New Years Resolutions: 2011 Edition

Happy New Year!  I hope the year has gone well for you so far.  I know, I know... it's only been 2 days, but I'm certain that you're already well into your year, working on all of the important things and contemplating breaking your resolutions... er, um, I mean, sticking with them!

Like every year for the past 7(?) or so, I'm going to make my resolutions part of the public record.  Believe it or not, I had a blog before this one (a Livejournal, which has since been deleted... thank goodness) and I've spent a long time working out the important resolutions to put forward each year, some of which are slam dunks and others requiring more effort (and not always being met with success).  After some thought, here are some goals I hope to achieve this year:

1. Make it 28.  I always start the resolutions with a relatively easy and attainable goal. 
2. Along with number 1, make it to 28 by bettering my eating, sleeping, and exercise habits.  While I don't necessarily think that my exercise and health are too much trouble (considering all of the running), I still think I can improve my health by eating less, sleeping more, and keeping my exercise relatively consistent.  Specific addendum - less snacking!
3. Running goals: 2 marathons (one spring and one fall); one trail ultra race (probably a 50K somewhere down here... I'll be checking out the local running club and related sites for relevant races sometime over the summer?); win my age group in the race circuit standings (without much effort I have gotten in the top 3 over the last two years... I think it's time to win it!)
4. Publish my research and/or co-author a paper with one of my co-workers
5. By the end of the year, be as close as possible to finishing my thesis research
6. Bump up my weekly average time in the lab to 52 hours per week (for the last two years I've averaged around 50... 52 is good because it's an extra few hours per week [attainable] that will still provide for greater feelings of success if I get a higher average)
7. Read at least one academic article per day every day of the year
8. Review my coursework and/or research at least one hour per day
9. Save enough money to be comfortable over the summer months with a smaller paycheck
10. Well, I can't really think of a 10th one, so let's just get out in left field... go one at least one camping trip.  And win the lottery.

Okay, so I think that's a good start.  I'm going to follow some others' advice as well (in particular that of The Insomniac Lab Rat) and try to start and maintain good habits in and out of the lab.  I think it should be a good year!

In other news, it's almost been 2 years since I started the blog!  I probably should think about what I'm going to do with it in the future, huh... we shall see!