Ikar
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Posts posted by Ikar
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2025 yearly report
Reading, learning and books:
Facts: Read about 8 books this year - fun books, but also about money and psychology. Also spent some time reading financial reddits, but very little.
Feelings: This is really a hobby;, but it has its special place here, because I like to read and I consider learning important, otherwise I'd just put it to the bottom with the rest of my hobbies.
Plans:
Read a book a month.
Habits to help with plans:
Read daily (a few times a week). Reading (and crosswords) are a good way for me to relax.
Drop a book whenever I don't look forward to reading it.
Family:
Facts: It seems to me my grandma's health got pretty bad pretty quickly, at least in terms of her physical condition. After getting sick and going out less during summer, she had two pretty serious falls in December. She likely also has hallucinations every now and then. My mom needs to assist her when going shopping or to the doctor etc., for which I am quite grateful.
Add-on: Had to solve an emergency with my grandma again this Friday. Her legs started to fester due to a heart failure. It's exhausting.
Regardless, I'm also quite grateful to my girlfriend for informing my views with hers. There are issues in her family as well, and sometimes we share the news and have a laugh, because there's nothing else to be done :D
Also, the rest of the kitchen project was finished in June. For whatever it's worth, I'm happy my grandma got to use it.
Feelings: Compared to last year, turns out it wasn't my mom succumbing to dementia, but my grandma, and fast. Again, it's a label and maybe not even that accurate, but it captures the essence of things.
As for the kitchen, I think it was a mistake to not have it done by somebody else. It would have been done much faster and with much less emotional stress for everybody. And even if something had been wrong, at least the contractors would have been to blame. The lesson is: pay money for the kitchen, pay money for the wrapping of gifts, pay money for stuff I really hate doing.
Plans:
Finished the kitchen this year as planned.
I don't have any specific plans for my family. I don't want to get alienated from my family.
Habits to help with plans:
Continue work on maintaining the relationships with my family. Keep in contact at least once a month.
Business/English:
Facts: I have a new website, got PPC working on it, attended the lecturer course, worked on pricing, played around with the comprehensible input method. Implemented the 10-13 daily break and decided to work less (and for more money), as I think I'm already doing well financially. Eliminated the last language school course. Also, I got back into the army and I'm there as a part-time reservist. Roughly the same amount of lesson count, but 15% increase in profits, year-on-year.
Feelings: So the web-building and PPC ads are finished. My business expenses this year were roughly the same size as last year. Education-wise, I got the lecturer course for free and it was a nice change of pace with some benefits. The lessons with the students have been nice overall and even a little more challenging towards the end of the year.
I also decided there is no need to go overboard with money. I don't make a ton of money in the conventional terms, but I prefer to have more free time and work less. I also make pretty good money from the part-time army job relative to the time spent, on top of it being meaninful. Over the last two years, I actually didn't save that much as I did in the years before, but I traded that for more time and spending on things that matter (better quality food, budget traveling with my girlfriend, health etc.)
Plans:
Stick to the plan of roughly 15 hours of lessons per week.
I'm gonna continue with the part-time army job.
I've already scouted for an interesting English/lecturer course, without luck, but I'll keep looking.
Habits to help with plans:
Find more teachers/colleagues to share workload with (with or without commission).
I'm gonna continue with the 10-13 break daily break.
Be receptive to students' needs.
Exercise/Health:
Facts: I think I can say I exercise most days of the week, meaning roughly 4x a week. I exercise at home with weights, at the gym or go running. I also go hiking or cycling.
I get headaches always after being in situations when I don't eat or drink regularly. I just lose sense of hunger and thirst during a stressful or fast-paced part of day. No other health problems.
Feelings: It was a good year with growing amounts of exercise over its course. No serious health problems.
Plans:
Pass A on army exams.
Keep on exercising most days of the week (4x a week, including hikes, cycling trips etc.)
Keep hiking and cycling.
I don't want to become fat.
Habits to help with plans:
Start flossing regularly.
