Ikar

I'm using the template I used the last time. 11/10/25 - 3/11/25 "L" will stand for the (last) plan/notes for this term. "T" will stand for done this term. I added "Future goals/direction" to better reflect on the things I am trying to do and to add specificity. I will copy it and stick it somewhere where I can see it to remind myself whenever I feel aimless. I will also use different colors: blue for newly added goals/habits, green for completed/successful, orange for ongoing/some progress and red for ones I haven't worked on in that period. Books/Reading articles/Learning: L: Continuing with "Influence". Read on Reddit about finance and English teaching again. I also started doing crosswords back in August. T: Finished Influence. I also read "War with the Newts" by Čapek. Borrowing a few new books soon. Read on Reddit about finance. I unsubbed from the English teaching forums, because most of the issues there were irrelevant to me. Did the crosswords a little again. Possible direction/goals: (Borrow) and read one book until the next monthly report. Family: L: My father and I had our birthdays, so we met for the celebration. Met my brother separately for lunch too. What's special is that my uncle came for a visit, hadn't seen him in years. Over the last few months, I noticed grandma's getting worse; she had troubles with balance and memory. She had a cold a month or two ago, so she couldn't go out much. We now bring heavier groceries to her. My brother and I will try to convince her to go for a few medical checks, but she's stubborn and doesn't want to visit the doctors. T: My mom, brother, his girlfriend, my girlfriend and I went to a standup show. It was OK. I also went to sushi with my brother, after a long time. The health of my grandma is more or less still the same. Our family collectively managed to convince her to go to the doctors. Turns out she hasn't been to her GP in four years, though she did visit eye, internal or other specialized doctors. My father is organizing the care these days; he delegated a lot of the tasks onto my mother, who is retired. My brother and I are on standby and involved in some of the smaller tasks. I'm not sure whether that is the best (and fastest) course of action, but something's being done and that's the main thing. I hope it turns out well. NOT: I don't want to get alienated from my family. Possible direction/goals: Work on getting the new kitchen for my grandma. Continue work on maintaining the relationships with my family. Business/English: L: Launched PPC ads on Google with the help of one of the guys. I also met one teacher colleague and she gave me the idea (and asked about) forwarding students/courses to her. I could even do it for a small commission, but at the moment it seems like too much hassle for too little profit. We'll see what comes up in the future. The last few months I've been testing the comprehensible input method and I, and the students too, are fairly happy with it. It focuses on learning the language naturally through audio and video. It's also graded based on the student's current level, usually with a few new words thrown in for context. The same thing also exists for reading. Many students often say they're afraid to talk, but I think it's not because they're shy. It's just a symptom of the fact that they don't know enough vocabulary in useful contexts. Small kids learn vocabulary and meaning without memorizing lists of vocabulary. This was brought to home to me yesterday, when we met my girlfriend's little nephew. He said: "I pick up walnuts, NO." Yes, grammar is wrong, but meaning is conveyed. As he listens to people more and more, he'll soon understand that the sentence should be structured differently. T: I and one of my FIRE friends organized a teacher/lecturer meeting. Two other people came and we had good fun. I might organize more of these in the future. Visited a seminar on AI tools usage and learned a trick or two to help me. I also made a few minor website updates. Important: From next year, I'm planning to have a late morning break every day, roughly from 10 until 12/13. I will use this break for exercise, lunch, shower and the walk with my girlfriend. The main thing is to take the exercise seriously and that's fairly difficult if my day and lessons look different every day. Check this next month and inform the students. NOT: I don't want to have a job that I don't enjoy. I don't want to have a job that is not well paid. Past projects: Copied to a Google Doc to keep this less cluttered. Current projects I'm working on: Website improvement project - since August 2024 lecturer trainings - ENG business February-May 2025 55 minutes F2F lessons (+ online reminder too); pricing updates I and one of my FIRE friends organized a teacher/lecturer meeting. Areas to work on continually: English table update - check every now and then for improvements. Keep classes at a stable 20-25 hours a week. Keep asking for reviews or recommendations from students. CELTA colleagues calls. Go through "lecturer academy" + CELTA materials + lecturer course. Exercise/Movement/Health: L: I got a bit ill. I think I recovered about week ago, but then my girlfriend and I spent an extended weekend in another city and went for a bike trip. This week was busy with work, so I didn't have time to exercise. I haven't had almost any home