Mid Year Review 2024

Time is running faster than I like. We’re already half way through the year and if I look back, I haven’t done much at all. Life’s progressing very very slowly. At the beginning of 2024, I had planned out some things. Since we’re six months in, I think it’s a good time to reflect on the progress so far.

Here are the list of things that I had planned to accomplish this year:

Did I start earning?

Yes and no. I still do not have an active income source. However, I did finish a small gig and got paid. It’s a process that I can repeat to generate some cash occasionally. So that’s something.

What about those courses?

Yeah so I was creating two courses — a short video course, and a massive text based course (almost the size of a textbook). I finished the video course and got paid (yes that’s the gig I just mentioned). But that text course, well, that’s a mess. I wrote the course, and then re-wrote huge chunks of it because the editor wasn’t quite satisfied. Now it’s done on my end (hopefully), and I’m waiting for them to publish it so that I can get paid.

How strong is my Quora streak?

In the past 7 months, I have written over 190 answers. I have a backlog of some 20-ish answers, but 190 is definitely a big number. I am writing quite consistently, yes, but I hate it! I hate writing every day. It’s hard to find topics to write about, it’s hard to find the right mood. And I feel so fake when I post an answer on this stupid site, which nobody cares to read anyways. So will I continue to write on Quora? Yes, I will. I don’t break promises.

Where’s my YouTube channel?

Yeah, about that… I am (still!) thinking about it. I am not even sure whether I want to create YouTube videos. Part of the reason is that there’s so much mediocre content out there and I do not want to add to it. If I’m not creating something meaningful, something that actually helps, I’d rather not create anything. I feel unready and will take some more time.

How’s my fitness routine?

This is one area I’m very happy with. I’m making steady, visible progress. By the end of this year, I wish to run 25km. I just ran my first 10K this week, so 25K doesn’t seem very far fetched. I will do it. I’m confident about other fitness goals as well.

What am I cooking?

Nothing. Nothing at all. Despite having so much time, I haven’t made any effort to learn cooking. This one’s totally on me. Well, let’s see if I do something about it in the next half or not.

Did I start my musical journey?

Sadly, no. I don’t feel inspired. I don’t have a piano. I have other things on my plate. Music isn’t really a priority right now. Etc. etc. Of course, all of these are excuses but whatever. I will learn piano, just don’t know when.

Am I a certified scuba diver?

Don’t bring that up, please! So here’s the story in short. I fought the fears. I convinced my friend. I researched for 2 months. I got ditched by two diving schools and still went for the third one. I finalized everything — hotel, flights, school, equipment, even started learning the course theory. And just when I was about to make the bookings, my friend backed off. That was the biggest disappointment of this year (trust me, I’ve had many). Next time, there is no friend. I am going for the scuba course alone. I hope this year, but let’s see.

Alright, that was a review of the past six months. Not very promising, but hey, it’s not nothing, right? Who knows what the rest of the year brings…

Until next week,
Aachman