I don’t know about you but the first week of 2022 was a bit more exciting than what I was hoping for. As usual, I was glad I wrote a bunch of inspiring posts because I was all ready to quit 2022 three days into it. Whenever I felt down or hopeless, I just re-read my last 2 posts! Being human means that you won’t be happy 100% and that is ok. I just try not to stay in the funk too long and remind myself of all the great things I have now and all the even greater things ahead!
I mentioned in last week’s post that I am not a big New Year resolutions person but I am big on setting goals and learning from my mistakes. I made a call to action to reflect on things that went well, things that didn’t go so well, and list one big goal for the year.
Things that went well
- Started collaborations at work and with outside institutions and organizations. I work at a very large hospital and it is easy to get lost in the community locations, far away from the Main campus. Add a pandemic where meetings are all virtual and no one is running into each other in the hall and you have a recipe for complete isolation. Luckily, I didn’t let my location and lack of social time at work keep me from accepting new opportunities and roles. It was scary in the beginning to say yes to a lot of new things but 2021 was definitely a great year for me to grow as a clinician and dare I say it…a researcher. I still have so much work to do and I plan on keeping this going by not giving up all the collaborations I love doing. I will not be scared to fail and will keep going with learning. Every failure will be a chance for me to improve. I am so thankful for having an amazing team to work with every day.
- Set up consistent work-out and meal prepping routines. Before I had kids, I was very good at working out all the time and eating healthy. That changed once I had kids and it often felt like I would never get back to my usual routines. The start of the pandemic in 2020 really allowed to get a taste of the daily work outs when I was home for a couple of months. I was back in person all of 2021 but I figured out a way where I could consistently work-out at least 4 times a week and sometimes more. Now that 2022 started, I made a commitment to schedule daily work-outs. If it’s on my schedule, it is as good as done! As far as meal prepping goes, I have been pretty good at that for the last several years. The pandemic start threatened to ruin that but I definitely got back on it strong and 2021 was no different. Once again, getting your meal planning and prepping times on your schedule is the best way to do it. Go back to some of my early posts on these topics if you need help getting started!
- Created new connections and friendships. Even through these hard times of isolation and social distancing, my family and I were able to make new friends and make extremely strong connections. Some of these friends have become like family. I can’t wait to see what 2022 brings for all of us together. I am committing to continue fostering these friendships and keeping my arms open for any new ones that may come!
Things that didn’t go well
- Maintaining routines through the weekend. As good as I am at keeping routines and healthy eating during the week, I am terrible at doing this Friday night and Saturday. I end up going over my calories and not consistently working out. I started being more intentional about getting work-outs in and planning ahead of time how much I would eat and drink but have not been able to really get good at this. I am hoping that 2022 will be the year where consistency follows me into the weekend. I have learned that I have to make a conscious decision about my weekend goals and plan these the same way I do my weekdays. My plan to improve for the weekends includes scheduling weekend work-outs and not completely giving up on my healthy eating habits. I still want to be able to have my take out on Fridays and meals with friends on Saturdays but I will be intentional about what I order and keep calories in mind.
- Organizing my home. We moved into this home in 2017 and I am pretty sure there are some boxes in the basement that are still not unpacked. I wrote down every month in my bullet journal as monthly tasks to “organize the home” but I have not made too much progress. I am currently taking an online class that will help me achieve organization goals, so I am pretty excited to work on that over the next few months. Stay tuned for some before and after pics!
- Spending time on side-gigs. 2018 made me not want to be a doctor for a little while (year my son was born very preemie). 2020 didn’t help much. Between those two years, I started thinking about side-gigs. I joined lots of Facebook groups and participated in many virtual conferences. I read books, took online courses, and talked to a lot of people. 2021 actually made me realize that I love my job and I didn’t want to really do all these other things. Towards the second half of 2021, I gave up on most side-gigs. I do enjoy writing this blog, so that is something that I am continuing to do. I would also like to become more financially savvy and eventually start investing in things…I will take time during 2022 to learn more about finances and maybe meet with a financial advisor to help guide my next choices. There is never a better time than now!
Big Goal for 2022
My big goal for 2022 is work-related. During this past year, I got involved in so many exciting projects, particularly in the areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion. If you have ever worked with me, you know my biggest area of interest is proving excellent care to everyone but particularly to Spanish-speaking populations. 2021 presented me with many opportunities to work in these areas and combine them with epilepsy and neurogenetics, which are my favorite part of Pediatric Neurology. My goal for 2022 is to keep going with the projects that were already started, get involved in new ones, collaborate within my institution but also with outside groups, and get published!
Watch out 2022, I am coming for you! I am also committed to being kind to myself and showing self-compassion. I hope you do the same!
If you have any tips for me, drop them in the comment section of the blog or in any social media post!
