My biggest challenge in life seems to be having too many things I want to do and not enough time to do them all. Because of this, I rarely get bored, but it also means I’m constantly making decisions: do I do this or do I do that. Do I read or do I write. Do I write or do I draw. Do I exercise or do I journal. Do I blog or do I transcribe diaries. Do I hike or do I read. Do I read or do I garden.
My latest hobby is drawing, and I have specific ambitions with that. I want to play with pen and ink drawing to make pretty entries in nature journals. I like flipping through my little sketchbook and seeing pictures instead of reading lots of words, and I love the meditative act of drawing.
Of course, this means more physical books to store on a shelf. My shelf of diaries and written word journals is now overstuffed: I cannot fit any more notebooks, composition books, or now, sketchpads on it.
To help me overcome the constant challenge of choosing what to do with my time, and also, to help me accomplish my goal of creating a beautiful nature journal, with botanical sketches and drawings of little birds, I’m going to set only two intentions for 2024:
- Draw. Take online drawing courses, do tutorials, draw with graphite, dabble in colored pencils, and progress to pen and ink. Early in the year, start a nature journal where I draw something that strikes me or fills me with wonder at least once per week, preferably once per day.
- Transcribe 20 of my old diaries so I can empty some shelf space for sketchbooks. I found an app that can transform handwriting to typed text, and I will use that so that I can keep images of my handwritten pages while also transforming it to searchable text. When I found the app, I had originally set a goal to transcribe 45 journals in the year, but then I started one to test how long it would take, and I’ve been working on the one for over two weeks, so 45 is probably a little too ambitious. Twenty seems doable.
That’s it. I don’t need to set any intentions around reading or gardening or exercising or blogging because I’ll do all of those things no matter what. Drawing is a new habit that I want to nurture, though. I get absorbed in it, and it’s fun, and it’s very satisfying to see myself improve as I practice. I want to make space for it in 2024.
Butterfly Mind 
2 responses to “Intentions for 2024”
No evident shortage of talent.
I really enjoyed reading your post about coping with limitless possibilities. It resonated with me a lot, because my wife and I own a retired dairy farm and while there’s always something to do, the greatest challenges my wife and I currently face center around being alone.
I had a career spanning two decades in the fire department, where I was part of a close-knit team that faced life-threatening situations together. I grew accustomed to being surrounded by people who understood and supported me.
I’ve since retired from the fire department and moved to Vermont with my wife, and we are both writers. She and I work from home and spend most of our time in her own worlds. Now the only person who is around me is her, and sometimes we feel like we could benefit from having a friend to spend time with every now and then.
I’m trying to make friends, but it is hard. I don’t know many people in this small town, and I don’t have any hobbies or interests that connect me with others. I miss the camaraderie and the adrenaline of my old job. I feel like I’ve lost a part of myself.
I’ve found success connecting with people online, but even this has been difficult, though I’m hoping that this year will be better than the last. 🙂