Incorporate balance and spine exercises.
Keep on using the Oura ring to track vitals.
Relationship with my girlfriend:
So we've lived together for almost two years and I can say it's still a nice experience. I don't think we've had any really heated arguments that would span days or even weeks. Last year, I often got a bad headache during the holidays/trips and was a bore to be with. So staying hydrated and fed during trips is my top priority these days.
Still, these days I have a feeling I'd like to do more things with my girlfriend. It sometimes feels as if we are next to each other rather than together. I gave her a voucher for English lessons to help with that (which she enjoyed having a few years ago).
Plans: -
Habits to help with plans:
Make time to talk every day.
Keep on working on strengthening our relationship via common activities.
Social + Personal Hobbies + Free Time:
Again, I took part in various social activities and hobbies: playing board games, FIRE (financial) meetings, going to the shooting range (now somewhat retired because of my army part-time job), playing table football (though not so much anymore), doing crosswords, visiting an improvisation show, going to the sauna or playing billiard.
I can also say students socialize me quite often. That strikes me and perhaps weirds me out, but my girlfriend told me she also spends a lot of time at work with her colleagues. She basically spends as much time with them as she does with me. And of course, she spends much less time with her friends or her sister. I don't have colleagues, but my students. Most of the time, they look forward to the lessons and so do I.
Plans:
Keep in touch with my friend groups (FIRE, quiz, best friends).
Habits to help with plans:
Meet.
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4 hours ago, Yan said: I do write meetings in Google Calendar, and then copy those into the daily schedule. I also have weekly routines, like a bi weekly clothes washing, grocery going, cleaning etc. But they're not planned by the minute, just somewhere in the blue sort of. I'd like them to be planned by the minute at least a week away.
So I guess I do hold more than a daily plan in the sense you met it, right? Or what do you do for a "more than daily schedule"? I am asking so that I may know if I am fulfilling your suggestion to "keep a more than daily schedule" or not. :)Oh yeah, in that case, I do it the same way really. At this moment, I have a lot of small notes/tasks piled up with no set deadline, because I was away for two weeks and I need to prioritize. I'll start working on those when I finish writing my yearly reports here.
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7 hours ago, Yan said: An amazing point to be at. In my opinion.
Mostly does work for me. So long as I keep the habit of treating my pre-written detailed schedule as my boss, and do not lose trust with myself by missobeying.
That is in regards to the daily schedule.
In regards to Pomodoros(25 minute focus intervals) I write a plan on the start of each one, even if it's general and get to work.
I don't know you guys @FDRx7 , I think that unless we plan our time we remain largely uncontrolled. Random objects flying in space. Not optimal for self-actualization.
In any case it's just like any habit. Makes you "cringe" in the beginning, bus as you go further and further, just becomes a part of your habits.
However, I also have, for quite a while been planning only one day ahead. Instead of a week...
Maybe this long neglected "better" habit of doing it for a week needs revisiting.
Let me know if this makes some sense. Or if I may share something else that may help.Thanks! I can say I worked for it 😄
I think there can also be "proto-habits"; maybe they're not exactly where we want them to be, but it's clear we're trending upwards. For example going from 0 exercise to 1-2x a week, even if at random times. That's how it was for me in the second half of 2024. I think it sometimes takes some time to "convince" ourselves we need to start/work on the habit in general. If I believe exercise is important, I will do it; if I don't believe it, I might will through it for a week or two, but ultimately fail.
By the way, my first 10-13 block today worked perfectly, managed all the things I needed and wanted to do (exercise, shower, lunch, walk).
@Yan , I can definitely recommend planning for the week, as some stuff doesn't need to be done daily and can get lost in the daily routine. Depending on how often you deal with other people, I also think it's relatively difficult to plan a meeting with somebody from 0 in X hours, rather than in X days. (By that I mean organized people normally won't be available on a whim, unless it's an emergency, because they have their rhythms and habits.)