exercise in two weeks. Gonna pick up the slack today and over the start of the next week. My girlfriend and I also got a new gadget called the Oura Ring that tracks vitals. Looking forward to using the vitals data in the future. T: Managed to exercise, cycle or run 3-4x a week the past three weeks. This includes the trip to Slovenia with my girlfriend as well. I again noticed that my blood pressure went down after being active for a few days. Minor activities also include changing wheels on my car. Went to dental hygiene too. NOT: I don't want to become fat. Possible direction/goals: Keep in shape by exercising at least twice a week for 30-60 minutes. Have a session every weekday from January. Social + personal hobbies + free time: L: Watched a few films and attended a few events with my girlfriend, met my friend a few times, played billiard in a group, met another friend in another city, attended the FIRE meeting and visited yet another city with my girlfriend. T: Went to Slovenia with my girlfriend, for hiking and cycling trips. We also went to a sauna night (surprise gift from her) and went to a wellness cottage (gift for both of us from her family). I also did some maths and finance; about my business, stock brokers or mortgage. Watched a funny series I've seen in the past by myself. I also met my friend a few times and that was that. I don't really meet that many people outside of this friend and my girlfriend; unless I also include my students into this. I don't think I'm missing out on anything though, so I guess I'm doing fine in this regard. --- For thought: Maybe I should just learn to plan better, though just the thought of having some hours of my day scheduled makes me cringe. Oddly enough, I don't get this feeling while planning lessons of my students, normally in bigger blocks. Maybe I should rethink that belief to make me happier. This might change with the late morning exercise lessons. I've had this recurring thought every now and then that I am often somehow prevented from what I want to do in my free time; basically whenever I am not with students or sleeping. No, I just need to stop reading and learning all the time and start doing things. Imperfect action yields results. Information alone is useless. I like these reports, because they take me back in the calendar and let me see if there's something I've missed or something I need to check on again. --- Plans for 2025 (check each month and color - red, orange, green): Family: I don't have any specific plans for my family, besides finishing my grandma's kitchen. I also don't have any plans of starting my own, although I've always said I'm ready after finishing the uni. The main thing for the success of that would be to manage time and money correctly. Career: The last year was successful business-wise. I got the confirmation for the new lecturer course running from February to May. The main goal is to get the website finished, so I want to actively cooperate with the other freelancers. I'm not going to set any arbitrary goals, except keeping my lesson work-hours around 20-25, and to managing the other admin stuff (preparation, mails, trainings) in another 10 hours. That makes the total of 30-35 hours worked a week. Friends, community: I am part of more friend groups and communities. I don't have any big plans in mind regarding this area of my life. I expect to naturally drift towards more libertarian, financially educated and entrepreneurial/self-employed communities. I find the most inspiring people there. Relaxation, hobbies, creativity: I intend on continuing the hobbies I currently do, including writing, working out or going to the shooting range. I also want to remain curious about things and keep on traveling to break out of the cycle to unwind completely sometimes. Maybe I'll get around to blogging again. I think the line between work and relaxation is blurry for me. Physical health, fitness: Again working out (and stretching) and flossing. I think my diet is OK. I might start tracking some indicators of body fitness, but I don't think I'm quite there yet. Mental health, self-knowledge: Avoid overwork and burnout. Keep hours on roughly 20 lessons + 10 hours of ancillary work a week. Keep on doing things that feel right. Keep on planning/marking down things in my calendar. --- Habits for 2025 (check each month and color - red, orange, green): Habits that define you: family - keep in touch with my family at least once a month girlfriend - make time to talk every day and keep on working on strengthening our relationship via common activities career - work on my education continually, learning something new every week, even in unstructured ways; sources: CELTA, meeting other English lecturers/teachers, reading on their websites, lecturer course coming up in February, working on the business side of my work friends/community habits - meet with my best friend a few times a month, meet with my friend groups a few times a month too relaxation, hobbies, creativity habits - shooting range, writing, traveling, blogging, reading, being curious, sauna fitness habits - stretch every day, work out/run twice a week; floss daily mental health habits - keep my hobbies, work and other activities in balance, try new things every now and then a better tomorrow habits - provide great added value back for the money of my students ---

