Date: 2-10-2014

Due date: 2-10-2014

Resolution: I bought this book of challenges years ago intending to complete every task inside. Other than flipping through it a few times while sitting on the toilet this book has spent most of its time sitting on my bookcase collecting dust.

This year I'm going to change that.

Note: The book is designed so that you go in order and complete one task a day for a year. I know that sounds very fitting for this challenge, but I don't plan on following this structure. I have no intention of going in order, and some days I may try to complete five tasks while other days I may choose to ignore the book altogether.

I also doubt that I will complete everything so here's how I plan to gauge my success or failure for this challenge.

Complete %90 to %100 of the challenges: Success!!!

Complete %80 to %89 of the challenges: Success*

Complete %70 to %79 of the challenges: Success**

Complete %60 to %69 of the challenges: Success***

Complete less than %59 of the challenges: Failed :(

Date: 2-11-2014

Due date: 2-11-2015

Resolution: I'm going to stop smoking cigarettes for at least a year. Notice I didn't say quit. I don't like to quit things because I don't believe in the permanence of the word. How many smokers do you know that tell you they've quit smoking five times and that they're going to quit again soon? Doesn't that mean they've yet to quit once?

I also feel that "quitting" leads to too much pressure and pressure makes people want to smoke. Also this pressure of "quitting" seems to turn it into a game of all or nothing. I know plenty of people who once they stop all it'll take is one cigarette and it’s game on.

I'm currently down to where I only smoke socially when I'm around other smokers and I beg for a cigarette. I often go weeks without having a single smoke. I figure quitting smoking is a popular resolution so why not give it a shot and stop for a long period of time.

Who knows this may lead to actually stopping for good.

Date: 2-12-2014

Due Date: 2-12-2015

Resolution: Make that noon thirty.

On Monday I ended up staying awake until around 7:00 in the am because I was hell-bent on finishing my novel. Though I finished at around 4:30 in the am, I had too much going on in my head to sleep. I still managed to wake up at around 1:00 in the pm.

Now I am in a horrible sleep pattern. This morning I went to bed around 7:30 in the am and just woke up an hour ago at 3:00 in the pm. I wouldn't have a problem with this if I stayed productive up until I fell asleep, but I like to wind day my day at around 3:00 in the am.

So there was a good four hours that I just laid there thinking. I woke up at noon and could have forced myself to stay awake to break this cycle but I was feeling a little down so I decided to ride this sleep thing out.

The feeling down isn't really a bad thing. As I said in something I wrote yesterday, I suffer from a bit of separation anxiety whenever I finish up a big writing project. This can turn into full-blown depression if I let it, leading me to sleep 12 to 16 hours a day until I get out of it.

Now that I've got this 365 Days of Resolution experiment I'm finding that I don't like to get this late of a start. There are certain resolutions that if I don't get them done early I'm more inclined to put them off until I can get an earlier start. I also fear that people may be thinking, “Oh, this is the day he gave up.”

For the next year… I resolve to wake up before noon thirty (unless I land a gig where I get paid to work overnights and there's no getting around going to bed while the sun is up.)

Wish me luck. I do fall into moods where I really love sleep.

Date: 2-13-2014

Due Date: 2-13-2015

Resolution: I've been interested in meditation for years. If you read enough of my stuff you'll see that I often bring up the fact that I can’t silence my mind. Whether I'm trying to sleep, read, or just be in the moment, my thoughts are always racing.

I think it's because I've spent the majority of my life alone, constantly searching for ways to entertain myself. I'm constantly looking for humor in the mundane, trying to find a story to share those moments that I am around others, constantly trying to justify my existence.

I've bought books, listened to guided meditation, I've even gone to a meditation center. I think I have an expectation that something magical is supposed to happen, so I can help but think, “Am I doing this right?” as I sit there in silence.

I think my other issue is, as an insomniac, the only other time I have my eye closed while awake is when I am desperately trying to go to sleep. I have a theory that my attempts to meditate trigger my sleep anxiety.

I plan to eventually resolve to meditate every day, but until then my focus will be to figure out which technique works for me.