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11 hours ago, FDRx7 said: That's for your comment, it was very helpful to see roughly what you went through.
I'm certainly nervous about struggling, though my attempt will be to ramp up while I'm still working to relieve the stress of only having self-employment. It's good that my wife is working too and that we can afford the mortgage with her job. Still, I worry sometimes about the other expenses, but if I can get it running smoothly while I still have a job, that helps.
If you want a low-commitment starting point, I linked a newsletter about freelancing below. I think they send it out every month and there is always a list of interesting articles. I'm also sure you'll have a few interesting events and organizations in your area to help you out at the start too. Do you actually have the possibility to reduce your workload for your employer? I'm asking, because I think it's extremely difficult to run two jobs at the same time.
World-class freelance news and insights from Freelancing....
We monitor countless quality sources on freelancing and choose only the best content to save your time. Subscribe to our monthly Freeletter with a curated selection of world-class freelance news and s11 hours ago, FDRx7 said: Day 1
Well, yesterday wasn't so bad. Though I sat for some time trying to figure out what to do, I eventually figured that if I simply started reading, I would get into the book and forget about my need for podcasts. Sure enough, that worked. I read for hours, almost finishing the book. One negative is that I fell asleep on the couch. I've done this a few nights in a row and it really bothers my wife. She was upset with me this morning about it, as she'd like me to be in bed. She still isn't really talking to me much right now... I've promised to do better but I think the only thing I can do is show her with my actions. I've set an alarm for tonight that ensures I take a picture of something upstairs before it will turn off. This ensures I actually get up and move. I'm determined to be better.
I had a call with my mentor this morning and talked through my proposed business model, including revenue streams, costs, potential pitfalls, etc. He opened my eyes to some other opportunities. He did say that certainly starting your own business is a different ballgame than buying an existing one with established customers. One of the other businesses I had considered purchasing is a bookstore. It isn't too expensive to buy but cash flow is limited. Granted, I could make it more profitable, but I'm not 100% sure if that's what I want to do. Still, it could be a rewarding experience. So I have some things to think about.
Activity Tracker:
Being in bed by 10:30pm: 0 days
No YouTube: 1 day
No Reddit/unnecessary browsing: 0 days
No Podcasts: 1 day
Waking up by 6:00am: 0 days
I have to write that it's nice that your wife cares about sleeping next to you :D
Anyway, I'm sorry, but I probably missed something. I thought you wanted to get into circuit board repairs as a freelancer. I actually know nothing about building a business with other people. The thought of becoming a manager or a CEO never really appealed to me, but it might change in the future. I just built a job around doing something I liked :D
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23 minutes ago, FDRx7 said: I can empathize here. It's hard for me to plan my day out for some reason. I've tried timeblocking and it's just as difficult, mostly because things change easily throughout the day. Something I'm still working on... Right now I just put appointments in my calendar and then empty spaces are for working on things I've prioritized for the day, in whatever order seems natural (I use the Franklin Planning System mixed with GTD).
Love this. Trying myself more and more to be action oriented. That is, unless I'm reading or learning about something simply for pleasure, what do I plan to do with the information and how soon can I act upon it? Not always an easy question to answer. I certainly find myself over-researching into analysis-paralysis.
I've added these paragraphs you quoted some time last year, so I can glace over them every time I write these reports. Happy they've inspired you!
I know specific time-blocking and being precise works for some people (I can think of @Yan here). It's also why I wanted to experiment and carve out the 1000-1300 time for myself, to be more consistent with exercise. I will start with it next week, so I'll see how it goes, but I'm optimistic, as I'm already quite strong as far as getting to exercise goes.
That said, my day today was unstructured today. I didn't plan anything. I slept in a little, did some household tasks, went for two walks, spent time with my girlfriend, did some financial planning, reading for fun and my monthly report. I just did it in the order I wanted to. I managed to eliminate a few tasks from my Google Calendar, so I'm happy.