I'm on my second day of just catching up with some the interesting activities and being curious after a long time again, so I can empathize. Anyhow, when I'm struggling with some mundane activities (actively), I try to make them fun or meaningful one way or another. It's hard to brute-force all of it all the time. I may not be the best planner to e.g. nail exercise daily, but I already got myself to not think twice about whether I want to exercise or not and I try to cram it into any time window I come across.

I'm using the template I used the last time. 5/9/25 - 11/10/25 "L" will stand for the (last) plan/notes for this term. "T" will stand for done this term. I added "Future goals/direction" to better reflect on the things I am trying to do and to add specificity. I will copy it and stick it somewhere where I can see it to remind myself whenever I feel aimless. I will also use different colors: blue for newly added goals/habits, green for completed/successful, orange for ongoing/some progress and red for ones I haven't worked on in that period. Books/Reading articles/Learning: L: I finished "Getting to Yes". It was a good read about negotiation techniques and finding win-win situations. I now started reading "Influence" by Cialdini, which is more about manipulation rather than negotiation. Read on Reddit about finance and English teaching again. T: Same this month. Continuing with "Influence". Read on Reddit about finance and English teaching again. I also started doing crosswords back in August. Possible direction/goals: (Borrow) and read one book until the next monthly report. Family: L: My father and I had our birthdays, so we met for the celebration. Met my brother separately for lunch too. What's special is that my uncle came for a visit, hadn't seen him in years. T: Over the last few months, I noticed grandma's getting worse; she had troubles with balance and memory. She had a cold a month or two ago, so she couldn't go out much. We now bring heavier groceries to her. My brother and I will try to convince her to go for a few medical checks, but she's stubborn and doesn't want to visit the doctors. NOT: I don't want to get alienated from my family. Possible direction/goals: Work on getting the new kitchen for my grandma. Continue work on maintaining the relationships with my family. Business/English: L: So I've upped the prices/repackaged the offer. The new website is up and running and it seems to be having a better performance than the previous one already. Looking good so far. T: Launched PPC ads on Google with the help of one of the guys. I also met one teacher colleague and she gave me the idea (and asked about) forwarding students/courses to her. I could even do it for a small commission, but at the moment it seems like too much hassle for too little profit. We'll see what comes up in the future. The last few months I've been testing the comprehensible input method and I, and the students too, are fairly happy with it. It focuses on learning the language naturally through audio and video. It's also graded based on the student's current level, usually with a few new words thrown in for context. The same thing also exists for reading. Many students often say they're afraid to talk, but I think it's not because they're shy. It's just a symptom of the fact that they don't know enough vocabulary in useful contexts. Small kids learn vocabulary and meaning without memorizing lists of vocabulary. This was brought to home to me yesterday, when we met my girlfriend's little nephew. He said: "I pick up walnuts, NO." Yes, grammar is wrong, but meaning is conveyed. As he listens to people more and more, he'll soon understand that the sentence should be structured differently. NOT: I don't want to have a job that I don't enjoy. I don't want to have a job that is not well paid. Past projects: Copied to a Google Doc to keep this less cluttered. Current projects I'm working on: Website improvement project - since August 2024 lecturer trainings - ENG business February-May 2025 55 minutes F2F lessons (+ online reminder too); pricing updates Areas to work on continually: English table update - check every now and then for improvements. Keep classes at a stable 20-25 hours a week. Keep asking for reviews or recommendations from students. CELTA colleagues calls. Go through "lecturer academy" + CELTA materials + lecturer course. Exercise/Movement/Health: L: 4x a week this month as well, plus all the walking during the holiday with my girlfriend. T: The same, up until perhaps two weeks ago, when I got a bit ill. I think I recovered about week ago, but then my girlfriend and I spent an extended weekend in another city and went for a bike trip. This week was busy with work, so I didn't have time to exercise. I haven't had almost any home exercise in two weeks. Gonna pick up the slack today and over the start of the next week. My girlfriend and I also got a new gadget called the Oura Ring that tracks vitals. Looking forward to using the vitals data in the future. NOT: I don't want to become fat. Possible direction/goals: Keep in shape by exercising at least twice a week for 30-60 minutes. Social + personal hobbies + free time: L: Visited Estonia with my girlfriend, went to a comedy show, took up doing crosswords, read up on leveraged investing, met with my FIRE group and quiz group. Went to the mountains a few times with friends. T: Watched a few films and attended a few events with my girlfriend, met my friend a few times, played billiard in a group, met another friend in another city, attended the FIRE meeting and visited yet another city with my girlfriend. --- For thought: Maybe I should just learn to plan better, though just the thought of having some hours of my day scheduled makes me cringe. Oddly enough, I don't get this feeling while planning lessons of my students, normally in bigger blocks. Maybe I should rethink that belief to make me happier. I've had this recurring thought every now and then that I am often somehow prevented from what I want to do in my free time; basically whenever I am not with students or sleeping. No, I just need to stop reading and learning all the time and start doing things. Imperfect action yields results. Information alone is useless. --- Plans for 2025 (check each month and color - red, orange, green): Family: I don't have any specific plans for my family, besides finishing my grandma's kitchen. I also don't have any plans of starting my own, although I've always said I'm ready after finishing the uni. The main thing for the success of that would be to manage time and money correctly. Career: The last year was successful business-wise. I got the confirmation for the new lecturer course running from February to May. The main goal is to get the website finished, so I want to actively cooperate with the other freelancers. I'm not going to set any arbitrary goals, except keeping my lesson work-hours around 20-25, and to managing the other admin stuff (preparation, mails, trainings) in another 10 hours. That makes the total of 30-35 hours worked a week. Friends, community: I am part of more friend groups and communities. I don't have any big plans in mind regarding this area of my life. I expect to naturally drift towards more libertarian, financially educated and entrepreneurial/self-employed communities. I find the most inspiring people there. Relaxation, hobbies, creativity: I intend on continuing the hobbies I currently do, including writing, working out or going to the shooting range. I also want to remain curious about things and keep on traveling to break out of the cycle to unwind completely sometimes. Maybe I'll get around to blogging again. I think the line between work and relaxation is blurry for me. Physical health, fitness: Again working out (and stretching) and flossing. I think my diet is OK. I might start tracking some indicators of body fitness, but I don't think I'm quite there yet. Mental health, self-knowledge: Avoid overwork and burnout. Keep hours on roughly 20 lessons + 10 hours of ancillary work a week. Keep on doing things that feel right. Keep on planning/marking down things in my calendar. --- Habits for 2025 (check each month and color - red, orange, green): Habits that define you: family - keep in touch with my family at least once a month girlfriend - make time to talk every day and keep on working on strengthening our relationship via common activities career - work on my education continually, learning something new every week, even in unstructured ways; sources: CELTA, meeting other English lecturers/teachers, reading on their websites, lecturer course coming up in February, working on the business side of my work friends/community habits - meet with my best friend a few times a month, meet with my friend groups a few times a month too relaxation, hobbies, creativity habits - shooting range, writing, traveling, blogging, reading, being curious fitness habits - stretch every day, work out/run twice a week; floss daily mental health habits - keep my hobbies, work and other activities in balance, try new things every now and then a better tomorrow habits - provide great added value back for the money of my students ---

