⏳ This post is in progress and may never be completed. I don't have a save draft function on my website, but do I really need it? Bring on the public drafts :) 


~~~
Writing down resolutions is difficult. I keep adding more and more and end up with a very long list. I then feel overwhelmed and scattered.

Maybe the tool is the problem. Previously, I kept my resolutions on a Notion page, and that’s just way too easy to edit.

So this year I'm sharing them here. This will cement them in time and ensure that I can’t add more things. Given that this post is also somewhat public, I assume that having some social accountability will also be helpful. 

~~~

Echoing above, I want to spend the year feeling focused and aware, not dispersed and overwhelmed.
So whatever resolutions I set, they have to fit this intention.
~~~

I've been so in love with practicing handstands. I'm currently working towards a straddle press (without jumping!) and hoping to get it by the end of the year. I understand that it might not happen, however... there's no way I won't get better if I spend 300 days practicing. Maybe I'll be 70% closer, maybe I will be 30% closer. The main word is closer. And the key, of course, is consistency and diversity of exercises.

How does this tie to the intention? I've learned recently that getting handstand press is as much as about concentration and skill as it is about strength and flexibility. You have to be focused and aware. 

For comparison/record, in 2023 I spend 145 days on handstands. Here's the caveat: my handstand practice shouldn't come at the expense of yoga (177 days last year) and, preferably, pole (50 days). These numbers should stay the same, if not increase. This may seem like a daring goal, but if you think of all the time I spent scrolling on instagram or reddit... yeah, that's a lot of time that could be put to a better use.

Ought to make that green bird happy. In all seriousness though, I've always enjoyed learning languages and I've always taken it for granted. It's easy to do it in high school or college — you just sign up for a class and it becomes a part of your routine. I need it to be a part of my routine again. Fortunately, there's Duolingo, which makes it super easy to replace some of my before-bed-doomscrolling (see above) with some language learning and super satisfying haptics. Join me! @mash__312

The only thing I miss about the in-office days is that I managed to get around ~18k steps a day without putting much effort into it. As much as I love walking, my average steps count has been declining over the past few years. It's easy not to do something when you don't have to do it. And that's unfortunate, because aside from health benefits, walking has always been my best tool for thinking, decompressing, dreaming. After all, one of my instagram handles is @inspiredflaneur and I should live up to that. 

Last September, I enrolled in a Graphic Design certificate program at RISD CE. My initial thought was to improve my graphic design skills, with the goal to eventually switch from doing design at enterprise SaaS to somewhere more creative (an agency or a more design-centered company). After taking first couple classes though, I realized how much I missed making art. Just the process of it. Painting. Sketching. Being so in a state of pure flow and calm. Being bad at something and not caring about it. 

Upon browsing the course catalogue, I also found a lot of interesting classes that I wanted to take but that don't count towards the certificate. So... while the certificate is still on my mind, I decided to instead just take whichever classes I want. I've also realized that having an art outlet helps balance out the systematized nature of my work an appreciate it more. So I'm no rush. 

I'm starting this year with the Introduction to Human Anatomy class and it's  ✩ fascinating ✩.

I have done 50 YouTube tutorials so far. It has been a great emotional outlet — there, I can do anything that I want. No requirements, no constraints, no compromises. Doing these tutorials has also revealed to me how much I don't know about things I thought I knew. How much I might understand intuitively (if that) but can't explain. 

Teaching (anything, anywhere) forces you to become a student first. If you want to deliver quality material, you have to verify every single word, every single step. You have to ask questions: is this the only solution? is this the most effective solution?

You have to give it at least 110% and that's awesome. You have to take it slow and thorough. That's a great balance to the fast (and often, sloppy) pace of (tech) work. There are so many things at work that I want to revisit, to understand, to clean up, to package and present in a concise, beautiful way. Doing that, and then putting it into a tutorial has been so intrinsically satisfying and rewarding in ways that's hard to describe. 

This is focus, this is awareness. Pausing, evaluating, shrinking. Getting to the essence. 

(...Worthy of its own post, someday).

~

And with that, that is it. The assumption is that these shouldn't take all the time. Empty space is built in. Space for other, important things. The intention carries over though...