Monthly Review: January 2020
1 Feb 2020 18:20
I'm obsessed with
Social events! Early in the month I decided to double down on my goal of getting more social in 2020 and threw myself into a bunch of new social events and activities. The upsides were that I got a lot more exercise from being out and about more, which helped me sleep better, and I also found that string a lot of events together without big gaps in-between helped me capitalise on the buzz of each one to be more confident going into the next. On the other hand, it quickly became exhausting, and I felt like I had no big blocks of time to focus on work, or housework, or anything else. Swings and roundabouts, I guess.
I'm listening to
Sigala. I've recently decided I like dance pop when I'm at the gym or just need a boost of energy, and British DJ Sigala tends to fit right into what I like.
I'm reading
The Gardner Heist still! I've been barely reading because I'm falling asleep so quickly from all the action in my life. When things slow down again I'll spend more time reading at night.
I'm watching
Occupied, a Norwegian drama. The show is okay but not amazing. It has a real cool premise, though, which is that Norway decides to stop exporting oil entirely, and switches to all green energy sources, but because they supply so much of Europe with oil, the UN gets mad and sends Russia in to take over Norway and switch the oil pumps back on. It's a scary premise because it's so realistic.
January goals
✖️ Release the email course I'm working on
I didn't make the time to do this because I was busy and I didn't want to do it. It's fiddly work and I'm not looking forward to it, but I'll need to plan to get it done in the coming months.
✔️ 1 social event
As I mentioned earlier, I squeezed in a bunch of different social activities this month. Far more than one. Some were with family, so less helpful in terms of increasing my social circle, and less effort than meeting strangers, but they still helped with my momentum of getting out of the house and being in the world more.
- Toured two co-working spaces, and worked a half-day at one
- Took a drum lesson
- 2 family dinners and 2 brunches
- 3 sessions at the Australian Open with my mum and sister
- Attended an AFL women's team training session
- Attended a weekend workout fundraiser run by my gym
✖️ 1 post per blog (Exist, my personal blog, and Hello Code)
I published one on my blog (Competing values) and one on the Exist blog (How to get the most out of Exist), but none for Hello Code.
✔️ Outline slides for a talk
✔️ Test my tuck lift numbers
The checklist of strength measurements I'm working through this year has a set of 15 tuck lifts (hanging leg lifts, but with knees tucked) included. I was pretty sure I could do this many, but wanted to test it before ticking it off the list. I did manage it, so this one is complete.
✔️ 1 chin up with the thinnest resistance band at my gym
I moved this goal to February around Jan. 15, because I hadn't gotten back to a regular gym routine and had only worked on chin ups once or twice in the month, so I thought there was no way I could achieve this. But the next day I happened to be at the gym and chin ups were programmed, so I tried it just to see... and I did it! I also did it once more at the start of my second set. It's exciting to see some progress, because bodyweight strength seems to improve far slower than lifting weights.
✔️ Publish my 2019 review
You can read it here.
✔️ Bonus: 20 dumbbell lunges with 10kg weights
This goal (another one from the checklist I'm working through) was set for February, but lunges happened to be programmed at my gym one day in January, so I gave it a go and was able to tick it off.
Focus habit for January
✔️ Danish
I didn't practise Danish every day, but I did practise often, and I feel back on track with this habit.
February goals
I had a lot of trouble coming up with goals for February, because even one month is long enough to change my mind about what I want to spend my energy on, and I don't like failing at goals that no longer match my priorities. So instead of specific goals, I'm going to try to focus on chipping away at my 2020 annual goals, and I'll use my February monthly review to share an update on those goals.