I'm using the template I used the last time. 1/8/25 - 5/9/25 "L" will stand for the (last) plan/notes for this term. "T" will stand for done this term. I added "Future goals/direction" to better reflect on the things I am trying to do and to add specificity. I will copy it and stick it somewhere where I can see it to remind myself whenever I feel aimless. I will also use different colors: blue for newly added goals/habits, green for completed/successful, orange for ongoing/some progress and red for ones I haven't worked on in that period. Books/Reading articles/Learning: L: I finished "Getting to Yes". It was a good read about negotiation techniques and finding win-win situations. I now started reading "Influence" by Cialdini, which is more about manipulation rather than negotiation. Read on Reddit about finance and English teaching again. T: Continuing with "Influence". Read on Reddit about finance and English teaching again. Possible direction/goals: (Borrow) and read one book until the next monthly report. Family: L: I didn't see my family much this month, just at my brother's birthday party, though strictly speaking I'm visiting my parents and grandma together with my girlfriend over the weekend. Nothing new otherwise. T: My father and I had our birthdays, so we met for the celebration. Met my brother separately for lunch too. What's special is that my uncle came for a visit, hadn't seen him in years. NOT: I don't want to get alienated from my family. Possible direction/goals: Work on getting the new kitchen for my grandma. Continue work on maintaining the relationships with my family. Business/English: L: The work is still ongoing on some pricing changes, as well as on my website. I also have a lot of my students on holidays, but I don't mind, as I can use the time for other projects. There are some minor tasks before the launch next week. Lessons are about 2/3 of the usual, which is a good amount to keep busy. T: So I've upped the prices/repackaged the offer. The new website is up and running and it seems to be having a better performance than the previous one already. Looking good so far. NOT: I don't want to have a job that I don't enjoy. I don't want to have a job that is not well paid. Past projects: Copied to a Google Doc to keep this less cluttered. Current projects I'm working on: Website improvement project - since August 2024 lecturer trainings - ENG business February-May 2025 55 minutes F2F lessons (+ online reminder too); pricing updates Areas to work on continually: English table update - check every now and then for improvements. Keep classes at a stable 20-25 hours a week. Keep asking for reviews or recommendations from students. CELTA colleagues calls. Go through "lecturer academy" + CELTA materials + lecturer course. Exercise/Movement/Health: L: Overall, I managed to exercise in various ways 2x-3x per week this month. I also took part in two running races this month. I'm quite happy with the results, even though I was a bit slower on the 4 km this year 😄 2024: 4 km - 18:40 8 km - 45:17 2025: 4 km - 18:44 8 km - 42:00 Upped the exercise (cycling, running, hiking, weight training or swimming) to about 4x a week this month. T: 4x a week this month as well, plus all the walking during the holiday with my girlfriend. NOT: I don't want to become fat. Possible direction/goals: Keep in shape by exercising at least twice a week for 30-60 minutes. Social + personal hobbies + free time: L: Attended the FIRE meeting, met my high school mates at the cottage, met my friends at gun-range and other places. Managed to fix the window blinds by myself instead of calling the repair company. Watched the Bourne Trilogy, Tour de France and Severance. T: Visited Estonia with my girlfriend, went to a comedy show, took up doing crosswords, read up on leveraged investing, met with my FIRE group and quiz group. Went to the mountains a few times with friends. --- For thought: Maybe I should just learn to plan better, though just the thought of having some hours of my day scheduled makes me cringe. Oddly enough, I don't get this feeling while planning lessons of my students, normally in bigger blocks. Maybe I should rethink that belief to make me happier. I've had this recurring thought every now and then that I am often somehow prevented from what I want to do in my free time; basically whenever I am not with students or sleeping. No, I just need to stop reading and learning all the time and start doing things. Imperfect action yields results. Information alone is useless. --- Plans for 2025 (check each month and color - red, orange, green): Family: I don't have any specific plans for my family, besides finishing my grandma's kitchen. I also don't have any plans of starting my own, although I've always said I'm ready after finishing the uni. The main thing for the success of that would be to manage time and money correctly. Career: The last year was successful business-wise. I got the confirmation for the new lecturer course running from February to May. The main goal is to get the website finished, so I want to actively cooperate with the other freelancers. I'm not going to set any arbitrary goals, except keeping my lesson work-hours around 20-25, and to managing the other admin stuff (preparation, mails, trainings) in another 10 hours. That makes the total of 30-35 hours worked a week. Friends, community: I am part of more friend groups and communities. I don't have any big plans in mind regarding this area of my life. I expect to naturally drift towards more libertarian, financially educated and entrepreneurial/self-employed communities. I find the most inspiring people there. Relaxation, hobbies, creativity: I intend on continuing the hobbies I currently do, including writing, working out or going to the shooting range. I also want to remain curious about things and keep on traveling to break out of the cycle to unwind completely sometimes. Maybe I'll get around to blogging again. I think the line between work and relaxation is blurry for me. Physical health, fitness: Again working out (and stretching) and flossing. I think my diet is OK. I might start tracking some indicators of body fitness, but I don't think I'm quite there yet. Mental health, self-knowledge: Avoid overwork and burnout. Keep hours on roughly 20 lessons + 10 hours of ancillary work a week. Keep on doing things that feel right. Keep on planning/marking down things in my calendar. --- Habits for 2025 (check each month and color - red, orange, green): Habits that define you: family - keep in touch with my family at least once a month girlfriend - make time to talk every day and keep on working on strengthening our relationship via common activities career - work on my education continually, learning something new every week, even in unstructured ways; sources: CELTA, meeting other English lecturers/teachers, reading on their websites, lecturer course coming up in February, working on the business side of my work friends/community habits - meet with my best friend a few times a month, meet with my friend groups a few times a month too relaxation, hobbies, creativity habits - shooting range, writing, traveling, blogging, reading, being curious fitness habits - stretch every day, work out/run twice a week; floss daily mental health habits - keep my hobbies, work and other activities in balance, try new things every now and then a better tomorrow habits - provide great added value back for the money of my students ---