Date: 2-14-2014

Due date: ASAP

Resolution: A couple of weeks ago I resolved to become my own boss. Part of that resolution was to find a part-time job to supplement my income until I was able to figure this out. I had a few leads at the time but I haven't heard back from either.

As the end of the month approaches and my bank account remains empty, this is no longer a case of supplemental income. I've lived the past two or three years doing freelance film work and it always slows down around this time of year, but I don't know if I can do it anymore.

I think I need a little more stability so I can focus on my writing and not freak out every other month about whether or not I have work. It was a good run and I had a lot of fun, but I think it's about that time to move on and go back to just being an employee collecting a check and dreaming about time off.

Wish me luck!!!

Date: 2-15-2014

Due Date: 2-15-2015

Resolution: Back in Resolution #9 I resolved to rearrange and clean my apartment. I succeeded within the week or however long I gave myself. Since then I've tidied up a few times, but I have a tendency to get too focused on my work and only clean up when I know I'm going to have company, which isn't often.

I prefer living in a clean place it's just not a priority, so for the next year I'm going to make it a priority, well at least once a week.

Date: 2-16-2014

Due Date: 2-16-2015

Resolution: When I think of anyone who's ever said anything horrible about me I realize no one can top the things that I've said about myself.

I've always been pretty rough on myself. Even when I try to give myself a positive trait I usually follow it up by putting myself down. Like I'll describe myself as a loveable dumb guy, or just another funny fat guy.

I noticed that as I continue on with this whole resolution thing in an attempt to become a better person that I constantly add little jabs at myself, bracing myself for failure or reassuring others that this is kind of a joke, not to be taken too seriously because who am I to think anyone is interested in following my progress?

As I move forward I will try and ease up on myself. I'm not going to cut out the self-deprecation all together, I'm just going to try and not really mean it as much as I currently do.

Date: 2-17-2014

Due Date: 12-31-2014

Resolution: If you are following my progress you already know that I recently completed my first novel, Doug: A Life. I'm currently taking at least a month off so that I can revisit the story with fresh eyes… to plan my rewrite strategy...

The main reason I'm making this resolution now, rather than waiting until I'm ready to start, is so that I'll have to gauge on a daily basis whether or not it's time to get started based on how I feel when I write my The Daily Breaker list.

Date: 2-18-2014

Due date: 2-18-2014

Resolution: A few years ago I wrote a series of short scripts called Apartment Infinity. This series is based on my short film The Infinite Flu. At the time it was meant to be a web series. A couple people expressed interest in shooting this series, only I can barely afford to produce a short film once a year, let alone an entire series.

Date: 2-19-2014

Due Date: 2-19-2014

Resolution: If you know me you know that I like movies. You also know that I like weird movies, movies that don't make lists. That said I'm not as thrilled by this resolution as you would think.

This morning I was looking for an excuse to watch more movies so I did a search for the greatest movies of all time. AFI's 100 Years 100 Movies was the top of the list. I clicked the link and perused the list to find that I've only seen about 30 out of the 100.

I wasn't sure about how I felt about watching some of these movies; I've been intentionally avoiding many of the movies on this list for years, decades even. So, I went on to search for other lists. As I scrolled through list after list, from bloggers to Moviefone, I couldn’t help but think that the AFI list is probably the most legitimate.

So here we are.

Over the next year… I'm going to watch all the movies listed below in order from 100 to 1 whether I've seen the movie or not.

Date: 2-19-2014

Due Date: 2-19-2014

Resolution: If you know me you know that I like movies. You also know that I like weird movies, movies that don't make lists. That said I'm not as thrilled by this resolution as you would think.

(Movies 70-41)

Resolution: If you know me you know that I like movies. You also know that I like weird movies, movies that don't make lists. That said I'm not as thrilled by this resolution as you would think.

(Movies 40-11)

Resolution: If you know me you know that I like movies. You also know that I like weird movies, movies that don't make lists. That said I'm not as thrilled by this resolution as you would think.

(Movies 10-1)

Date: 2-20-2014

Due Date: 2-20-2015

Resolution: I've been living in my apartment for close to if not over three years. The place has a nice bay window, granted it overlooks another crappy apartment but it's a bay window nonetheless.

