Wishing all readers of Elementum Money a very happy 2022. May it stand tall to all the positive expectations being built around it.

Call it laziness or call it being more concise, from this year on I am merging two of my posts – The year in Review and New Year resolutions. As for 2021, when I read back to my resolutions post this year sure came up with all performance pressure built in after the shocker of 2020. Clearly, that pressure converted to anxiety and like me, a lot of people found it tougher to deal with.

Before I start with the meat of the post, a note on this practice of resolutions. There were times in 2021 when I fretted about not having acted on my goal. In one of my numerous meltdowns from the year that was, I told my husband how the year seems to have been a failure for I have nothing to show for it. In his Freudian mode, while he calmed the demons in my head he also pointed to the problem of keeping lofty promises, and that too publicly.

Maybe there is some truth to what he said. Resolutions are a guiding light which can also become a shining beacon of your failing for the said time. So, does that merit shooting the messenger itself?

As you can see I have mulled quite a bit on how to really deal with this resolution conundrum. My solution involves treating it a bit like a to-do-list. If it hasn’t happened in long enough, there could be three action points. One, it is redundant and doesn’t add anything to me. Two, maybe it’s time hadn’t come and it needs to be relooked in another phase of life. Three, I need not be shy of putting it on the next year’s list if it’s important enough.

My report card – 2021

So, let’s see how I fared in the year gone by, on the resolutions made at the start.

1. Atleast 80{76b947d7ef5b3424fa3b69da76ad2c33c34408872c6cc7893e56cc055d3cd886} of a manuscript I am happy about

This is the resolution that I am most upset about not having made much of a headway in. If I was to be starkly critical of myself, 2021 was not a great writing year. Writing is so much about getting into a good space in your head while finding the right momentum to plug in some time to type away. I lacked the resolve in both respects.

Verdict: Utter failure

2. Fuel entrepreneurial aspirations

Oh, I got so lucky in this one. I have been ghost writing for this guy for over 3 years now, who runs a digital mutual fund platform. We have often chatted and become friends now. I went to him seeking his sage advice on how to transition from corporate to starting my own boutique financial planning firm. My timing seemed to fit a lot of things in place as he proposed I join them as a consultant while starting work on Elementum Money.

Suffice it to say, I started with them in November. I have now cleared the required regulatory exams and need to go on to the next step of registering with SEBI as an Investment Advisor. By then I am trying to work on other crucial aspects like pricing and also how does the site integrate that change.

Verdict: Surprisingly successful

3. Get back to cycling and to a minimum 10 Km Route

Well, I did go out cycling a grand total of 5 times, possibly covering a 6-7 km route. The irony is that in the latter part of the year I completely forgot about this resolution too! But, thankfully, by the end of last year I atleast got back to strength training in a gym.

This is one of those goals whose time hasn’t come and will need to be picked up in due course.

Verdict: Laughable failure

4. Have one fruit a day

This is still an Achilles heel in my diet. Although I love fruits, laziness swamps me or kicks it out of memory altogether. But, last year I did try and by my estimate must have gotten 60-70{76b947d7ef5b3424fa3b69da76ad2c33c34408872c6cc7893e56cc055d3cd886} days when I ate a fruit. Tone down the human over estimation and it might still be about 50{76b947d7ef5b3424fa3b69da76ad2c33c34408872c6cc7893e56cc055d3cd886} of the days. While this one remains a resolve, it is not something that will be carried forward as a resolution for the coming year.

Verdict: 50{76b947d7ef5b3424fa3b69da76ad2c33c34408872c6cc7893e56cc055d3cd886} successful

5. Continue learning

One of my major goals is to be fluent in atleast three European languages – German, French and Spanish. Serendipity got me started on the second one in 2021. In my college whatsapp group, a member put out details of her niece’s 3x a week remote classes spanning 8 weeks. We started with 4 women students of a similar age group. 8 weeks turned to 16, even as one of us dropped out. But, this class was one of my highlights of the year. There was music, videos and homework along with getting to know some amazing people. An unmentioned resolve for the year is to continue honing the two languages that I now have a foothold into – German and French.

Verdict: Serendipitous success

My New Year Resolutions – 2022

Learning from last year, I have tried to keep my resolutions this year simpler. Let’s see how that works out.

1. Revert to being a morning person

Since the pandemic hit, I have often got the sense that I have become lazier. The biggest indication of said self-indictment is the time at which I have been waking up. As I have already written reams about why I love being a morning person, I won’t go into it again. Although it is said Carpe Diem, in 2022 I want to twist it to Carpe Mane or seize the morning. To be more precise, I intend to keep my first alarm at 6 and maximum by half past six start doing things as intended.

2. Write 500 words a day

This, in some ways, is a different take on the biggest failed resolution from last year of a manuscript. I realized that often more than an end result, it is the attempt to control an input action that works better. While the resolve is for the habit to happen daily, I will be happy with an average of 3-4 times a week as well.

3. Sign up 10-15 long-term clients

As mentioned above, 2022 is the year when I set up my financial planning firm – Elementum Money. The good thing is that I am also working simultaneously at another place which means I can take my time with getting things in place. Plus Elementum Money is meant for the long run, which makes it an antithesis of the break neck speed that the current crop of unicorns are known for. So, for 2022, instead of making any lofty aspirations, the idea is to set a foundation. As they say, well begun is half done.

4. Experiment more with baking

I love baking, even if the mess in my kitchen post factum seems to indicate otherwise. But, the biggest roadblock in my frequency to bake is the sugar content in most of my results. In 2022, I intend to widen my scope and bake more savory things, including bread. I am still on the fence about sourdough because it seems to be hell lot of work. But who knows!

5. Better book notes

For the past 3-4 odd years now I have a practice of writing down passages I like from my reading. But, as I wrote my year in books post this time, I noticed a trend. I start out a book with following the practice quite diligently. As I progress in the book, I simply falter and in a way it just fizzles out. This year, I want to be better at that practice. If I can muster the willpower, I would also want to collate my book notes in one place.

So that’s my resolutions for 2022. As you might notice, I haven’t gone very big or bold on any of them. The idea is to keep it simple yet interesting enough to make it happen.

Do you make new year resolutions? What’s on your list for 2022? Let me know in the comments below.