Update 2

Dom
Dom
Aug 28, 2017 · 3 min read

So, a couple of weeks in and it’s not going great so far. Last week was largely anxiety-stricken (including lack of sleep, which then contributed to being ill), followed by a weekend mostly being depressed due to being on my own and not being able to cope with myself (my partner S was on her hen do).

But still, let’s take it one promise at a time and see what I’ve achieved so far.

1. I will tell my partner about this.

So I had achieved the first part of this – actually saying I’d picked some things to work on, although I didn’t feel comfortable going into detail about it. However, it hasn’t progressed much from there – on the second weekend I didn’t feel comfortable blogging around S or meditating, although I have been fine with some other bits.

Grade: C. Fairly low bar for this one!

2. I will pick two hobbies and stick at them.

Well this one has not been a success so far. The first hobby I picked, photography, I tried out at my nephew’s birthday party, although it was my bother in law’s camera so I didn’t know all of the settings and didn’t have my notes. However, I haven’t gone back to it since then. I should try and take photographs at least one evening this week.

For my second hobby I picked piano, but apart from downloading an app I haven’t done anything yet (it’s still in the spare room not plugged in). I wonder if I should replace this one with learning French, at least until after the wedding (when we will have more space and can set it up again). So that’s the plan – I will start a French app this week.

Grade: D. Did a small bit of photography but not enough!

3. I will exercise.

Utter failure so far – haven’t done any!

Grade E.

4. I will improve my mindfulness through meditation.

I have been meditating every day on the train into work, and haven’t missed a journey yet. However, I haven’t yet done it at home.

Grade: B.

5. I will better myself at work.

Fairly average on this one. I did speak to one person to get ideas, and have been working on a visit. However, there hasn’t been anything beyond that. This week I shall progress on the visit, and check into Knowledge Hub.

I also cancelled my communications mentor. I’m not sure if this was perhaps a symptom of depression or fear, but I didn’t feel I could make the most of it when I wasn’t working in a comms role. I also couldn’t work out how to make the best of it.

Grade: D.

6. I will make time for my friends

Cancelled on a friend on Sunday, which wasn’t great! But was feeling too depressed to face it (or get out of bed). However, I have been speaking to a few friends over the weeks, so this hasn’t been a total failure.

Grade: C

7. I will write weekly updates and keep a daily journal.

Daily journal is going fine! I wonder if I should do more with it though – perhaps review at the end of the week or introduce some tags to make it easier to find things in the future. I’ve also been doing it in front of S as well, which is a good sign.

The weekly blog hasn’t happened, of course – I didn’t feel comfortable writing it in front of S last weekend (although I am today, so that’s an improvement).

Grade: B

So that’s it. I’m going to keep this short, until it becomes more of a habit and I can start blogging beyond the weekly recap.

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