 for the past few months and decided that the next continent that I want to visit is South America. I don’t know if I’ll do another month-long trip hopping through multiple countries like I did in Europe (even though that would be the coolest thing EVER!!!), but I would like to visit one of the countries there on my bucket list. I haven’t decided where that will be yet. Maybe I’ll go to Colombia to visit a friend or hike Macchu Picchu in Peru. I don’t know yet. I just know I want to take a big trip there at some point. If I manage to have the time and money to backpack around the continent, that’s definitely a dream I’d aspire to do as a graduation trip.
There are other little trips on my radar as well. I’m currently in Michigan and am planning on visiting Canada this week (This post is being scheduled early). I’d like to visit my cousins in New York and go back to Bangladesh again, but all of that depends on how much time I have off and financial priorities. For now, South America is the big trip goal for 2020.
//Little Goals//
4.//Graduate + Enjoy Last Semester Of College
I realize that “graduate from college” should be considered a huge goal for this year, but it’s not something I’m worried about. As long as I pass my classes, everything should be fine. I met with my advisor, triple-checked to see if I have all the requirements for my major & minor, and was approved for graduation, so there’s not much to finishing this goal at this point, aside from passing my classes.
The second part of this goal is to just enjoy the last few months of college. I want to go out more, spend more time with friends, and just not stress too much about school (I’ll already be stressed out about getting a job, so why add school to it). This is less of a goal and more of an intention for the next few months. I want to focus on having fun rather than staying in my dorm room studying.
5.//Take A Workout Class 4-5 Days Per Week
I’m really excited about this goal. I used to take workout classes almost every weekday in my freshman and sophomore year of college because they were free at my previous university. The university I transferred to requires payment for workout classes, which is why I haven’t been taking them for the last year and a half. I don’t even drive to the recreation center. I just walk to the gym two-minutes from my dorm.
This has worked out fine these last few semesters, but I know I work out so much more productively when I take a class. Back when I took them all the time, I’d sweat more, I was more toned and was so much more confident in my body. That’s why I’ve decided to fork over the cash to take classes every weekday. The reality is that I would use the unlimited pass enough for it to be a little more than $1 per workout class, which is definitely worth the money.
There are also more classes available than there were at my old university, like barre and belly dancing, so it’ll be fun to try new workouts with trainers. I know that this is a worthwhile investment. I’ll reevaluate this fitness goal after I graduate.
6.//Write Something Fiction
This is more of a fun goal for me. I doubt I’ll let anyone else read it. I haven’t written anything fiction in years, and I’ve had the itch to go back to it. I haven’t decided what I’m writing yet, but I have an idea.
7.//Post On Blog Every Tuesday + Schedule Blog Posts Early
I am so bad about keeping a schedule when it comes to this blog. I’ll publish three blog posts in one week and none the next. This year, I’d like to become more disciplined with it because I know working a 9-5 will make it harder to write during random bouts of inspiration. This is barring January because I’ve already scheduled two posts per week for most of this month.
My content will probably be less niche as well. Not everything will be about college life, especially once I graduate. I don’t want to stop writing or feel insecure about writing once I start working because I have no advice to give. I’ll just write about my travels or books or life in my 20s. I’m sure my content will be pretty disorganized the latter half of the year, but I’m just gonna go with it. That’s why I want to publish a post every Tuesday without fail. (But there will be failures sometimes).
8.//Finish Unread Books On My Bookshelf
This goal is easier for me than for most people because I don’t usually buy books that I haven’t read. The majority of the books I read are from the library, and I mainly buy books that I really love and would happily read again. I feel like its a waste of money to buy a lot of books that I may not like or wouldn’t recommend to others, which is why I’ve read most of the books I own before buying them. I counted and found out that there are eighteen books on my shelf that I haven’t read. The majority of them are books that I’ve bought in the last two years from Book Outlet for a few dollars. The rest were gifts. I can definitely read through all of them by the end of the year. This goal doesn’t count any new books I acquire in 2020. Just the ones on my bookshelf right now.
Other Reading Goals
- No specific number – I don’t have a specific number of books I want to read this year. Now that I’ve completed the big goal of reading 100 books in a year, I don’t feel the need to strive for it again. I’m just going to set a Goodreads goal of 1 so that it tracks my books, but I’m not aiming for a specific number. I think I can realistically get through 60 books by the end of the year, though it’s fine if I don’t.
- Read 12 Classics This Year – This was a fun goal in 2019 and there are so many classics I want to read. I’m going to be publishing another list of classics in the next few weeks, so stay tuned.
- Read 12 Tomes This Year – Tomes are 500+ page books. Very large books can be daunting, but most of the ones I’ve read have been pretty good. Now that I’m not setting a reading goal for the number of books to read, it’ll be easier to pick one up without the worry of falling behind.
- Pick A Series To Reread– I pick a series to reread every year. In 2019, I reread Percy Jackson and the Olympians and in 2018, I reread Harry Potter. There are a few series that I reread every year, but I try to pick up a new one too. This year, I plan on rereading Shadow Children by Margaret Peterson Haddix. I may also try to get through the 39 Clues series again, but I haven’t decided. I haven’t reread either since middle school.
So yeah, those are my goals for 2020. I think I can realistically get through all of them by December. The first three goals are my top priorities for this year. 2020 is going to a transitional year, but I’m ready for it. I need to remind myself that I’m laying the groundwork for the rest of my life this year and that the sacrifices are worth it.
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What are your goals for 2020? I really want to know.