Productivity

[spryng]

Good, got the obligatory kitteh photo out of the way early. :D

It's been almost a week since we received the blessing of internet and my productivity went from pretty good to pretty abysmal. I also have a bit of a confession to make: I haven't actually applied to any jobs yet. It's been three weeks of unemployment and I know I should be feeling antsy and guilty about it, but really it's just been rolls of awesome. Intellectually I know I need to get on it, since the market is so slow and these things take time, but - well, no real buts, just me being a lazy mofo.

That ends this week, though. Every morning I will search and I will put out a resume or an application a day, because otherwise in a month or two I'll find myself not only unemployed but unencumbered by money, too. Which would suck. Thankfully since writing this paragraph, I have already gone and applied for a position at an opening Teavana store. Productivity win!

Besides applying for a job, I've been putting in a few hours a day towards writing, but not my photography. That changes today as well - I will officially launch my website by Friday. If I do not, I hereby authorize you to find me and give me a thorough beating. Which I will deserve. Thoroughly.


I am also almost 24 years old. I have two weeks left, which means it is officially introspection season. I did this last year, looking at where I was and what I wanted to accomplish within that year. I found it a much more effectual time than the New Year. Last year I wanted to take control of my weight and get fit, to finish an edit of one of my novels and then write another, to become more proficient at photography, to read more and spend less time on the computer.

How did I do? Mostly it was touch and go. I did get my weight down, but not quite the full ten pounds and ended up gaining a little back. I did get more fit, only to stop exercising completely in the last few months and pretty much lose all that I'd gained. I did fully edit a novel, but only partially wrote another. I did become much more proficient at photography and I did read quite a bit for a while, but I feel I did not lessen the time I wasted on the computer.

Beyond my stated goals, I did make some excellent friends and ended up being much more social than I had been the previous year. Unfortunately I have to start all over once more, but I do already have one friend in state and all of the friends I made in Seattle I have been able to keep up with online. I never thought I'd say it, but thank god for Facebook. :D

Now I have another year before me, and a special one at that - the last before I am a quarter century old. What do I want to accomplish by that time? If I'm going with the seasonal analogy, then this would also be the last year of the springtime of my youth; 25-50 will be the summertime of my adulthood. What can I do in this year that will set me up for that? Or is that too lofty a goal, am I setting myself up only for failure?

I know I want to continue with what I've been doing: exercising, writing, photographing, creating, living and loving. And there are things I can do in each of those categories to keep improving: work on my upper body strength, work on my editing skills, practice and learn about business, learn a new skill, make friends and appreciate the ones I have. But if there's anything I've learned from the previous year, than specifics are the way to keep up progress. So in the next two weeks I will make a list of specific things to achieve in the following year, as well as things I'd just like to do. :)

Then maybe I can cross something off of the list for my birthday. :D