Now it's true I'm back to my computer after almost two weeks I have some more urgent things to do, but these things were near the top of the list too. I find that these things (which are in the 2nd quadrant - important, not urgent) are the hardest to get done. I know the most urgent thing is to get my lesson preparation done for the next week, but I also know I have until Monday morning and that I wouldn't dare to go to the lessons unprepared.
To connect to your second paragraph, I think my analysis-paralysis disappeared over time. I shook the thought of trying to be "productive" all the time. I can now recognize when I'm reading for fun and maybe some inspiration, but I already have a working business and a functioning life for that matter, so there's probably a good chance I've been doing it fairly right after all.
I like the idea of having fun too, as Feynman did. He did some high-level theoretical physics about elementary particles, but also cracked safes and played the bongos. He didn't just grind the problem (and life) every second and minute, he let his imagination recharge. I really like his holistic approach, of having fun and having an interconnected life. To get back to the point, my business is also my lifestyle. During my holiday, I made around 10 points of what I wanted to do when I get home, but it came naturally, so I just made a quick note and continued with my holiday.
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I'm using the template I used the last time. 3/12/25 - 3/1/26
"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: Read on Reddit about finance. I managed to read "Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman!" and "What Do You Care What Other People Think?" from the same guy. I also started reading "The Richest Man in Babel". Had more time to read at the army training.
T: Finished "The Richest Man in Babel" and "The Pleasure of Finding Things Out" by Feynman.
Possible direction/goals:
(Borrow) and read one book until the next monthly report.
Family:
L: 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. Last time I saw grandma, she was doing better, so that's good news.
T: There were two pretty serious incidents regarding my grandma this past month. There was more nuance to it, but in both cases, she fell down in her flat and couldn't get up. Oddly enough, I was the one to detect both incidents just by calling her (she didn't pick up) and then alarming my parents, who live a few minutes by car from her. My grandma has a few neighbors who visit her and my mom visits her a few times a week as well, but I'm thinking it might not be enough.
I had a burger with my brother and his girlfriend and I also met my parents yesterday.
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: I got a few new courses, so my hours are a bit up, but it's still manageable. I also got some nice feedback from my students. I had a more hectic week last week, as some students wanted to catch up on lessons that they didn't have because of my army training.
The two week army training was both relaxing and challenging at the same time. Relaxing because all I needed to do was to just be ready and do the next thing. Challenging because I caught a cold and we pulled two night shifts. The guys there were overall nice and I'm planning to go there for the next training in February/March.
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.
T: I did my biannual questionnaire with my students, but this time I changed my approach and gave the students the option not to do it. I also carved out the 1000-1300 time for myself. Had a end-of-the-year taxes meeting to inform myself and to optimize.
My latest group course has been a tough nut to crack, but so far I can say I've been probing and using slightly different techniques each lesson. Now I've got the experience and feedback, I decided on the next steps.
I'll also try to find more teachers/colleagues to share workload with (with or without commission). I have options for online, but I have nobody for F2F replacements.
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 - finished August 2025 with some small upgrades in autumn 2025
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.
Find more teachers/colleagues to share workload with (with or without commission).
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 didn't have much exercise at the army training, paradoxically. I was also sick the week after the training, so I went to the gym just twice in the last two weeks or so. Gonna exercise today, as I have some time and feel better already. Went to the dermatologist to check up on my skin marks.
T: Went to the gym, for a run or a hike about four times a week, including on my holiday in Spain with my girlfriend. Feeling a little sick after coming back, but I assume I'll be fine by Monday. Went to the ear doctor, all is good.
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 (cool things I've done):
L: I read a lot, had a FIRE meeting, had another meeting with friends and a call with one of them. Had a lunch to celebrate the anniversary with my girlfriend.
T: Went to Spain for a holiday with my girlfriend and hiked there. Watched some shows and films together. I'm very happy with and proud of the gifts we exchanged. Baked Christmas sweets together.
