NTB's Roadmap

[NeverThatBored]

I love that there's a place for this. 

 

Fitness 

• Get better at yoga
  • Learn to do the splits. Any splits.
  • Master crow pose - Learned it for a while but haven't worked on it and can't currently do it
  • Do a headstand
  • Be able to do a friggin' seated wide-legged forward fold properly
  • Wheel and bow poses
• Try out martial arts again - I used to do karate and I'd like to get back into some sort of martial art DONE
• Get strong - I'm mostly focused on bodyweight exercises for now but I love weights too. I'd like to easily be able to lift 50lb bags and the like mostly for showoff purposesDONE 
• Stop being winded by stairs
• Run a 5K DONE
• Walk 5 hours / week  DONE
• Do 100 consecutive push ups
• Try CrossfitDONE and DONE
• Improve my footwork so it stops being so embarrassing I no longer even remember what this meant??
• Learn to dance well enough to not be embarrassed 
• Buy a bike and relearn how to ride, then ride around everywhere DONE - can't ride on the street with cars but I'm comfortable on a bike now
• Get better at swimming IN PROGRESS - I took 2 classes but need more work

Food/Diet/Cooking

• Conquer my sugar addiction
• Learn more basic cooking techniques by heart
  • Roasted chicken
  • Roasted veggies - DONE
  • Baked potatoes
  • Chicken pieces
  • Sauces
  • Vinaigrette 
• Participate in a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farmshare DONE
• Grow my own vegetables (when I have a garden someday)

Finance

• Pay off my student loans much sooner than 10 years (current plan is 4 1.5 years to go) DONE
• Open a Roth IRA for retirement DONE
• Max out yearly contributions to IRA DONE
• One day become a landlord

Hobbies

• Finish a damn novel. I've won NaNoWriMo several times, but I never actually get to an ending. Once I get to an ending, I can actually start editing and trying to make a story good.
• Learn to write short stories, because of the problems above
• Become competent in a coding language of some sort
• Learn to make basic apps
• Learn to draw respectably
• Learn to play the Harmonica. Because it's cool. Started learning to play the ukulele instead - but it's related! 
• Learn basic Japanese IN PROGRESS
• Learn whittling DONE (very basics only)

Other

• Get a cat
• Hike up a mountain (not a scary steep one though)
• Learn basic handy skills like carpentry and basic plumbing
• Go to a film festival
• Travel somewhere by myselfDONE
• Finally learn to drive on highways DONE

[abbilation]

Your epic quest looks a lot like mine! I'm also especially anxious and shy haha.  Good luck! 

[SgtKaiju]

I've made this offer elsewhere, but I run Verse Books - http://versepublishing.com/

 

If you want to get some work out there, drop me a line and we'll see what we can do...

[Nnimn]

• Learn to play the Harmonica. Because it's cool.

Heck yes....and when you do you so have to post a video.

Ditto on the book. And I have a similar issue with short stories....they always end up as unfinished and very un-short stories...So if you finish one let me know! I'd love to read it.

[NeverThatBored]

2017 Update

 

Theme word for the year: honesty

 

Last year's theme was "cool" and I feel like I was true to that. I worked out 3 times a week, ran at least once a week (only missed once), and am maintaining a 295 day meditation streak. I did an OCR for the first time. I tried bouldering for the first time. I got waaaay better at driving. I started whittling. I passed my first aikido belt test. 

 

For "honesty' I want to work on getting rid of cognitive dissonance to reduce anxiety. When I'm dishonest / not true to myself about things, or feel the need to hide something because it's vaguely bad, I get anxious. I think a lot of my anxiety comes from times when I'm not being totally honest. For example - if I see a text message and decide not to reply until later because I don't want to deal with it, I feel the need to hide the fact that I didn't just respond when I saw the message. And that causes stress. Or if I'm slacking at work (because I don't have much to do so there's no rush to get htings done) I'm vaguely worried about someone finding out and feel anxious. Etc. So this year is all about working on that. 

