Allow me to introduce my new year’s resolution ….
2019 will be the Year of the Document.
This will probably be a departure from my usual Year of format. I say ‘probably’ because one can never be sure how a Year of will turn out.
What is my usual Year of format?
It all started in 2010. I noticed that the health care rebate for a doctor’s visit was about the same as the price of a music CD. I possibly noticed this because my local Medicare office was very near a music shop. It had been some time since I expanded my music collection, and as there was an unused iPod Nano sitting in my desk drawer, the idea popped in from somewhere – 2010 would be my Year of Music.
(This could not happen now because heath care rebates go straight into the bank account. No cash in the hand to spend at nearby shops.)
The format evolved over the next couple of years. Begin by picking a topic to explore. Make it kinda general but a little bit specific. No milestones or targets or road maps. Then just see where it leads.
Some years have been more successful than others.
The better ones
The Year of Music was very successful, but I didn’t start blogging until 2012. So this section should instead be titled “The better ones after I started blogging!”
For long lasting impact, it has to be Efficient Eating in 2012. I’m still living with the benefits of what I learnt that year. A good Year of is not confined to those 12 months and becomes something that bubbles along thereafter.
Coming in a close second is Liveability in 2015. It was a little less systematic than Efficient Eating, but a lot was accomplished. A Year of can become the foundation for useful habits if managed well.
The duds
I’m defining a dud as a Year of that I’m embarrassed to have included on my blog.
2014 fizzled under the cumbersome title of Sweat Squared. It was supposed to ramp up and extend the benefits from the previous Year of Sweat. Nothing of the sort happened.
The Year of 30 Days in 2016 was so-so. The four posts were on topic, and I enjoyed re-reading them today, but there should have been twelve. It was overly ambitious and lacked the necessary unifying theme.
What happened last year?
I can only declare my Year of Building a partial success because I did build something: A new website – Walking in Parkes.
The website’s aim is to provide the information I was looking for when I moved back home a couple of years ago. It is a social enterprise of sorts, with nothing financial to be gained. It might trick me into a bit more walking.
However, overall, the year was disappointing because I didn’t learn anything new about building. Learning new things is at the heart of the Year of concept.
What can I expect this year?
This year will be different because there’s something very specific I want to achieve. In that respect, perhaps it’s like the Year of Efficient Eating where the aim was specifically to learn how to eat efficiently.
For the Year of the Document, the aim is to come to grips with life’s records. Papers. Photos. Three-dimensional pieces of family history.
I first looked at the problem during the Year of Making Things Nice, and I’ve made a little progress. (Check out Getting digital without getting technical.)
However, since then, it’s been one step forward and two steps back. An elderly Uncle downsized into an aged care facility. He was too frail to clear and sort his overflowing home, so we did it for him. Anything significantly old, or that I could remember seeing at the family farm when I was a child, was set aside so I could document it somehow.
There’s a few boxes stacked in the lounge room. Waiting.
And then there’s my own stuff. Waiting.
I will be very busy with my first decision … deciding where to start.
Cherrie Zell 
What are your thoughts?