**This post is intended to hold my own feet to the fire, and keep certain promises to myself.**
About ten months ago I wrote a blog post about coming up with a ten-year plan for myself.
With the end of the year just around the corner (and I know it will come *much* sooner than I anticipate), I thought I should get a head -start on taking a look at how well I’ve stuck to my goals and re-evaluate them. Why wait until New Years’, right?
a) Steady work and less contracts– I’d love to continue working on my skills and building work experience, particularly in communications, marketing, project management, business, but I won’t say no to any good opportunities that come my way;
b) Pay off student loans– it might take a while, but it is super important to me;
c) Work out at least three times a week consistently— I’d like to get stronger and more fit, which means having a more structured attendence;
d) Learn to speak another language fluently– I’ve been working on German through Duolingo; and
e) Travel more– Top spots include New Orleans, Cuba, and the UK.
a) I’ve definitely kept this promise, however I also picked up some more contracts as side work, and I’m enjoying it. Maybe a better way to look at this goal is to keep steady work as well as some freelancing on the side.
b) Working on that… I can’t wait for the day when I pay less in student loan payments than my rent.
c) Here’s one of the goals I’m failing at massively. I eat better than I did as a student, but working out consistently hasn’t happened. As much as I’d like to blame the freelance work, that’s not really fair. There were stints where I excused myself from going to gym because the weather was so nice out. A leisurely stroll does not a workout make.
I think I need to come up with a motivator to go to the gym (eg. allow myself to buy fancy teas if I keep my goal), or find an app like Duolingo to keep motivated.
d) I’m actually fairly impressed with how much German I’m retaining, and now that Duolingo has expanded to include Ukrainian, I practice French, German and Ukrainian each for once a day and I’m loving it.
e) I can safely blame the failure of this goal on the student loans, and I don’t feel the slightest bit guilty. Instead, I’m trying to focus on reading books that transport me to new places and get my travel fix that way.
Considering this past year was full of upheaval and change, I’m actually fairly impressed with how well I’ve done, minus going to the gym. Still, I think these are managable goals, and I intend on keeping them. 🙂
-kb
Kateryna Barnes 