 

Goals

 

I don't have goals for 2017 specifically. But I have ongoing goals that I'm working on, and I have things I generally want to focus on.

• Keep working on goal of 5 consecutive pullups. Once I achieve that goal, I can consider a barbell program. 
• Take those darn swim lessons
• Continue to experiment with food habits and try to simplify my system in a way that automates good habits
• Work on the Ready to Run benchmarks and continue improving my running
• MOBILITY - take yoga classes, continue with Focused Flexibility, work on taking better care of my wrists
• Read at least 36 books in 2017
• Pay off 2-3 student loans in 2017

[NeverThatBored]

2018 Update

Theme for the year: How can I make this more awesome?

 

This year has been hard. I did my “Things I did in 2017” review list a couple of weeks ago, and it felt a lot less impressive than past years. My fitness got worse and I didn’t have any new milestones. My big events were moving and surgery. And selling my car. I feel like I lacked accomplishments compared to past years. There were a lot of firsts in past years - different kinds of adulting, driving, job milestones, fitness milestones, etc.

 

But this year was more about decline and recovery than it was about anything new, and I don’t really love that.

 

So I want to start to think about 2018. I’d like 2016 to look more like 2018. Even numbers are better anyway, right?? In 2016 I reached a weight low of 132. I want to get there again. I’d like to do a 30 day paleo challenge in January. I’d like to start working seriously on my baby triathlon goal - fix up/tune up my bike, figure out biking better, learn to swim properly, and get running up to snuff. I want to recover push up strength and pull up strength and tackle dips again. I want to resume aikido as my wrist improves. I want to do GST stretch videos.

 

I want to tackle at least one non-fitness goal too. I’d like to take a graphic design class or something in that category. I’d like to learn some coding/refresh some coding skills. I’d like to make some instructional video to enhance some work-related skill there. I’d like to at least APPLY for a new job and have that experience, regardless of the results. I’d like to finish paying off my student loans.

 

I’d like to do 2 home workouts and 1 different workout/week again, so I may try out some bootcamp classes or other types of classes for a change of pace. I want to run 5K again. I’d like to keep doing that deep stretching yoga class, and other home yoga videos. I’d like to regain crow pose once my wrist allows for it.

 

I want to walk every weekday at lunchtime, weather allowing.

 

I may or may not tinker with bouldering some more. I’m curious about GST workouts, so I may experiment with those instead of other strength workouts, depending. I am also curious about barbell workouts, but I want to get my bodyweight stuff back to a good place first. I want to finish GMB Elements properly now that I can handle it. I want to start hiking/day backpacking.

 

I want to go on a CA road trip at some point and explore some of those places on my travel list. If camp NF happens, I want to go to that.

 

I want to take harmonica lessons. I don’t know exactly how/where to find a teacher, but I’d like to learn some basics from an actual person. I’d like to either join toastmasters or get some vocal coaching on speaking too.

 

I’d like to read 36 books this year (only hit 35 last year). I’d like to join either a CSA or similar veggie program. I want to work through the books I’ve accumulated and the library for most books.

 

I’d like to volunteer somewhere.

 

I’m a lot happier with my wardrobe, which I’ve been working on over the past 2 years. I have some worky stuff on my list still, but a lot of that isn’t high priority since I don’t go into an office anymore.

 

I want to work on repairing my relationship with my dad while I still can. 1 nice thing for him a week goal. I want to play more board games with people. I want to complete that 30 day drawing book. I want to actually use that sewing machine I bought last year.

 

I want to shop less and feel more in control of my budget. I want to finish paying off my student loans completely AND hit my emergency savings goal so I can move onto other financial goals.

 

I want to learn to parallel park. I want to succeed at some darn monkey bars! I may want to try an intro crossfit class at some point.

 

I’m also interested in doing more with Japanese - practicing putting together and speaking a different phrase or answering a basic question every day to go beyond duolingo.

 

I have some NF challenge ideas for the upcoming year. I can finally stop doing that one thing per challenge that I’ve been doing all year and go back to a more ambitious challenge format! 

