Hello 2016
I definitely overestimated my ability to write here while holding down a full-time job, as well as managing other compulsory life stuff. I think I’ve overestimated my ability to do anything… or at least, it feels like that right now.
2015 passed in a heartbeat; I had a list of personal goals which I haven’t achieved at all – and because I’d done ok with stuff in 2014, I’m feeling a little empty about it. It’s not been a bad year by any means, but it’s been a huge learning opportunity. The stop-start, intense wave-like pressure of university is so different from the solid, continuous ‘real’ life you end up having afterwards in the working world. Realising that free time is yours, and if you don’t make the most of it – that’s on you. I wonder if other people feel like this – I’m guessing I’m not unique in this first world epiphany – but I have felt a little lost a lot of the time. “Where am I going? What am I doing?”
I maybe need to focus on what I did manage to do. Looking at my list now, I don’t want to talk about the failures (yes, Alice, avoidance – absolutely the best mentality, let’s go with that) – perhaps just internally evaluate the ones worth rolling over and working on this year, and let the rest go.
And the few that were done…
Complete three courses on Codecademy
I did – I actually completed seven! They’re not that difficult. I recommend Codecademy a lot. Command line, Javascript, jQuery, HTML & CSS, PHP and two of the website ones were what I covered. PHP, Javascript and jQuery are the most useful to me for covering the basics of other languages – if I’m honest, I only did the others because I knew the material and wanted to just ‘tick’ them off. I entered a PHP contest at work and submitted a working solution – not an efficient answer, but the program worked and it had a super-basic UI.
I had wanted to launch my professional website using Jekyll and Github pages, so the command line course was useful in getting to grips with the basics. However, I ended up going with WordPress again because it made more sense to just launch it; I realised I was faffing around with a handmade version when the most valuable thing was just getting the site out there.
Spartan Super (Trifecta?)
Not wanting to commit to the Spartan Trifecta, because I’m piece of indecisive crap, I’d only put down the Super as a goal for 2015 – but I did do all three races in the end. I had to travel down to Hastings for the Beast on my own, and it was incredible. I’ve procrastinated writing reviews of the Super and the Beast – I don’t know if the constant race recaps are something that’s of interest for people to read – but will do a joint one soon just to have something down for them.
Get a workout plan together
Well, technically, yes – I do have a workout plan that is almost manageable. It’s something I do want to keep for 2016:
Monday: Arms + cardio or conditioning
Tuesday: Run
Wednesday: Cardio
Thursday: Run
Friday: Ideally a swim, which I did 1/52 weeks in 2015. I have since taken to having a bath instead.
Saturday: A slightly longer run
Sunday: Rest
Precise days aside, it should work out as run x3 and condition x2.
My own secret resolution was to do yoga every day – this actually lasted until October. I am happy to have managed the 9 months I did – it was a true lesson in habit formation (and my inflexibility) and now I’m back into it, it’s not as difficult as it was before. This time I’m not going to beat myself up if I miss a day – it’s a chance to relax, not get upset if I don’t manage it.
Do Men’s Health Survival of the Fittest
This had some of the best obstacles I’ve encountered so far (highlight was the giant water slide and the keg monkey bars) as well as some of (for me) the most scary – getting down the 10ft-high back of the travellator and the 8ft wall at the end.
For 2016, I’m not sure what to say or set as a goal. Maybe it’s more basic stuff – save more, sleep more, slow down. Read some good books. Breathe, respirate, regenerate some cells. Seems the safest stuff to commit to.
2 comments
Great to have you back on the blogosphere 🙂 Hope you’re well! Go you for going to all those Spartan races – that is very badass! 🙂
Hey Camila,
Thanks so much. Yeah I gotta get back into it! Really don’t know how you manage to post so much with a full time job too. Thank you – still up in the air about this year! Don’t know what to do yet but keen for maybe more orienteering, not sure. Hope everything’s good with you too xxx