Resolutions 2007

What are resolutions? They are a list of stuff you'll never do. Hence it is important to write them down in case you accidentially do them.

Spend less on unnecessary items. According to my spreadsheet, I spent S$1,441 on toys, S$1,656 on DVDs, S$581 on 9 auctions on eBay (S$445 are on board games), S$2,360 on camera stuff, S$655 on board games and S$1,621 on miscellanous for 2006. Shipping is included. My tracked expenses for this year is considered low already. The untracked expenses which may add up to even more, but I track only the so-called luxury items.

Probably the only thing I can control is toys. (Note: toys include models and figures.) I want to reduce as much as possible the amount I spend on toys. While it's impossible to make it zero (I already have stuff lining up), I aim to keep it under $500. For the other stuff, I'm already doing a lot of research before buying them — I seldom buy on impulse because it's easy to buy a lemon.

Leave office on time. I aim to step out of the office at 5:30 pm sharp. At 5:15 pm, I should be winding down and packing up already. Right now, I normally leave at 6:30 pm; it has become later and later over the years. It's not that I'm extremely dedicated to work, but it's because I'm idling too much in mid-afternoon.

On work days, I'm a morning person. I like to come to work early — very early. Thus, I'm pretty tired around 5 pm already and my concentration and judgement are affected.

I'm a firm believer that you need sufficient rest to think well. There were many times where new ideas or the solution came to me when I just left office, because I had stepped back from the problem. My most productive days are when I have the whole day planned out, and that planning takes place the day before, at the end of the day. I can plan ahead what I needed to have or to do to be productive the next day.

Go far for lunch. This is an idea from a colleague. We'll ride out far — very far — for our lunch. One possible place is Changi village, which is about 30 km from my office. We won't do this everyday, of course. Maybe once a month.

Explore Singapore. Ride my bike and explore out-of-reach places in Singapore. Maybe I should go to beaches more often. I love to hear the waves splashing against the sand and the wind whistling in my ears.

Learn a non-work related skill. I deliberately make this vague as I do not wish to disclose what it is.

Put my DVD inventory on the Internet. There's two main reasons why I want to do it. First, so that I can check the status anywhere, not just on my computer. Second, to make it easier to lend my stuff and keep track of them.

Write reviews. Review some shows or board games that I like. For shows, I don't just want to write a simple review, but sort of a post-viewing thoughts. I don't like to invest time in watching shows only to find that I don't like it. Most of the shows I watched, be it anime, movies or serials, English, Chinese or Japanese, I found them through reviews or recommendations. If I put up the shows that I like, it would be easier for others to recommend new ones.

Sort out all my pictures. Right now all the photos I take are filed under "unsorted". To categorize them.

Organize my email. My office email is a mess. It's difficult to find old emails (other than using the search function) because they are grouped too broadly. Need to organize it better. My personal email is still okay cos there's not much to organize.

Reciprocate. I'll send back a postcard to anyone who sends me one. However, right now only my insurance agents do it.

Use less smileys. Smileys are used as a crutch to convey emotions. I read if your command of the language is good, you don't need smileys. I won't go that far — it reads very formal and harsh without smileys sometimes. So, keep smileys to a minimum.

I'm sure there are more things. I'll update this list when I think of more.