Looking Back on Resolutions 2024: Still Time to Make Progress, Right?!

Back at the start of 2024, I posted a series of blog resolutions for the new year.  Today, I thought it'd be a good idea to check back in and see if I've accomplished anything that I promised I would.  On my last resolution check-in (back in March) I hadn't accomplished much of anything so let's hope the summer months have been more productive!

1.  The Want List

At the start of 2024, my want list had 28 different sets on it.  I made it a goal to get that number down to only 25 sets by the time the year is over.  Of course, for every set that I add to the want list (say for 2024 stuff), then I need to find yet another set to complete or else I'll never make progress.  A quick check of my want list today shows that I currently have 29 sets on my want list which means I'm going backwards in terms of meeting my goal!  Luckily, I should be completing the 2024 Topps Series 1 Silver Pack Chrome set once the last few cards arrive in the mail, so at that point I'll be back to even from the start of the year.  Unfortunately, 2024 Allen & Ginter hasn't been released yet and I usually go "all-in" on that set so you can definitely expect my want list to grow substantially soon.  

All that being said, I'll give myself a grade of a C for this particular resolution thus far.  Basically, I've made no progress but I haven't made it impossible to achieve yet either (and I have made some progress on various sets, just not quite enough progress to complete any new sets)!

2.  The Great Reorganization

Oh yes, organization, the bane of sport card collector.  To give myself a fighting chance, I split my resolution up into four concrete goals:

1. Clean off my TV stand that is still quite full of cards.
2. Clean off my table that sits behind my desk (also full of cards currently)
3. Get my 2022 Barry Larkin collection scanned (and updated on TCDB)
4. Figure out what to do with some sets that I no longer wish to keep due to a lack of storage availability

Now, you might be wondering how I've done thus far.  Well, the results aren't pretty.

1. The TV stand still isn't cleaned off though I have given away a fair number of the cards that were sitting there through my near-daily card giveaways over on my Discord.  
2. The table that sits behind is more loaded with cards than I think it was at the start of 2024.  A big part of that is that I haven't yet put my Topps Series 2 cards in a binder.
3. I've gotten about 75% of my 2022 Larkin collection scanned and updated on TCDB.  It's a long process but at least I have something positive to show for this particular goal.
4. I have sold a couple of sets that I no longer wish/am able to keep given my storage limitations.  I still need to cull a few more from my collection over the next couple of years if I'm going to maintain my collection in the same limited space that it is currently confined to.

Overall, hard to give myself anything but a grade of F on this particular resolution.  

3.  Reading

A simple resolution:  Read 5 books in 2024.  How have I done thus far?  I've read a grand total of two novels.  I suppose that's not too far off of the pace that I need but with the academic year starting back up in a few weeks, my "free time" will be more and more limited making reading less and less likely.  Then again, I do tend to read more as the weather gets worse so who knows.  I wouldn't hold my breath but for now I'll be generous and give myself another C for this particular resolution.

4.  Disc Golf

The goals for this particular resolution are to throw 300 feet more consistently off of the tee pad and for me to finish a full 18-hole round of golf with a score of par or better.  

As of today, I can say that I have officially played a round of disc golf with a score par so that's done.  I wouldn't quite say that I'm consistently throwing 300 feet off the tee but I am doing so more and more often.  I think this resolution gets a grade of a B from me though I'm pleased with my progress this year even if I don't get to another course in 2024.

5.  My LEGO Blog

The goal here is to publish 36 entries in 2024 or basically 3 entries per month on my LEGO blog.  That certainly should be a doable goal...however, I haven't published anything over there since March!  Even worse, for the year I've only published three times which means I need to do another 33 posts over the last five months of the year.  It's not impossible but given my rate thus far it certainly doesn't look good for my chances at success.  Once again, I have to be honest with myself and give this one an F grade thus far.

And that's how my resolutions are shaping up.  A quick look at my "report card" shows the following grades:

C, F, C, B, F which wouldn't make for a great GPA if anyone is counting.  In fact, I'd probably be on academic probation which quite honestly feels about right given my poor performance on my goals thus far in 2024.  

All that said, the nice thing about doing a mid-year recap post is that I can remind myself of my goals and maybe force myself to make more effort into actually completing what I said I'd do.  In particular, I think I need to visit my LEGO blog soon and get some posts going over there!  

Now it's your turn.  Did you make any resolutions for 2024?  And, if so, how are they going?  I'm going to guess many of your report cards will look better than mine but I'm still interested to hear how things are progressing for you!