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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By
Ikar ·