It’s birthday week for me and that means that it is basically time for the 6 month check in for my “n”deavours. It’s a pretty important milestone as I am turning 35 in a few days and had hoped for 5 goals to be completed by 35. Let’s be honest, they were lofty and large and were never going to be completed with a six month timeline.
Where am I now in this process?
The Process
The process remains chaotic and I think I’ve made peace finally with the fact it will continue to flux. I have some major life things happening– a change in my schedule, a major exam, and during this continued pandemic, decreased support to help with things I normally had help with.
I’m hoping to get a little bit more of a foundation settled in but I’m going to wait until March’s update to give a confirmation as to what’s going to happen for the next six months. I will continue to make space for it in my evenings as I can.
Maintain and Refine a Blog (Previously known as Start a Blog or a Vlog)
The Blog
The blog has been going well. While there hasn’t been any content between the 5 month update and this update, I have been writing for Runners of the Six about once a month (twice for February). I’ve been getting some good critique and response on the first article I posted there and I’ve just posted the second today. While for the next few months (March, April, May) I’m not sure if I can sustain writing on both sites (i.e. 3 posts a month), I think I can commit to an update plus one other blog either here or there. I was hoping to get a queue of blogs before life got chaotic and while there’s still time, I don’t want to get ahead of myself.
I’ve been fairly happy with the photos and mini-blogs on Instagram I’ve been posting which consists of my reflections. It’s easy to spend 5-10 minutes twice a week crafting a post so I’ll keep with that.
The Vlog
While this is still on the backburner, I have tried my hand at some Instagram Reels. They’ve been a lot of fun and ideas keep coming. The hardest part is finding the time to execute them and edit them. I’d still like to get 5 videos (that are maybe 5-10 minutes long) out by August on Youtube though to practice real editing and all that technical jazz.
Run a Marathon
I hit my mini-goal of running 10K. While I did have to walk the last 400m, I still count this as a little victory and will keep up with it. My first pair of shoes (Levitate 3s) kind of gave out. There’s some life left to them but the tread is worn down on the heel and I can feel the recoil in my knee when I launch off. I just started my new pair today and while they are a model up, they’re not quite the same. I need to give it a bit more time to formulate any conclusions.
Learn a Language
I’ve kept with my Duolingo language streak but need to figure out how to incorporate all the other things I spoke about in month 5 into learning: the speaking, the grammar, and the retention. I always feel more settled when there’s organization to things and that is lacking right now. A small investment in time is warranted to get things in order so I can move forward.
Perfect a Recipe
There has been no updates since last month. I had every intention of making Tong Yuan again but then I got sidetracked with doing meal prep so I’d have easy freezer meals. I’ll try again. Likely tomorrow since it is Chinese/Lunar New Year.
Learn a Craft
Again no movement. I did have an opportunity to practice a ladder stitch which I must say is a very cathartic stitch when it all closes up. This is another one that I’ll try again.
While I’m still working on these “n”deavours, I’m not feeling disappointed that I didn’t achieve 80% of the goals. There are other less tangible accomplishments. Things like the fact I’m not frustrated and feeling stuck every day. Or the fact that I feel better about my health and while still exhausted all the time, I feel a baseline happiness instead of irritation. I feel like I can tackle my goals better now and while the list will always grow and have something on there, I don’t feel like I’m missing out on a missed opportunity.
I’m going to give it another 6 months. It’s only fair to give it a full year to see if I can check anything off my list. So I’ll be here, will you?
And remember, you’re amazing and awesome and doing a great job!
-N