Called with a friend from another city, went for a burger with my brother and his girlfriend. Went to watch a basketball match with my girlfriend's father. Attended a few game nights with friends. Met my high-school classmates at our annual meeting. Read a lot and had good fun with it (Feynman mostly) too.
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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.
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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.
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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
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11 hours ago, FDRx7 said: Hi Ikar!
Great to hear from you. Yes, we've been pretty busy! I think what would be most beneficial to me is to learn from you how you got your first clients and continued that momentum. Thankfully, many of the people I'll be targeting used to be clients of my former boss in that industry (who is also my mentor), so it may help having him on my side there but I may still need to get people to trust using my services.
Also, when did you decide to take the leap? I'd love to get out of this job ASAP, but I am trying to be wise about it...
I see, in that case, I guess I had "first" clients twice, let me explain:
1) I got most of the initial work back in 2020 and 2021 through agencies (language schools). In this phase, I was testing if I would even like the job. The agency pay was peanuts, but it was a start. I was studying at the university during this time too, so I had something to fall back to.
2) In 2022 and 2023, I started having more students/clients come to me through my website I made back in 2020. There were also people who remembered me through the agency lessons and contacted me later or switched companies and still wanted to have lessons etc. I gradually traded agency courses for my own over time (I remember I even tracked it in my journal). I was still at the uni finishing my degree just in case.
That written, the "0th" leap was to leave the job in the army in summer 2018 and absolutely struggle through the rest of the year and first months of 2019, perhaps up until April when I decided to quit gaming and start a journal here. My business is extremely competitive. I was really too naive thinking I'd get a job/lessons easily. I had money saved up and no dependents, so it was OK, but I'd have done it way differently now. It's great you have somebody knowledgeable to help you out, so I hope you won't lose much time doing something that doesn't work or doing nothing at all.
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Hi, welcome back!
Sounds like you've been keeping yourself pretty busy! I hope the situation regarding your work gets better over time. It definitely did when I took the jump from employment to self-employment a few years ago. I'm happy to give an opinion, sources or a tip of what's worked for me on some of the more universal stuff.
And yes, I'm still around :D
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I'm using the template I used the last time. 3/11/25 - 3/12/25
"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 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.
T: Read on Reddit about finance. I managed to read "Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman!" and "What Do You Care What Other People Think?" from the same guy. I also started reading "The Richest Man in Babel". Had more time to read at the army training.
Possible direction/goals:
(Borrow) and read one book until the next monthly report.
Family:
L: 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.
T: Last time I saw grandma, she was doing better, so that's good news.
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.
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.
T: I got a few new courses, so my hours are a bit up, but it's still manageable. I also got some nice feedback from my students. I had a more hectic week last week, as some students wanted to catch up on lessons that they didn't have because of my army training.
The two week army training was both relaxing and challenging at the same time. Relaxing because all I needed to do was to just be ready and do the next thing. Challenging because I caught a cold and we pulled two night shifts. The guys there were overall nice and I'm planning to go there for the next training in February/March.
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: 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.
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.
T: I didn't have much exercise at the army training, paradoxically. I was also sick the week after the training, so I went to the gym just twice in the last two weeks or so. Gonna exercise today, as I have some time and feel better already. Went to the dermatologist to check up on my skin marks.
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: 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 about football 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.
T: I read a lot, had a FIRE meeting, had another meeting with friends and a call with one of them. Had a lunch to celebrate the anniversary 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. 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 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
---
-
On 9/24/2025 at 11:03 AM, WilderDaze said: I feel like all this personal journey stuff has taken a toll on my more playful side, and it hurts me to realize this. I know that I can't let go completely, because it will probably lead me down bad roads where addiction eventually follows. Though I wish I knew how to get to the core of myself sometimes without feeling like I'm afraid to make the wrong turn all the time. It feels like I'm constantly fighting against something, as opposed to welcoming that which is nurturing and good. I know that I feel the most alive when I just become one with my surroundings and let my curiousity take me somewhere unexpected; when I just forget about what I have to do and just allow myself to feel. But it is so hard to achieve that autenticity in everyday life, as so much of it is occupied by mundane responsibilities.
