Resolutions, or whatever

The one where I pretend to be chill about easing into a new year

Happy 2024! It’s January and that means it’s impossible to escape the resolution discourse. People are setting goals, quitting things, or starting other things—at least, they’re talking about doing all of that. The media makes me feel like there are two camps: I’m either supposed to participate in making resolutions or I’m supposed to completely opt out. In reality, I feel much more in the middle. I’d like to take a softer approach. There are things I want to do less of and other things I want to do more of, all without making a grand statement about it.

The last time I quit something (that stuck) was drinking alcohol five (!) years ago. I’d stopped a few weeks before January because I’d made up my mind and the thought of waiting a minute longer to “quit” felt like it would be a disservice to the universe that had set me up so perfectly to stop right now. So I did. I soft-launched being a non-drinker for the first few months by using vague language like “I’m not really drinking right now” or “I’m taking a break” to address the shift from being a person who typically always ordered a drink to someone who opted for a Diet Coke instead. Alcohol would make my anxiety much worse so I’d turn around and drink to ease my anxiety. I had to hop off the dizzying merry-go-round, and so, I finally did. I realize this summary makes it sound like it was a quick and easy decision, but in reality it was frustrating and hard and took years in the making.

Now that I’m immersed in the New Year momentum, I’ve been reflecting on my own habits and the number one thing that continues to resurface is a need to scale back on screen time. Reddit did a version of a Spotify Wrapped at the end of last year, offering me hard data on just how much scrolling I did last year and whew the numbers were startling. I can’t imagine they intended to get users to reevaluate their usage to the point where they’d log off (what was their intention?) but I’ve made an effort to reduce my screen time since then. Let’s just say it’s a work in progress (as I type this up in front of a screen that you will then read on a screen).

Wherever you are at right now, I hope your 2024 is off to a positive start. Here are a few things I’ve been reading and listening to recently:

🎧 On the topic of screen time and the things we give our attention to, the latest episode of The Ezra Klein Show features a conversation with Gloria Mark who has studied the way attention works and what we can do to prevent burning out. It came at a prefect time for me and it’s a very motivating listen.

📚 I’ve been reading Wellness by Nathan Hill and at over 600 pages she’s a bit of a tome but it’s been a great read to sink my teeth into as I attempt to turn my attention away from my phone more often. It focuses on a couple throughout their relationship and has plenty of witty reflections on the absurdities of modern life. I’m not quite finished so this recommendation could be a bit premature but I can tell you that I haven’t been able to put it down for long.

👸 When I want to feel like I’m learning something but also want to be entertained, the podcast You’re Dead to Me from the BBC never disapoints. The latest episode about Catherine the Great with comedian David Mitchell is no exception. His new book Unruly: The Ridiculous History of England's Kings and Queens is on my TBR, especially after listening to this episode and seeing a man read it on the train this week. I also can never get enough of his long-running panel show Would I Lie to You? and fortunately for me a new season has just started. I think this recommendation just turned into an “all things David Mitchell” recommendation.

🐕 Ginger of the Week:

Always listening

Thanks for reading,

Laura