Originally posted by: TonyPearson

It's already the 11th of January, and thought I would take a break from technology tofocus on my [New Year's Resolutions]from last year, and make some new ones for 2008.

Last Year's Resolutions:

Blog on a more consistent frequency

In [Data Center Resolutions], I resolved to post one to five entries per week, and I think I made good on this one. When I was assembling mybook [Inside System Storage: Volume I], I noticed an evolution month by month since I made this resolution.

Reduce my waist down to 35 inches

Rather than a target weight, I chose a target waist measurement, but did not quite make this one. I did keep up with my weekly exercise regime, but we recently installed an "ice cream freezer" here at work, and I have failed to resist temptation.

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle

In my post [Stayingon Budget], I resolved to "reduce, reuse and recycle". I have taken measures to de-clutter and simplify mylife, and already things are paying off. So I am happy about this one.

Learn to Better use Lotus Notes and Office 2007 software

In my post [Honeyour Tools and Skills], I resolved to learn how to better use Lotus Notes and Office 2007. We never got Office 2007.In a surprise move, IBM put out Lotus Symphony, an Office 2007 replacement. Lotus Symphony works on IBM's three approved recognized desktop platforms (Windows XP, Linux and Mac OS X). Here's a collection of [IBM Press Releases about Lotus Symphony].

I did learn how to better use Lotus Notes,thanks to Alan Lepofsky's blog [IBM Lotus Notes Hints, Tips, and Tricks].Ironically, the best help for dealing with Lotus Notes was not the software itself, but the skills in handling emailin general. This includes:

• Write shorter notes. Down to [five sentences] in some cases.
• Resist the urge to copy the world, and better use "bcc" to be kind to upper management on "reply all" respondents.
• Avoid attaching large documents, but use URL's to NAS file shares, websites, or [YouSendIt.com] instead. Obviously, the recipient has to have access to whatever you point to, but it greatly reduces total email volume and improves transmission over wireless.
• Delegate. A lot of times I was the "middleman" between someone asking a question, and someone else Iknew had the answer. Now, I just introduce them together and step out of the way.
• Checking email only a few times a day. I use to check my email every 5-10 minutes, now only 2-4 times per day.

Laugh More

In my post, [Lighten Up], I resolved to laugh more, stretch more, get enough sleep, and listen to music more. I participated in monthly[Tucson Laughter Club]events, incorporated stretching in my weekly exercise program, have gotten more sleep, and rediscovered some of my older music that I hadn't listened to in a while. Overall, I feel happy I met this one.

My New Year's Resolutions for 2008:

Improve my writing skills

Going back through my past blog postings, some of my sentences and paragraphs were frightful. I resolve toimprove my sentence and paragraph structure, and make better use of HTML tags to improve the layout andformatting.

Improve my HTML and Web design skills

I help out a lot of local organizations with their websites, but haven't really learned all the latestHTML features, Common Style Sheets, Javascript, and so on, and think this is a good year to do so.

Contribute to the OLPC Foundation

Last year, as a "Day 1 Donor", I had donated to this important charitable organization to help educate the childrenof third world nations. This year, I plan to learn Python and other programming languages used on the XO laptop,and see how I can contribute my skills and expertise on the OLPC forums.

Eat Healthier and Drink more

I think my downfall with last year's resolution was that it was merely a goal, 35 inch waist, rather thana "call for action". This year, I plan to eat more fish, salads, whole grains and other heart-healthy foods.

While many people resolve to "Quit Drinking", I need to drink more. My doctor, my personaltrainer, and even my interpreter teams, have asked me to do so. We live in Tucson, Arizona, during a centuryof global warming, and dehydration can cause stress on the body.

Attend more movies and film-making events

Last year, I joined the Tucson Film Society, and produced[my first film], part of which was filmedfrom Bogota, Colombia. I got invited to see a lot of independent films, premieres, and film-maker events, but did not attend many. I resolve to attend more in 2008.

Get better Organized

Moving offices from one building to another brought to light that I wasn't well organized. While I havemade some efforts to de-clutter my home, I need to step this up to my work as well.

I decided to start with something very non-tech, a [Hipster PDA]. I have nowmet or heard several people who use this approach successfully, and have decided to give it a try.

Hopefully, this list might inspire you to come up with your own resolutions. Not surprisingly, writing them in a public forum helped me keep most of them, and stick to my resolutions throughout the year.

technorati tags: resolutions, blog frequency, IBM, Lotus Notes, Office 2007, Lotus Symphony, desktop, email, laughter club, writing skills, web design, Bogota, Colombia, Hipster PDA