 

Last year, my theme was honesty. I wanted to work on showing up more, on being honest as a way of tackling anxiety. And it did work somewhat, but of course there’s plenty of work to do. I sort of sometimes used the mantra “courage honor self restraint” and “make a better decision” which sometimes helped and sometimes didn’t. This past month the phrase - “I move daily & don’t let my expectations distract me” has been helping me.

 

For next year, I think I want to focus on the phrase “how can I make this more awesome?” My theme will just be awesome, I guess? Or enhancement? Improvement? 

[NeverThatBored]

(Belated) 2019 Update

 

As I get ready for 2020, I'm going back and looking at this thread, and I realized I never posted my 2019 (end of 2018) thoughts! I have some journal entries and challenges I can look at to piece things together, even though this should have been done about a year ago. I'm saving the reflection on 2019 for a different post, so this is just a summary of where I was going into 2019.

 

2018 Reflection

 

2018 overall was another year I wasn't satisfied with - I used to be excited about new life experiences but it felt like there was just very little that still excited me or made me feel like I was growing.

 

I didn't hit everything I wanted to work on going into the year, but I made good progress. Here's a quote from a journal entry summarizing what I accomplished in 2018:

"I did some great things! Finished my emergency savings! Paid off my student loans! Took Japanese classes! Read all the books I wanted to read. Went on some nice trips. Took a bike riding class. Did Crossfit (in two states!) and Aikido. Signed up for precision nutrition!" 

 

I did accomplish things in 2018, for sure, but I wrote that I overall felt dissatisfied. Despite all the great things I did accomplish, I just didn't feel a sense of growth or life satisfaction. 

Another journal quote: "So it’s interesting that a lot of the things I didn’t do were around personal skills improvements, which require a lot of self motivation. The things I DID do were easier because they come with built in/external motivators, or they’re just really fun. In some cases I had the motivation and lost it too (triathlon stuff)."

 

2019 Goals:

 

Going into 2019, I had these goals/areas I wanted to focus on:

• Keep doing extra work on bodyweight strength goals outside of crossfit
• Read 1 job related book/quarter
• Work on Japanese more
• Start learning the Harmonica 
• Work on parallel parking and other driving skillz
• Swimming and biking

2019 Theme of the year: Luxury (basking)

 

Going into 2019, I wanted to focus more on having experiences that felt luxurious, and basking in them. I was inspired by a magical experience on a road trip where I got to sit in a hot tub near the ocean at night and listen to the waves. I felt the tension just melting off of me. I couldn't remember the last time I'd actually felt so relaxed. It was a road trip, but if I had just spent a whole week there, I would have been thrilled. 

 

So I wanted 2019 to be about doing nice things for myself - not about being frivolous or overspendy, but about finding ways to experience things that felt luxurious to me. I had just paid off my student loans, so I was ok with spending a little more money than I had in previous years if I thought it could bring me back to how good I felt in that hot tub.

 

I didn't have specific goals, but I had ideas about trying some things like manicures and massages, experimenting with nice sheets and things to make the bed more comfortable, spending time basking in sunlight or hot tubs, or doing activities that I'd really enjoy but that might be splurgy (like taking a cooking class). I also wanted to focus more on social experiences - spending time with people, etc.

[NeverThatBored]

2019 Update

 Going into 2019, I had these goals/areas I wanted to focus on:

• Keep doing extra work on bodyweight strength goals outside of crossfit Done! I started working on pullups 2x/week after crossfit classes, and I got pullups back! I weigh more than last time I could do a pullup, so that means I'm even stronger than I was them.
• Read 1 job related book/quarter Nope - didn't happen. I'm not that upset about it. 
• Work on Japanese more Done! I took 4 straight semesters of Japanese this year. 
• Start learning the Harmonica Done, sort of - I started learning the uke instead, but I can play some songs and I consider it a hobby now, so this is a win
• Work on parallel parking and other driving skillz Nope, didn't do much here
• Swimming and biking Sort of I took a swim class in the summer, though I need more work. I went on a couple bike rides (including one with other people - which was a fear of mine!) but didn't do much work on that overall.

