I'm using the template I used the last time. 12/3/26 - 9/4/26
"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 up on finblogs again - WCI and Nick Maggiulli. I've also been reading "Six Easy Pieces" by Feynman, but I didn't have much time to do that at the army training.
T: I've managed about half of "Six Easy Pieces" by Feynman, but I'm going to the library to change it up today. Continuing with various blogs.
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: My grandma oscillates between being relatively OK to just straight up shit-talking all other family members (Who knows if she doesn't shit-talk me behind my back?)
Either she's despicable for consciously behaving that way; or if her illness is to blame, she should be institutionalized to save everyone the pain and trouble. My girlfriend said it best: getting old is ugly. Especially when you lose your faculties faster than you realize.
T: Nothing much here. I still go and visit my family and my grandma roughly twice a month. I still spend some time with my grandma, but less. There's just less to talk about (she often makes things up), so I just help her out with something practical whenever I'm there.
Other that than, my father and I are embroiled in a (legal) battle with the welfare office/insurance company. We gather documents from medical checkups (my mom helps my grandma with that), producing appeals etc. I also offered my mom to go out for lunch every now and then to support her.
On a brighter note, my brother and I had a burger together and then visited the improvisation show. My brother said he liked it, so we might go again :)
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/Army:
L: I had to write a price offer after an interview for a company that is looking to start a few courses. I also did some testing and evaluations for my company courses. I found a new resource for real-life English. I also intentionally cancelled a lesson when my girlfriend's friend flaked on their trip to the mountains. I went with her instead :)
-
The army training was better this time than the last time. I got better sleep, the weather was amazing for the whole duration and perhaps we did more stimulating activities than last time. I feel a bit tired after it, but I'm slowly catching up on sleep. I should have the next training in September.
T: Nothing came out of the price offer, but I'm OK with that - I got three new students who replaced two courses that finished, so I'm doing well overall. I also filed my taxes.
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 15-20 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 + 10-13 break:
L: I managed 8/12 of my 10-13 breaks these past four weeks or so. I missed out about half of the possible days due to the army training and I also tried not to push it before going there.
That said, I hit 10k steps every day of the training, but there was little true structured physical "exercise". I should also say the meals there were rather terrible - mostly just sugary snack bars and a lot of second-grade canned meat. Feels good to be home to have some real meals.
I had no visits to the doctors this month, but I have some lined up in the next few weeks.
T: I managed 10/17 of my 10-13 breaks these past four weeks or so. It doesn't seem like much, but a stomach flu (diarrhea and vomiting) shot me down this week, so I'm taking it easy. I also made up for the rest by spending an active holiday and weekends with my girlfriend, hiking and cycling.
Went to the cardiology, dermatology and dental hygienist for routine checkups and everything is OK.
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.
Keep having the 1000-1300 break.
Social + Personal Hobbies + Free Time (cool things I've done):
L: Met my FIRE friends again, met my friend. I also went to the shooting range as a part of my army training. I also got in touch with one English lecturer and we talked about finance and money, which inspired me to write an article on my blog.
T: Had another FIRE meeting, met my friend a few times, went for hikes with my girlfriend, went to the improvisation show with my brother.
Possible direction/goals:
Keep in touch with my friend groups (FIRE, quiz, best friends...).
Relationship with my girlfriend:
L: We went to a book festival, watched hockey and went to a nice restaurant. We also had some lessons together. Didn't manage to do more due to my absence for almost two weeks.
T: Spent time together on hikes, cycling and on holiday. I also created an adaptation of a game I and my girlfriend liked.
Possible direction/goals:
Make time to talk every day.
Keep on working on strengthening our relationship via common activities.
Others:
Besides battling the government welfare bureaus, I'm also now legally battling a company that refused to refund me for tickets for a concert after it was canceled.
We had a boiler change done in our apartment, as the old one leaked. The owner of the flat paid for it, but I think we'll pay for it later in the rent increase :)
I used porn only twice in this last month and about six times in the last two months. Not bad.
---
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.
By
Ikar ·