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.
-
1
-
-
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
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On 8/12/2025 at 9:31 PM, wheatbiscuit said:
Does anyone remember Harry Potter's 'Mirror of Erised?' The happiest man in the world would look into it and see himself exactly as he is. However, the mirror yields neither knowledge, nor truth. That is what putting myself to the task of experience point gains and listening to old music is like doing - staring into such a mirror. But what is the universally-accepted knowledge or truth that I should seek? Statistics? Wisdom against boredom? (a head-start there). I mean, anyone in basic health is capable of achieving anything. @Ikar mentioned that.
What I've arrived at a few times, and somewhat brushed off, is that often times, people don't really mind others' sentence structures when they speak (though I know it can be a comfort), as long as they know that there is a mutual understanding that both/all parties feel and think that they are OK/generally well. I keep looking for meaning where it often less than fruitful, because investing effort in my own real-world pursuits (of knowledge and/or truth) is risky for the time that I decide to spend in addition to that effort.
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 🙂
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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.
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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.
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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
---
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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 😄
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18 hours ago, WilderDaze said:
I think this is the first time I've realized that I might've chosen the wrong path in terms of what I work with. I have no doubt that I have a great skillset for what I do at the moment, but my current field just takes too much energy and flips the switch on me in too many scenarios. I used to think that having a vehicle-related profession was too simple of a life for me, but If I look back on my childhood this is what always caught my interest. Even this summer, when I went with my nephew to a local farm place, my attention was brought to some of the tractors and digging machines there. This is why I love motorsport so much, and why the only thing that really appealed to me when I was working in the industry was driving a forklift.
I'm excited to explore some of these new realizations in conjuction with my upcoming ADHD evaluation. I'm learning how to find my balance more easily and to stay focused on what really motivates me in life. All without fixating on a sense of prestige or trying to force myself into someone elses image of me. At the end of the day I want my brain to feel invigorated and not fully drained from my tasks. I want a reality that feels predictable but stagnant; where there is still exciement over new things, but the stress of going out of my comfort zone is within my limits.
At the moment I can see myself working with youth on certain weekends, and driving a truck during daytime. If I can create a reality that looks something like that I think I will be very satisfied. Hopefully I'll get a chance to explore it soon enough.
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.
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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.
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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.
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7 hours ago, WilderDaze said:
The biggest challenge though with was the deletion of the persona that I created in that fantasy world. I had plenty of gaming friends who knew me as this warm and outgoing person online, which was the complete opposite of my real life persona. But ironically enough it was my friends who made me quit those games eventually, as I could see how much they sacrificed to be in that imaginary world. One of my online friends really got stuck in one of those games and continued to play many years after I quit, which made me feel really sad whenever I thought of him. I was out there getting an education, hanging out with real friends, and he was stuck inside grinding away yet another day. I met him at one time in real life, and he was such a fragile and awkward person. Some of it came across online, but I could never tell how serious it was until I finally met him. Whenever I think of the extent of the issues that games can cause I always tend to think of him.
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.
6 hours ago, WilderDaze said:It's kinda crazy how caught up we can truly become in this imaginary world. I recently saw the tv show Severence, which immediately made my top 10 list. It explores the concept that humans can detach the healthy part of their persona and make it live a separate life in an isolated place, while the one carrying all the trauma continues life as usual, unaware of what is happening to the other. The idea is that, as long as we know that some part of us is living a happy life, we will accept that the other one is carrying the weight on their shoulders. But the problem then is that you cannot really separate a person into two different enteties, as they will most likely always find a way back to be together in order to be complete and to heal properly.
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.
