Time for my 2018 annual review.
In this blog article, I’ll do my best to answer these three questions: 1This format is inspired by James Clear’s annual reviews.
What went well this year?
What didn’t go so well this year?
What am I working toward?
Here we go:
1. What Went Well This Year?
Lost 12 kg and made myself physically stronger. Got into a healthy exercise regimen and started losing some unnecessary weight. What got me started and kept me on track was various pulse training programs. For some reason, my body and general mood seem to respond well to physical activity measured not by time or resistance but by time spent in different pulse zones.
Abandoned ship. I was the first to leave the agency startup I was part of. Now, I don’t blame anyone for things not working out, but sometimes you realise that you’re in a group with different visions for the future. I don’t regret giving it a go, but I’m most proud of being able to eject myself sooner rather than later. And, the agency itself closed up shop about five months later anyway. Live, learn — and move on.
Videography and photography. Taking photos has become a consistent part of my life — and I love it. It has helped me reconnect with nature, and it’s such a privilege to let go of work and focus on being creative for creativity’s sake. Also learnt a lot about video as well, and it would be fun to explore it a bit further as well.
Paternity leave. Since things didn’t work out professionally, I made good use of my time by making sure to max out my paternity leave this year. Every day I spend quality time with Jack is a momentous day, and I’m almost sad that he’s growing and developing so fast. Sometimes, I wish that he would stay four years old forever.
2. What Didn’t Go So Well This Year?
Accounting fiasco. Turns out my accounting firm has done a less-than-stellar job with my books. This became terrifyingly apparent as I decided to change to another accounting firm. We had to undo and recreate all the bookkeeping back to 2014 literally. Long story short: I’ve paid twice as much tax as I legally should. So, the good news is that I’ll get some money back. Still, I’d rather have those years of stress undone.
The video idea. For 2017, I thought that video production would be a great business. Turns out that corporate video is still nice-to-have rather than need-to-have. Maybe I was too early here?
3. What Am I Working Toward?
I landed a new job in the first half of 2019. So, this one will be tricky since I want to go for a corporate role within marketing, communications, or PR. This is tricky because everyone I know thinks of me as the quintessential agency- or advisor type. I must get back in the game after my paternity leave and hustle.
#365photochallenge. The idea is to push me to post a photo a day on my Instagram account for the whole of 2019 to get better at both photography and editing. Also, I’m hoping that this will push me to get out with my camera more often.
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ANNOTATIONS
1 | This format is inspired by James Clear’s annual reviews. |
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