Yes, as long as it's within our circle of control, I do think we can achieve anything. Except the games that are zero-sum and either/or with a lot of competition (e.g. being the top company for lawnmowers in Colorado or becoming the president). But everybody can work on their health, friendships and the quality of their work 🙂

No problem, thanks for running this! 😄

I'm using the template I used the last time. 30/6/25 - 1/8/25 "L" will stand for the (last) plan/notes for this term. "T" will stand for done this term. I added "Future goals/direction" to better reflect on the things I am trying to do and to add specificity. I will copy it and stick it somewhere where I can see it to remind myself whenever I feel aimless. I will also use different colors: blue for newly added goals/habits, green for completed/successful, orange for ongoing/some progress and red for ones I haven't worked on in that period. Books/Reading articles/Learning: L: Finished Parkinson's book and started "Getting to Yes", a book about negotiation rules and techniques. Read on Reddit about finance and English teaching again. T: I finished "Getting to Yes". It was a good read about negotiation techniques and finding win-win situations. I now started reading "Influence" by Cialdini, which is more about manipulation rather than negotiation. Read on Reddit about finance and English teaching again. Possible direction/goals: (Borrow) and read one book until the next monthly report. Family: L: We had two work sessions with my friend this month. I expect one more, but it'll really be the last cleanup session. I'd like to say that I am happy, relieved or in general something positive, but nothing really comes to mind. I'm just numb in this regard. Other than that, I only spent time with my mom during her spa stay. T: I didn't see my family much this month, just at my brother's birthday party, though strictly speaking I'm visiting my parents and grandma together with my girlfriend over the weekend. Nothing new otherwise. NOT: I don't want to get alienated from my family. Possible direction/goals: Work on getting the new kitchen for my grandma. Continue work on maintaining the relationships with my family. Business/English: L: The work is still ongoing on some pricing changes, as well as on my website - pretty much the same. I also have a lot of my students on holidays, but I don't mind, as I can use the time for other projects. I haven't been bored so far and I'm catching up on other things. T: Pretty much the same. I finished work on the texts last week. There are some minor tasks before the launch next week. Lessons are about 2/3 of the usual, which is a good amount to keep busy. NOT: I don't want to have a job that I don't enjoy. I don't want to have a job that is not well paid. Past projects: Copied to a Google Doc to keep this less cluttered. Current projects I'm working on: Website improvement project - since August 2024 lecturer trainings - ENG business February-May 2025 55 minutes F2F lessons (+ online reminder too); pricing updates Areas to work on continually: English table update - check every now and then for improvements. Keep classes at a stable 20-25 hours a week. Keep asking for reviews or recommendations from students. CELTA colleagues calls. Go through "lecturer academy" + CELTA materials + lecturer course. Exercise/Movement/Health: L: Overall, I managed to exercise in various ways 2x-3x per week this month. I also took part in two running races this month. I'm quite happy with the results, even though I was a bit slower on the 4 km this year 😄 2024: 4 km - 18:40 8 km - 45:17 2025: 4 km - 18:44 8 km - 42:00 T: Upped the exercise (cycling, running, hiking, weight training or swimming) to about 4x a week this month. NOT: I don't want to become fat. Possible direction/goals: Keep in shape by exercising at least twice a week for 30-60 minutes. Social + personal hobbies + free time: L: Went to a few pub quizzes, went to the VR shooter with my friends, managed my finances well, won a table football tournament, went to the theater. Spent time with my girlfriend shopping, hiking, watching series and going to trips. T: Attended the FIRE meeting, met my high school mates at the cottage, met my friends at gun-range and other places. Managed to fix the window blinds by myself instead of calling the repair company. Watched the Bourne Trilogy, Tour de France and Severance. --- For thought: Maybe I should just learn to plan better, though just the thought of having some hours of my day scheduled makes me cringe. Oddly enough, I don't get this feeling while planning lessons of my students, normally in bigger blocks. Maybe I should rethink that belief to make me happier. I've had this recurring thought every now and then