The society I happen to have been born into is based on consumption. It tells me that my worth is measured in my economic contributions. That I will be judged by the clothes I wear, the car I drive, the establishments I frequent.

I’ve had enough. Generally. Broadly. And also, in some cases, specifically. In just about every way it makes sense to measure, I’ve had enough.

I reject the premise. I rebuke thee. I cast thee out.

The Year of Enough

So begins the Year of Enough, my next yearly theme. The astute may have noticed that it’s technically still 2024, and that’s true, but immaterial. Yearly themes need not align perfectly to arbitrary notions of time. What’s important is that they are useful to the person undertaking them. Consider it another way I abjectly refuse to adhere to the role society would like me to play. This year, my year starts on December 1, 2024.

Anything worth starting is worth starting now. Not tomorrow. Not next year. Now. As the poet Yoda once said, “do, or do not.”

Mechanically what does “Year of Enough” mean? At its core, it means no unplanned spending. Of money. Of time. Of effort. Of energy. I have enough. Enough material goods. Enough things to do. Enough recommendations. Enough.

The best yearly themes are conceptually simple, but deep. Enough lands right in that sweet spot. It applies to almost every category I could mention. Whatever it is I almost certainly have enough of it. In many cases I have too much. It works as a response to every exhortation. Enough.

What does this look like in practice? In many ways like a “buy nothing” year, with some notable exceptions. Travel and time spent with friends remain important to me, and I’ll continue to prioritize those. I’m not cancelling any of my planned trips. Some of those trips are to new and novel places, and may require me to buy some things to be appropriately prepared, and any necessary purchases along those lines are pre-approved.

There’s also some furniture for the house that I will need as the remodel completes, and that list has been specifically defined. A new chair. Accessories for an existing chair. The needfuls to complete the lounge, the hobby room, and the master bedroom.

Along those lines, replacing anything that breaks, home repairs, and consumables are all valid expenditures. I’m not trying to live an ascetic life. Well. At least not yet. Maybe someday I’ll go full-on recluse, but not today. “Enough” means no more of the things I’m already sated on. It doesn’t mean suffering through obvious deficiencies.

This means that, among other things, I am no longer accepting recommendations. For shows to watch, movies to see, music to listen to. One category already bursting at the seams of enough is “things to do.” I will try to return the favor as best I can. Nobody I know is really suffering a surfeit of free time, and it would be rude to inundate them with my own recommendations while politely declining theirs. Know that if you ask, I have them in ready supply, but you will need to ask. This is as much for your own benefit as it is mine.

Something I failed to do last year was define success.

At the end of the Year of Enough, I think success would look like:

• Every room in the house is clean, organized, and there are no unsorted “piles” of things in need of a place to live.
• There is enough time in the day to do work I enjoy doing, to care for my meat chariot, and to pursue an interest or hobby.
• Nothing I consider important is languishing. This might need its own blog post to properly develop, but the idea is that I should not be able to look around and find some interest or hobby that I haven’t engaged with, that I shouldn’t feel like I’m not taking care of myself or others.

There will never be enough time to do everything, but there should be enough time to do the important things.