6 hours ago, WilderDaze said:Of course this made me think a lot about gaming, and MMO's specifically. I was not really aware of it at the time, but my life kind of worked like Severance. I woke up each day in this gray reality where I had barely gotten any sleep, where I dragged myself to a job I hated, and where I always felt exhausted and unfulfilled. But whenever the day was over I almost ran back home in order to log in to that imaginary world where my other persona existed. There I felt I had some sort of purpose; I was socially capable, I had goals, I loved exploring and I forgot about the hardships of life for a couple of hours. But just like in Severance I eventually discovered that real life had to be dealt with and I could not grow the other person while excluding the other - they both had to be maintained. But as I grew the person outside of the game I became more aware that this was the one giving me the most satisfaction and feelings of fulfillment in the end. Especially when I discovered love and I could see that the outgoing and loving person I was in the game also existed outside of it. In many ways I think love saved me from MMO's, because the connection I felt with my girlfriend at the time was WAY more potent than anything I felt when I gamed. It's perhaps the only thing in life that can truly make my mind completely forget about video games. 💛
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 😄
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8 hours ago, Yan said:
@Ikar did you quote my post by mistake? 🙂
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 😄
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7 hours ago, Yan said:
My advice is to not say "I do not know how", but to ask "how may I do that?"
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.12 hours ago, Earth_is_beautiful said:Being off social media for a couple weeks now made me realize I'm not lazy because of it or video games. It also made me realize I'm not even lazy. The reason I spend a lot of time on my phone is because it is my response as I live with my toxic controlling parents. I'm currently trying to get out by applying for jobs but the job market is really bad rn, so it's been hard. My mind truly wants to do random shit and live life outside of a screen, and do whatever I want. But it's hard when I have parents who breathe down my neck and judge me whenever I do something they don't approve of or criticize me for making a mistake. I don't really know what I can do right now to be independent and use my phone less while I'm stuck in this toxic environment for the time being.
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!
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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.
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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.
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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
---
Ikar's Diary
in Daily Journals
I'm using the template I used the last time. 3/1/26 - 14/2/26
"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 "The Richest Man in Babel" and "The Pleasure of Finding Things Out" by Feynman.
T: I had a good string of finished books in autumn, unfortunately I managed to kill my momentum by reading a book that wasn't up my alley. Regardless, I've read dozens of articles from the White Coat Investor website and Morgan Housel's book - "Psychology of Money".
All this had a practical effect of me making an investment plan (!). I've invested my money consistently for the past five years, but I've never really set any goals, except not to gamble and pay unreasonable fees. Suffice to say, I already have enough savings to last several years, perhaps a decade on my current spending levels. I also added some milestones to celebrate on the way; it least I'll have a reason to perhaps spend some more money on fun stuff!
Possible direction/goals/habits:
(Borrow) and read one book until the next monthly report.
Read daily (a few times a week). Reading (and crosswords) are a good way for me to relax.
Drop a book whenever I don't look forward to reading it. CHECK HERE EVERY MONTH.
(While this is technically just a hobby, I like to keep it separate, because it's a big one.)
Family:
L: There were two pretty serious incidents regarding my grandma this past month. There was more nuance to it, but in both cases, she fell down in her flat and couldn't get up. Oddly enough, I was the one to detect both incidents just by calling her (she didn't pick up) and then alarming my parents, who live a few minutes by car from her. My grandma has a few neighbors who visit her and my mom visits her a few times a week as well, but I'm thinking it might not be enough.
I had a burger with my brother and his girlfriend and I also met my parents yesterday.
T: My mom and I had to go to the hospital with my grandma at the start of January. We installed some flat improvements to help her get around and also a new washing machine. She also gets daily visits from health keepers and various other assistants, so I am happy my mom doesn't have to carry most of the brunt anymore just by herself.
My grandma is (unsurprisingly) opposed to going to an assisted living facility. I really have no idea to what extent she needs help, but granted she can't climb into the bath to shower herself, it's hard to argue she doesn't need any. It's frankly difficult to visit her, when the apartment smells like urine. I honestly don't know how long this can last and whether it makes sense to hope that it will get better in the future.
Other than that, my mom had a birthday celebration and I also met my brother for sushi.