that I am often somehow prevented from what I want to do in my free time; basically whenever I am not with students or sleeping. No, I just need to stop reading and learning all the time and start doing things. Imperfect action yields results. Information alone is useless. --- Plans for 2025 (check each month and color - red, orange, green): Family: I don't have any specific plans for my family, besides finishing my grandma's kitchen. I also don't have any plans of starting my own, although I've always said I'm ready after finishing the uni. The main thing for the success of that would be to manage time and money correctly. Career: The last year was successful business-wise. I got the confirmation for the new lecturer course running from February to May. The main goal is to get the website finished, so I want to actively cooperate with the other freelancers. I'm not going to set any arbitrary goals, except keeping my lesson work-hours around 20-25, and to managing the other admin stuff (preparation, mails, trainings) in another 10 hours. That makes the total of 30-35 hours worked a week. Friends, community: I am part of more friend groups and communities. I don't have any big plans in mind regarding this area of my life. I expect to naturally drift towards more libertarian, financially educated and entrepreneurial/self-employed communities. I find the most inspiring people there. Relaxation, hobbies, creativity: I intend on continuing the hobbies I currently do, including writing, working out or going to the shooting range. I also want to remain curious about things and keep on traveling to break out of the cycle to unwind completely sometimes. Maybe I'll get around to blogging again. I think the line between work and relaxation is blurry for me. Physical health, fitness: Again working out (and stretching) and flossing. I think my diet is OK. I might start tracking some indicators of body fitness, but I don't think I'm quite there yet. Mental health, self-knowledge: Avoid overwork and burnout. Keep hours on roughly 20 lessons + 10 hours of ancillary work a week. Keep on doing things that feel right. Keep on planning/marking down things in my calendar. --- Habits for 2025 (check each month and color - red, orange, green): Habits that define you: family - keep in touch with my family at least once a month girlfriend - make time to talk every day and keep on working on strengthening our relationship via common activities career - work on my education continually, learning something new every week, even in unstructured ways; sources: CELTA, meeting other English lecturers/teachers, reading on their websites, lecturer course coming up in February, working on the business side of my work friends/community habits - meet with my best friend a few times a month, meet with my friend groups a few times a month too relaxation, hobbies, creativity habits - shooting range, writing, traveling, blogging, reading, being curious fitness habits - stretch every day, work out/run twice a week; floss daily mental health habits - keep my hobbies, work and other activities in balance, try new things every now and then a better tomorrow habits - provide great added value back for the money of my students ---

22 Jul - 29 Jul: I finished writing texts for the website. I also read a new book called "Influence" by Robert Cialdini. I also read up on financial and English reddits. I started watching a new series - Severance. I quite like the dystopia. (Thanks for the tip @WilderDaze !) Aside from that, I worked out, did some cycling and running. I had a meeting with my local FIRE group and we welcomed some new members. I had a meeting with my highschool classmates at a cottage at the weekend. Spending just a day or two together, there was time just for the "main events" - who changed jobs, broke up or got married. I came back home happy that the things with my girlfriend are still the same, in a good way too 😄

What do you think the potential obstacles are in your field in the future? I understand what you're saying by writing about the perceived prestige and getting forced to fit a certain image. Honestly, having a "simple, uncomplicated" job is freeing. I get asked every now and then whether I am planning to expand my English teaching into a company. The media also bombards me with starting a business too. But honestly, I am happy where I am at, so I invest into maintaining and improving my current situation. If (and that's an if, not a when) that changes a few years down the road, I'll change my approach. In my current situation, work is the meaning. I don't need to make x10 of what I make to create meaning from the money. If driving a forklift or a truck makes you happy, you'd be against yourself to not do it.

