2017 | Progress Report | January
We're one month into 2017, which is a year where I've set myself a lot of new year's resolutions. This progress report will look at what those resolutions are, and how well I am keeping them.I've talked about my vague 2017 resolutions a little on Twitter, but I haven't outlined them here yet. Let me do that for you now.
🚂 Keep up my momentum with work
🎨 Be more creative
📝 Be more reflective
🎮 Keep a record of all the games I play
🏆 Finish things (or be rid of them)
🏃 Exercise more
👂 Communicate better (and listen more)
Like I said: vague. And deliberately so. This isn't a year for "write a book of 50,000 words or more", or something like that. For me, this year was about personal improvements, but ones that are difficult to quantify.
I had a lot of professional success in 2016, as outlined in my year in review, but there was little personal success worth noting. Or perhaps there was plenty of personal success, but I just wasn't paying enough attention. I need to prioritise my non-work life more, and I'm trying to do just that in 2017.
🚂 Keep up my momentum with work
The year has started well for me in terms of work, but I'm also trying to include more relaxation and reflection into my schedule. The last weekend of January saw me sitting on the couch, working on my Wreck this Journal while binge-watching Law and Order: SVU. I am trying to remember the activities I used to engage in when I was trying to procrastinate over undergraduate study. A healthy little bit of procrastination is better for me than constantly thinking about work, I think.
🎨 Be more creative
My creativity has primarily been directed at my new Wreck this Journal so far this year. I bought the journal on January 1st, and haven't given it up yet. I plan to finish it (unlike the first two I started). You can check out my WTJ progress here. I've also been using other crafts to keep myself creative (such as knitting), creating games and experimenting with game engines (like in the work-in-progress aquarium and work simulator on my itch.io).
I've also stayed inspired by exploring galleries. I went to the Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane in early January, and the Museum of Old and New Art in Hobart more recently. Being in these spaces helps me feel creative in different ways to producing my own art, and documenting my adventures gives me an inspiring record to revisit when I need a boost.
📝 Be more reflective
I have been reflecting by regularly writing in a 'one line a day for three years' journal that I bought on January 1st. I'd be lying if I said I write in it every day without fail, but I have been putting time aside every few days to catch up and be honest. I've also been trying to have more reflective alone time, such as in the bath or sitting outside in our newly renovated courtyard. Being alone often leads to a lot of anxious feelings as my brain is no longer distracted from all the things it needs to do; I'm trying to break some of those habits and be okay with my own company again.
I have tried meditation multiple times to try and mitigate some of these issues, but I've never had any luck. Hopefully these alternative reflective practices still help me find me some peace.
(I guess writing progress reports like these are also an important part of reflecting throughout the year!)
🎮 Keep a record of all the games I play
This has been going quite well! I started recording the games I play a little earlier than January 1st (because I was excited) and I haven't missed any yet. Sometimes I just pop the titles into the list and come back later to fill in the details and my thoughts (because life gets busy!) but I haven't totally fallen off this wagon. You can check out my record here.
🏆 Finish things (or be rid of them)
I'm trying to spring clean the house (in summer). There are so many unfinished projects lying around, and they are cluttering up my space and my mind. I need to finish my projects or be rid of them so I can stop feeling anxious about all these unfinished things, and I need to try to finish the projects that I start this year. I find so much joy in beginning things (and I think a lot of people do) but finishing them can be hugely challenging; I'm trying to find similar joy in the act of completing things and the sense of accomplishment that comes with that.
One major project that I have completed so far this year is a rug that I started knitting when I was 14. I revisited this project many times over nearly a decade, but never managed to finish the rug because I had these huge specifications in mind that my 14-year-old self wanted me to meet. I have a better understanding of scope now, and decided that it was time I finish the project, even if it isn't quite what I intended when I was less old and wise. I tweeted about the finished rug here.
🏃 Exercise more
This is such a cliché new year's resolution, but over the Christmas period my hips and shoulders started widening, and therefore the number on the scales started growing for the first time since I was 12. While I am pretty sure it's mostly my body finally filling out in ways its supposed to (I've always been underweight, and have been asked by multiple doctors if I have an eating disorder), it gave me a bit of a kick up the butt in terms of prioritising exercise. So, I've been running. I've also been doing various cardio exercises at home, and trying to find ways to strengthen my muscles without putting strain on my injured wrist. I have recorded some metrics and will be using these to gauge how I go throughout the year.
My goal is to reach the point where running hurts my legs before it hurts my chest.
👂 Communicate better (and listen more)
My anxiety often makes me very bad at concentrating. If there are multiple sounds around me, my brain generally wants to listen to all of them; this usually results in sort of hearing everything, but not processing anything well enough, and frustrating whoever I am supposed to be paying attention to by asking them to repeat themselves. On a good day, I can keep this in check, but on a particularly anxious day, even my own thoughts can too loud and distracting.
I have become much more aware of this recently and am striving to improve it. It's frustrating for me and for the people who have to talk to me, and I am keen to find some solutions. This one is definitely a work-in-progress; I am trying to improve, but I'm not convinced that I'm succeeding just yet.
Overall, I am progressing well with my resolutions. Even those that aren't moving along as quickly as I'd like are at least still moving; I haven't forgotten or abandoned any of them just yet. And I'm hoping that I won't! One of my resolutions is finishing things, so I'm trying to stick these resolutions out. I'm hoping for a rewarding year—personally as well as professionally.