2019 New Year's Resolutions Scorecard

For the last couple years, I've decided to take the idea of New Year's resolutions seriously, coming up with a list of 13 goals for the year, from the easily achievable to the virtually impossible. Then, at the end of the year, I go back to my list and see how I measured up.

Last year, I was pretty pleased with how I did, achieving 8.5 out of 13 resolutions, a success rate of 65%. Considering the ambition of a few of those resolutions (I wanted to learn 5 languages. Yeah.), I'm pretty proud of that.

Different story this year. Turns out that when you get a new job, buy a house, move, and have a baby, self-improvement goes on the back burner. You're just trying to stay sane and do a good job at the things that matter.

Nevertheless, the time has come to pay the piper. Here's a look at the resolutions I made at the end of 2018 (before, keep in mind, I knew what the year would bring), and how I measured up. Spoiler alert: I didn't come anywhere close to a 65% success rate.

1. Spend 30 minutes per day in personal Bible study

The plan here was to start every morning by working through questions and personal knowledge gaps related to the Bible, a goal I still think is a worthy one. Unfortunately, I didn't do enough planning ahead of time on what questions I'd be asking or topics I'd be exploring.

So by mid-February, I was out of ideas, and started finding other ways to spend that time. By the time Andrew and I joined Dad on a long weekend trip to spring training (vacations are often the death of New Years resolutions), this particular goal was out of sight and out of mind.

This was a good resolution, but one that required more foresight than I gave it. Maybe I'll try again another year and give it the effort it deserves.

Score: 0 out of 13

2. Develop and stick to a prayer plan

This is why it's important to occasionally look at your list of resolutions instead of just relying on memory. This was a good resolution, one that would have reaped some spiritual benefits and made me a better person, husband, father, and pastor...if I'd remembered I'd resolved to do it. Oops.

Score: 0 out of 13

3. Memorize one Bible verse per day

I tried, guys. I really tried. As of May 1, I was on pace, and memorizing a verse every afternoon was part of my daily routine. Occasionally I'd miss a day, but then the next day I'd memorize two and things would be back on track. But in May, when my days started to feel like an endless series of phone calls between Lindsey, the realtor, and the mortgage company, I got off track. One 2 week trip to Europe and subsequent move to Garland later, I was roughly 30 flashcards behind and suddenly too busy to catch up. By the time Katherine was born in October, my goal had shifted from memorizing a verse per day to simply making a flash card each day.

So here we are one year later, and I have 368 flash cards ready to go for 2020. Better luck next year.

Score: 0 out of 13

4. Run the Dallas Marathon

Here's the thing. To train effectively for a marathon, you need to start training 18 weeks before the event (at least according to the plan I used when I ran a marathon in 2015). 18 weeks before this year's Dallas Marathon, I was 2 months into a new job and a new home, and 2 months away from becoming a father for the second time. What's more, completing my training would have meant leaving home for hours at a time multiple times a week to train, which would have meant leaving Lindsey at home with a brand new baby and a toddler to do so.

So did I accomplish this goal? Nope, never even started training. Do I regret it? Not for a second.

Score: 0 out of 13

5. Volunteer one hour per week (outside of church)

The first week of January, I went to the Waco-McLennan County Library and inquired about volunteering there. They politely let me know that, due to all kinds of bureaucratic nonsense, you pretty much have to be an employee if you want to so much as stock the shelves at the public library.

So where did you go next, Daniel? Mission Waco? Shepherd's Heart Food Pantry? The World Hunger Relief Farm? Nope. I gave up. Not my finest moment.

Score: 0 out of 13

6. Listen to 3 songs every day

More than any other resolution, I'm kicking myself for not accomplishing this. Not because it's the most important resolution on the list, but because it should have been so easy to pull off. 10 minutes of music every day. 10 minutes.

But no. Podcasts are what I listen to when I'm exercising and running errands, and I subscribe to too many to ever be completely caught up, so getting my 3 songs in meant choosing music over work or play for 10 minutes every day. And alas, I did not make that a habit.

Score: 0 out of 13

7. Get organized

First, I bought a planner and used it. Second, I made a concerted effort to talk through our schedule with Lindsey instead of just relying on her to handle it. Third, I started planning my sermons on a quarterly basis so that I was never showing up to work on Monday without knowing what Sunday's message would be about. And fourth (and most importantly), I became pastor of a church where the staff meets weekly, committee chairs and deacons meet monthly, and where I work with a fantastic, trustworthy, reliable ministry assistant who gently reminds me of all the things I might forget if left to my own devices.

So, do I still have work to do in this area? Yes. Organization and time management don't come naturally to me, so I'll always have room for improvement here. But did I make the effort to "get organized" and see results? Also yes. Finally, a success story.

Score: 1 out of 13

8. Be mindful of my screen time

Like a lot of millenials, I'm glued to my phone. Like a lot of millenials, I feel guilty about it. Like a lot of millenials, I don't seem to have the willpower to stop.

The hope was that making this resolution would inspire me to keep the phone in my pocket unless I actually needed it, to use it instead of allowing it to use me. Unfortunately, what ended up happening was the status quo: I would fall into bad habits, hit a breaking point, renew the resolution, and then fall back into bad habits. No progress. The "Screen Time" stats my iPhone gives me on a weekly basis still depress me.

Look for a revised, more intentional version of this resolution in 2020.

Score: 1 out of 13

9. Watch all the Marvel Studios movies prior to seeing Avengers: Endgame

Thanks to the Waco-McLennan County Library, my parents' Netflix subscription, and only having one child to put to bed every night (Endgame came out in May; Katherine was born in October), we pulled this one off without much difficulty. It made for a fun challenge, and it was interesting to watch Marvel's now-well-worn formula develop in the early days of the franchise.

Score: 2 out of 13

10. Watch 50 movies in 2019

I saw 45. So close and yet so far.

Thanks mostly to resolution #9, I was 30 movies deep in May, well above the needed pace to hit 50. I was still on pace when Katherine was born. Then, to the surprise of no one with kids, I watched exactly 1 movie for the 3 months after her birth.

This was a fun resolution when we had more time on our hands. But some things—and some people—are just more important. Oh well.

Score: 2 out of 13

11. Throw away fewer leftovers

Admittedly, I've backslid a bit on this resolution since moving to Garland, but at this point in the list I'm taking my victories where I can find them. We waste less food than we used to and I don't resort to fast food as often, so I'm saying mission accomplished, even if there's still room for improvement.

Score: 3 out of 13

12. Write a book

Nope. Look for this one to show up on my list for the third year in a row in 2020.

Score: 3 out of 13

13. Learn Spanish

This was on last year's list too. I exerted exactly as much effort this year as last year, and made exactly as much progress (none on both counts). I still think this is an extremely important resolution, but I'm taking it off the list for 2020 until I have more of a plan on how to achieve it.

Score: 3 out of 13



So there you have it, 3 out of 13, a 'success' rate of 23%. I have regrets about some missed opportunities, but have greeted this year's scorecard largely with a shrug. In a year of big transitions, January's goals simply gave way to the realities of May, June, and October. Next year, which promises to be much more stable, should go much better.

Tune in tomorrow to see what's on the docket for 2020!