9 Jul - 21 Jul: Two weeks have passed since my last entry. I haven't been active too much here, but I chalk it up to the fact I don't need to actively reflect and de-stress when I have more free time in general. The thing is, maybe I don't even have more free time, as I do other tasks instead of the lessons: writing texts for my website, going to the gym, working on more chores and others. I've just remembered how awful I've felt during holidays when I gamed, because there was nothing else to do; nowadays there's always something to do or improve, even if the main priorities are taken case of.

1 Jul - 8 Jul: I've had the first week of summer and I have about 50% less lessons. I took that time to read the book "Getting to Yes" more often, did some swimming, cycling, hiking and working out at the gym. I also had a good meeting with my friend on Friday. I also watched Punished with my girlfriend. Work-wise, I've been working on the texts for my website, putting in an hour or two every day. I've been a bit lazy yesterday and today, which doesn't feel great, but overall I am still getting important things done. I'll have the whole weekend for myself without my girlfriend, so I'll take the time to do something outside, hopefully it won't rain.

I get that. I think of it in the way that we truly got to be the best version of ourselves while gaming to compensate for the bad real-life version of ourselves. Contrary to pop wisdom, just because a person spends all of their time online at home doesn't mean that they are introverted. I streamed online and had many interactions with people, so I had little incentive to have interactions offline too. I assume that's the problem with really becoming addicted to games, work etc. People want to save their "best" version for the thing they find most important and leave the "bad" version for everything else. It normally doesn't work on the human level, because it's unnatural to narrow down the focus so much. We're not machines to do just one thing 100% right. I guess love got me away from gaming too if I think about it in this way. Gaming couldn't emulate the experience and I was just too curious and determined to get the love back. It still took some time and experimentation to get it right, but I believe I've arrived 😄

Huh, it really seems odd. I think wrote something different, maybe the forum is bugging out a little or maybe I'm just being stupid. I meant to write it was good advice 😄

Everyone has hardships. Do not allow this to become your excuse. It's okay not to know how to be independent and lose the phone less. That's why we're all here for. But my advice is not to stop at this. My advice is to not say "I do not know how", but to ask "how may I do that?" Because that is indeed an obstacle to your real goals, the "reality avoiding activities" like gaming, social media, movies, etc. I can relate, perhaps I was in the same position a few years ago. Once I quit my toxic relationship with games, I suddenly noticed all the other toxic relationships I was in. School and family weren't exactly helpful at the time when I was gaming either. You actually already figured out what to do - to find a job. It'll help you gain more independence from your parents, because then you can choose not to be at home with them. Maybe some welfare housing benefits could help out too. Maybe the new job and the new flat will suck, but it will at least give you some perspective and help you realize you don't have to live with your parents forever. Good luck and let us know!