I've been thinking for quite a while that since there's no reason to sit in this cubbyhole it would be a perfect place to grow a plant. It also might be nice to have something to take care of in this world and since my apartment doesn't allow pets of any kind I figure why not grow a plant and if I'm going to grow a plant why not grow one that I will reap the benefit if I do it right.

Unfortunately… I can't start this resolution right away because I'm broke, but the moment I can afford to I'm going to start the process of creating something that will go from seed to plate and share my progress.

Date: 2-21-2014

Due Date: 2-21-2015

Resolution: I've owned this guide to Ductigami for several years now. I have yet to make a single attempt to even starting any of the 18 projects found in this book. This will be the year I will complete them all!

Date: 2-22-2014

Due date: 2-22-2015

Resolution: Yesterday when I was looking for my Ductigami book I stumble across these two puzzle books that I received as gifts a while back. I'm not sure but I think today was the first day I ever opened either book and the only reason I opened them was to see if I even made an attempt at solving any of the puzzles.

Nope.

These are perfectly unused used books. This is going to be the year that I change that.

Date: 2-23-2014

Due Date: 2-23-2015

Resolution: I discovered this book when I was working at Amazon.com back in 1997, I bought this book maybe three years ago, I reference this book in maybe three of my screenplays, I reference this book whenever I get the chance to joke about it, I have yet to even make an attempt to use this book to build a dinosaur.

I figured since the last couple resolutions were to finish projects in books that I've owned for years without even opening I'd keep the theme going. I'm not going to go so far as to complete every project in this book, but within the year I will be the proud owner of a chicken bone dinosaur.

Date: 2-24-2014

Due Date: 2-24-2015

Resolution: I don't know how long ago this started to bother me but I've actually been working on this for a while. The group of people that I hang out with has always been a pretty equal blend of guys and girls. I've always felt weird contacting one of the girls to ask, "Hey, what are you guys up to tonight?" I always thought how weird it would be if it were the other way around. It's also just not an accurate question.

For the most part… I've already cut this out when dealing with them, but I do slip up from time to time, and no one calls me on it because it's such a common thing. So I figured I'd make it a public thing and make a more conscious effort to just cut it out altogether.

If I contact you and start to stammer when I ask what's going on, it's because I caught myself and am torn as to what to say as a replacement. I refuse to say, "Y'all," and "What are you people up to," has its own problems. So until I work out my replacement you'll just have to deal with the awkwardness. :)

Date: 2-25-2014

Due Date: 2-25-2015

Resolution: As you can see from past resolutions, I've managed to build up quite a collection of "How To" books over the years. The fact that I've yet to complete any of them isn't necessarily due to the fact that I've given up on the things that I want to learn, more often than not I give up on these books because I either learned what I needed to get by or found my own way of doing things.

Take oil painting for example. Even though I want to learn proper techniques I was able to do this by just buying paint and brushes and just going for it.

I haven't painted in quite a while and want to get back into it, so I figured why not start with the basics and use this book as a guide? I own it after all and right now it's just going to waste sitting there on my bookcase.

I guess that's the bigger point of this recent run of books that I own based on these resolutions. I bought each and every one of these books for a reason and that reason wasn't to be a decoration. In most cases the books in question were meant to create decorations, so that's what I'm finally going to do!!!

Date: 2-26-2014

Due Date: 2-20-2015

Resolution: Granted I have a fantasy that one of these days I'm going wake up, log on to make an update, and see that I've had a consistent amount of readers for a long enough period of time to turn this blog into a career, but that's not really why I'm here. Just like everything else, I'm going to do what I'm going to do whether I have an audience of one or one million.

That's said I can't help but get excited when I see peeks only to feel defeated when I see valleys. This project is supposed to be a fun distraction from the ups and downs of life and not an added burden.

You may not even see the effects of the pressure I put on myself so this is more of an internal resolution than one that can be gauged. From here on out I will not only remain confident that I'm going to complete this project, but I'll complete it without the added pressure of worrying about what anyone else thinks.

Thanks to everyone who has been following this experiment. It's been a blast so far. I look forward to sharing more of my adventures.