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. Keep in contact at least once a month.
Business/English:
L: I did my biannual questionnaire with my students, but this time I changed my approach and gave the students the option not to do it. I also carved out the 1000-1300 time for myself. Had a end-of-the-year taxes meeting to inform myself and to optimize.
My latest group course has been a tough nut to crack, but so far I can say I've been probing and using slightly different techniques each lesson. Now I've got the experience and feedback, I decided on the next steps.
I'll also try to find more teachers/colleagues to share workload with (with or without commission). I have options for online, but I have nobody for F2F replacements.
T: Very few days off in both January and February mean that I can get a lot of lessons done. I'll just have three work days off due to my army reserve involvement.
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That written, I've had more headache with it recently, just because of the way the bureaucracy works. I can say I've met some great, interesting and inspiring people there, but the admin is just a PITA.
My point is not to "survive it", but to derive some positive meaning from this mission. Free shooting range practice and motivation to keep fit can help it. I know the worst case scenario is to just do one exercise per year or none at all, but I don't want to do it just for the money or out of necessity. I'll review this part of my career regularly, just to make sure I've got my thinking straight. When I compare the experience to my smooth running business with my students, I can say I'm truly grateful for both my business and my students.
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Had a meeting with my web-designer, mostly out of curiosity than any specific plans for the future.
Managed to have 15 lessons on average per week, which is great!
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 - finished August 2025 with some small upgrades in autumn 2025
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.
Find more teachers/colleagues to share workload with (with or without commission).
Areas to work on continually:
English table update - check every now and then for improvements.
Keep classes at around 15 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: Went to the gym, for a run or a hike about four times a week, including on my holiday in Spain with my girlfriend. Feeling a little sick after coming back, but I assume I'll be fine by Monday. Went to the ear doctor, all is good.
T: Thanks to my 10-13 break, I managed to exercise 23 out of planned 28 days so far. Feels good! I have a new pillow as well. I also visited the urologist, again without an issue.
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.
Start flossing regularly.
Incorporate balance and spine exercises.
Keep on using the Oura ring to track vitals.
Social + Personal Hobbies + Free Time (cool things I've done):
L: Went to Spain for a holiday with my girlfriend and hiked there. Watched some shows and films together. I'm very happy with and proud of the gifts we exchanged. Baked Christmas sweets together.
Called with a friend from another city, went for a burger with my brother and his girlfriend. Went to watch a basketball match with my girlfriend's father. Attended a few game nights with friends. Met my high-school classmates at our annual meeting. Read a lot and had good fun with it (Feynman mostly) too.
T: No holidays this period, as the weather isn't really optimal for hiking or cycling. Met my FIRE friends, the quiz group, my best friend. I also met my brother for sushi and went to a hockey match with my family. Of course, met my students too.
Possible direction/goals:
Keep in touch with my friend groups (FIRE, quiz, best friends).
Relationship with my girlfriend:
L: So we've lived together for almost two years and I can say it's still a nice experience. I don't think we've had any really heated arguments that would span days or even weeks. Last year, I often got a bad headache during the holidays/trips and was a bore to be with. So staying hydrated and fed during trips is my top priority these days.
Still, these days I have a feeling I'd like to do more things with my girlfriend. It sometimes feels as if we are next to each other rather than together. I gave her a voucher for English lessons to help with that (which she enjoyed having a few years ago).
T: We spent time together my going to the planetarium, having lessons together, going to the café and for walks as well as the few trips. We also spent some time next to each other watching films or the Olympics.
Possible direction/goals:
Make time to talk every day.
Keep on working on strengthening our relationship via common activities.
Time off for myself (1000-1300) break:
L: -
T: This has been pretty successful so far. I noticed that some of my exercise sessions are quite short (depending on the length of the YT video), but as mentioned above, I managed to do 23/28 days. I also cram whatever appointments and housework I need to take care of into this window.
Possible direction/goals:
Keep having this break.
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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.10-13 change works well.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.