Boris and I spent a lot of time talking about how I should reorganize my life, at least for the next two years. Most of this time was me complaining about the things I feel are important but don’t have time to do. I know that I am horrible with establishing priorities, and I didn’t make a lot of progress in prioritizing things for 2026.
My most important resolution for 2026 is to keep trying to plan my life better. So far, my progress is rather modest, but here are some things I want to do differently in 2026:
- Boris and I agreed to try to have him visit Chicago less frequently but for longer periods of time. This might partially address the problem with him having huge difficulties with jetlag, but I am also mindful of the fact that when he is in Chicago, he can’t do many of the things he does in Helsinki, and I feel for him, because that’s exactly how I feel in Helsinki: I can’t do a lot of things I like doing in Chicago. So we will see whether this will work.
- I thought about all the situations in 2025 when I had scheduling conflicts and/or had to change things multiple times because it was “too tight,” and now I am thinking about them even more in advance than I did last year. For example, I am planning to bake all my international cookies before Thanksgiving. Also, I already planned the dates when Lena can visit me in Chicago in the summer, and when I can visit her in Ann Arbor. I am planning the time when my granddaughters can visit me. All of this is in the calendar, so I won’t accidentally schedule anything on top of it.
- I still need to figure out how to be more present in my friends’ lives, but at least I am prioritizing this.
I know that, for most people, my life looks too scheduled, even as it is now, and many have told me that living such an “overplanned life” is not fun. But I know I will be much happier if I can do more things from my “I want to do it” list, and I would rather have a rigorous schedule than not have time to do something.
We’ll see how it goes 🙂
Hettie's Reflections 