I'm using the template I used the last time. 27/5/25 - 30/6/25 "L" will stand for the (last) plan/notes for this term. "T" will stand for done this term. I added "Future goals/direction" to better reflect on the things I am trying to do and to add specificity. I will copy it and stick it somewhere where I can see it to remind myself whenever I feel aimless. I will also use different colors: blue for newly added goals/habits, green for completed/successful, orange for ongoing/some progress and red for ones I haven't worked on in that period. Books/Reading articles/Learning: L: I didn't finish "The Selfish Gene", as it just didn't interest me enough. I started "Parkinson's laws", a small and funny book. Read on Reddit about finance and English teaching again. T: Finished Parkinson's book and started "Getting to Yes", a book about negotiation rules and techniques. Read on Reddit about finance and English teaching again. Possible direction/goals: (Borrow) and read one book until the next monthly report. Family: L: As I wrote last time, the kitchen is indeed 95% finished. My plan is to go there with my friend on Saturday and to finish the rests of work. I wrote about the all-family experience above on April 16, but there's one more thing that came to my mind: I've always perceived my father to be extremely independent, micro-managing but competent. I think with age however, he is becoming more irritable, perhaps rash, and less competent. He assembled the car vacuum cleaner for my girlfriend and I, just so we won't do it wrong. OK, fair, but when he was disassembling it again after a while, he loudly asked who pushed the hose so hard into the cleaner. My girlfriend and I chuckled 😄 T: We had two work sessions with my friend this month. I expect one more, but it'll really be the last cleanup session. I'd like to say that I am happy, relieved or in general something positive, but nothing really comes to mind. I'm just numb in this regard. Other than that, I only spent time with my mom during her spa stay. NOT: I don't want to get alienated from my family. Possible direction/goals: Work on getting the new kitchen for my grandma. Continue work on maintaining the relationships with my family. Business/English: L: So I've successfully completed the lecturer course. Now I only have to use all this knowledge and skills in practice! I definitely have many ideas for the future. I finished the rework of the table for students, now I only need to let them know 😄 The work is still ongoing on some pricing changes, as well as on my website. T: The work is still ongoing on some pricing changes, as well as on my website - pretty much the same. I also have a lot of my students on holidays, but I don't mind, as I can use the time for other projects. I haven't been bored so far and I'm catching up on other things. NOT: I don't want to have a job that I don't enjoy. I don't want to have a job that is not well paid. Past projects: Copied to a Google Doc to keep this less cluttered. Current projects I'm working on: Website improvement project - since August 2024 lecturer trainings - ENG business February-May 2025 55 minutes F2F lessons (+ online reminder too); pricing updates Areas to work on continually: English table update - check every now and then for improvements Keep classes at a stable 20-25 hours a week. Keep asking for reviews or recommendations from students. CELTA colleagues calls. Go through "lecturer academy" + CELTA materials + lecturer course. Exercise/Movement/Health: L: I haven't stretched in a while, but I still keep on doing some running and some strength exercises. I even bought weights. My girlfriend and I went to some hiking and cycling trips too. I've been lazy about flossing though. Went to my GP yesterday, showed him the cardiology results and my blood pressure measurements. I also realized I often get headaches 1-2 days after a day of heavy physical activity. I need to be more mindful of relaxing properly afterwards, alongside with drinking and eating well. T: Overall, I managed to exercise in various ways 2x-3x per week this month. I also took part in two running races this month. I'm quite happy with the results, even though I was a bit slower on the 4 km this year 😄 2024: 4 km - 18:40 8 km - 45:17 2025: 4 km - 18:44 8 km - 42:00 NOT: I don't want to become fat. Possible direction/goals: Keep in shape by exercising at least twice a week for 30-60 minutes. Social + personal hobbies + free time: L: Attended the book festival, watched some films, talks and conferences with my girlfriend. I also attended some board-game evenings, FIRE meetings. Played table football, billiard and a pub quiz too. Watched the hockey championship. T: Went to a few pub quizzes, went to the VR shooter with my friends, managed my finances well, won a table football tournament, went to the theater. Spent time with my girlfriend shopping, hiking, watching series and going to trips. --- For thought: Maybe I should just learn to plan better, though just the thought of having some hours of my day scheduled makes me cringe. Oddly enough, I don't get this feeling while planning lessons of my students, normally in bigger blocks. Maybe I should rethink that belief to make me happier. I've had this recurring thought every now and then that I am often somehow prevented from what I want to do in my free time; basically whenever I am not with students or sleeping. No, I just need to stop reading and learning all the time and start doing things. Imperfect action yields results. Information alone is useless. --- Plans for 2025 (check each month and color - red, orange, green): Family: I don't have any specific plans for my family, besides finishing my grandma's kitchen. I also don't have any plans of starting my own, although I've always said I'm ready after finishing the uni. The main thing for the success of that would be to manage time and money correctly. Career: The last year was successful business-wise. I got the confirmation for the new lecturer course running from February to May. The main goal is to get the website finished, so I want to actively cooperate with the other freelancers. I'm not going to set any arbitrary goals, except keeping my lesson work-hours around 20-25, and to managing the other admin stuff (preparation, mails, trainings) in another 10 hours. That makes the total of 30-35 hours worked a week. Friends, community: I am part of more friend groups and communities. I don't have any big plans in mind regarding this area of my life. I expect to naturally drift towards more libertarian, financially educated and entrepreneurial/self-employed communities. I find the most inspiring people there. Relaxation, hobbies, creativity: I intend on continuing the hobbies I currently do, including writing, working out or going to the shooting range. I also want to remain curious about things and keep on traveling to break out of the cycle to unwind completely sometimes. Maybe I'll get around to blogging again. I think the line between work and relaxation is blurry for me. Physical health, fitness: Again working out (and stretching) and flossing. I think my diet is OK. I might start tracking some indicators of body fitness, but I don't think I'm quite there yet. Mental health, self-knowledge: Avoid overwork and burnout. Keep hours on roughly 20 lessons + 10 hours of ancillary work a week. Keep on doing things that feel right. Keep on planning/marking down things in my calendar. --- Habits for 2025 (check each month and color - red, orange, green): Habits that define you: family - keep in touch with my family at least once a month girlfriend - make time to talk every day and keep on working on strengthening our relationship via common activities career - work on my education continually, learning something new every week, even in unstructured ways; sources: CELTA, meeting other English lecturers/teachers, reading on their websites, lecturer course coming up in February, working on the business side of my work friends/community habits - meet with my best friend a few times a month, meet with my friend groups a few times a month too relaxation, hobbies, creativity habits - shooting range, writing, traveling, blogging, reading, being curious fitness habits - stretch every day, work out/run twice a week; floss daily mental health habits - keep my hobbies, work and other activities in balance, try new things every now and then a better tomorrow habits - provide great added value back for the money of my students ---