Like last year, I DID accomplish a lot of the things I wanted to do. But like 2018, I did the easier stuff or the fun stuff or the stuff with outer accountability, but I didn’t work on the harder stuff. The problem is, the harder/scarier stuff is also the stuff that will have the biggest impact in my life. 

 

My theme of the year was luxury (basking). I thought about it throughout the year, but I did a bad job of actually creating it for myself. I thought constantly about figuring out how to get a massage, but I never did it. I heard about a cool stretching service where you lie on a table and they stretch you, but I haven’t tried it yet. I went through phases where I went on walks and sat outside, but I did LESS of that this year overall than in previous years. I stayed at hotels with spas twice but I balked when it was time to actually try them. I did finally manage to get a manicure in December, but it wasn’t all that luxurious of an experience. 

 

I’m not going to re-use the theme going into 2020, but I’d still like to keep it in mind and actually work on it this year.

 

I seem to have become incapable of relaxing. I even confused my doctor when she did a reflex test - she cocked her head at me and said “...are you just really tense?” I feel this vague and constant sense of pressure, like there’s constantly work I have to get done or a to do list item I have to check off...even when there isn’t. I’m searching for ways to just let it go, but I don’t know how. (Do you see how that luxury theme could have been useful here??)

 

Overall Feelings

It’s really cool to look back at my epic quest list from 2015 and cross so many things off, even though I didn’t specifically remember the contents of that list. It’s also cool to look at my 2017 post and see that I did a lot of the things on that list - again, even though I didn’t really remember the details of that particular list. It makes me feel like I AM making progress, even if it doesn’t feel like it in the short term.

 

Like last year, my overall feelings about the year are negative. I feel increasingly unable to take control of my habits despite the things I did do. My challenges feel pointless and I’m running out of ideas for different ways to approach them. I’m frustrated with my shin issues and that I can’t run, because running was so incredibly good for me mentally. It's even starting to affect walking. And I feel like I want something else for my life, but I don’t know what it is, so I don’t know how to pursue it.

 

Theme for the year: Reliability

 

I want to become more reliable. When Tank had us do that exercise to identify what archetypes resonate with us, my result was "guardians." I really like people who show up for others, who are there when you need them, who have what it takes to support you when you need help. I always have. But I also have a lot of the same qualities as a duckling, which is sort of the opposite of what a guardian looks like. I'm nervous a lot. I lean on others to support me when I'm not sure what decision to make / direction to take. I don't exactly inspire confidence. 

 

I can't protect people or look after them (or myself) if I'm too caught up in my own fears to do it. In a crisis, I want people to know that I can and will show up for them. So, I want to become more reliable. One big area for me with this is driving - I need it to stop being a big deal to drive to a new place. 

 

I think it's important to point out that I love my duckling qualities too. I think they come from the same basic values as my love of guardian archetypes does. I want things to go well for people. I want to be around others and be close to people. I want to do the things that will make the most people happy. Etc. So this theme isn't about getting rid of my duckling qualities. It's just about leveling them up so they manifest as more guardian-like traits. 

 

Things I'd like to Work On in 2020

• Keep working on pull-ups - I’d like to be able to string 5 together 
• Renew focus on mobility - it’s relaxing AND it’s really important for me physically
• Keep looking for ways to bask/luxuriate/relax
• Don’t give up on Japanese even if I take a break from it
• Figure out what’s on this imagined perpetual to do list of mine and GET RID OF IT (maybe some of the more difficult tasks below?)
• Figure out what I need to do to feel like I like myself again, and do it
• Biking/Swimming skills
• Look for ways to reduce screen time that I can actually palate / spend more time outside, especially longer stretches
• Shop less - “You don’t need to have things to be things”
• Make driving and career goals a priority
  • Make an appointment with someone who can teach me to parallel park instead of hoping someone in my life will be able to teach me
  • Do more experiments in driving without a GPS and actually learning how to get around

  • Work on career exploration and figuring out what’s next...consider scheduling regular time to sit down and work on it