Anti-Goals for 2021

Things to hopefully avoid this year

Introduction

2020 definitely sucked, so naturally we all have incredible expectations for 2021.

Most blog posts I've seen on goal-setting for 2021 are a list of normative statements for what to do within the following year. From running $X$ kilometers to learning a new programming language, there's nothing wrong in highlighting your aspirations.

However, over the years whenever I wrote a list like that on my blog, I find myself either being too ambitious or inadvertently value signalling. So this year, I'm going to try something different: writing a list of things to not do.

Let's call these anti-goals.

Anti-Goals

1. Have a never-ending list of books to read.

Bonus points if you buy more books before finishing the ones you're currently reading. The actual reflections and musings don't matter as much as the length of your Goodreads list and the amount of overlap with Twitter's current "thought leader".

2. Prioritize schoolwork over a well-rounded senior year.

It's your last semester so why not finish strong with a good GPA? It's a pandemic anyway, so this very well could be your only productive use of time (beyond launching a SubStack or starting a new company).

3. Doom-scroll into Twitter oblivion every day.

How else will you simultaneously know every single thing that occurs in the world? As a citizen of the 21st century, it is your responsibility to do so, and have a tweetable opinion on everything as well.

Conclusion

This post felt a bit cheeky to write, but all of my anti-goals are things I've been guilty of over the past few years. Sometimes (especially during a pandemic), it's nice to not expect too much from yourself and to let momentum take its course. Your best offense can just be a good defense.

Cheers to a marginally better year!