My New Year’s Resolution: Autograph Edition

On January 1, 2011, I had a full-time job, a fledgling blog, and a wife at wit’s end about the amount of time her husband was spending tracking down celebrities during one of the worst New England winters in recent memory. As a result, I changed some of my collecting habits to allow me to invest more time in building Autograph University and spending time with family. I resolved to approach graphing with greater efficiency—in particular, reducing the amount of time spent on adventures with lower success rates (e.g., visiting baseball teams, camping out on movie sets). The only thing I felt like I was cutting back on was wasted time which I could refocus into writing, relationships, et al. Looking back, I was pleased with the results.

In 2012, my resolution is quality over quantity. After more than five years of consistent in-person graphing I’ve filled the walls, bookshelves and cabinets of our modest home with signatures. Of those, there are some that I cherish. They conjure up memories of great adventures—many of which I’ve written about here. But there are hundreds more that, frankly, I don’t give a shit about and I have no idea what I am going to do with. Lately, I’ve been exploring minimalism—the unnecessary material things and obligations that sap focus and energy away from what you enjoy—through the work of Leo Babauta, Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus. This year, I want to reduce the clutter (literally and figuratively) in my graphing.

So before I get another Andrea Bargnani signed 8×10 or ask a D-list celebrity to sign an Autograph Card, I’m going to ask myself one question: Do I really need this? Heck, do I want this taking up space in my house?

Now, I’m not saying I’m only going to chase superstars with premium items. If it’s an autograph that will be meaningful to me, I’ll get a cocktail napkin signed if that’s all I have.  But with this revised approach, I’ll be able to pump even more time and energy into Autograph University and make it more closely resemble the resource I want it to be. And in most cases, the fulfillment I get from publishing a post and getting your feedback has far exceeded the autograph I could have obtained that night as an alternative.

Rest assured, 12 months from now I will still have obtained plenty of graphs that will one day be emotionally worthless. But I don’t think resolutions have to be about radical change. A small improvement is still a positive. And if it allows me to spend more time with you here at Autograph University, this year will be a wild success.

What are your autograph-related resolutions for 2012?