My New Year's Resolutions

It's another new year again, that time of the year when we are filled with renewed hope and determination to improve ourselves physically, mentally and spiritually.

In the spirit of the season, I thought I'd blog about a few of my resolutions in the vague hope that it will encourage me to keep them, or more likely provide a record of my unfulfilled ambitions come 2013...

Chess Related Resolutions

1. Join a chess club. I haven't played OTB chess competitively since Margaret Thatcher was kicked out of Downing Street - happy days! I know I would probably enjoy it, and it would definitely be good for my chess but it's difficult to drag myself out of the house in the evenings.

2. Blog about chess more. My inactive blogs litter the internet like allegedly funny pictures of cats. My blogger blog is unloved and largely unused, and even my Chess.com blog has been neglected recently. I love writing about chess, so in-between writing news articles I really should make time for some blogging.

3. Play more 'live' chess. I've played a lot of turn-based games at Chess.com, but I've hardly used LIVE chess up to now because I prefer to have more time to think. But with the new improved live chess, I think I should try some 30 minute or 15¦10 games to sharpen my play.

4. Use Chess Mentor more. Every time I use Chess Mentor I remember how great it is. I MUST use it regularly so less of my games look like the one below...!

Other Resolutions

1. Complete a 5k run. Last year I started a program called Couch to 5k, but stopped doing the course after 5 of the 9 weeks. Yet I got a lot of satisfaction and improved fitness out of running. If I can start again and this time finish the course, I should be able to run 5k which is no mean feat for a couch potato like me!

2. Eat healthier home-cooked meals. I stopped eating red meat around 3 months ago and I've lost about 10lbs in weight since then. Now I'd like to learn to cook more healthy meals instead of eating so much processed food.

3. Take a holiday. I haven't had a proper holiday since 2005 when I visited New York, Philadelphia and Boston (some pics here). Time to indulge myself and my wife again!

Me in Philly with the Liberty Bell

Have you made any New Year's resolutions for 2012, chess related or other? Do you have any tips to help me with mine?