For the last couple of years I try to create a theme for the year and most importantly stick to it. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always go as planned, especially last year, because of the pandemic. In the middle of the year I had a pretty bad burnout, which made me more mindful about the things I do and inspired for a theme for this year.
I want to rethink everything I do. 2021 will be the year I gather data about myself and build the foundation for the future growth. It is maybe a bit late for a foundation as I turned 30 last year, but I compare it to the moment when a start-up becomes a grown-up company — you make procedures, create culture and become more organised.
At first, it felt more like a half-year theme, but now I think there is not much time even in one year to go over everything.
And I mean everything — how I track financials, what apps I use for to-do’s, notes, writing. What hobbies I have. How I use the Internet. What apps are installed on my phone, iPad. What hardware I use. How I keep track of movies, books, music. How I spend my time.
We are also moving to a new house, so there will be a lot of setup there.
I actually started with one thing last year — time tracking. It is an amazing thing. After less than a month I saw how I actually spend my time at work and I made some changes — automating some tasks and delegating other.
What mindfulness has to do with it? I realised that over the years I start using things just because someone recommends, or they are new. I don’t think about how it is different from what I use now, or how it integrates into my process. I think that is one of the reasons why I don’t stick with to-do apps for more than a week. So, what I want to do is to find a perfect tool for every thing I do. It can be not the most popular or hip at the moment, but it will be a tool I like and enjoy using.
I hope that after a Year of Setup I will be able to branch out next year to some new things.
