The Plan
Onward and Upward!
The month of February served me quite well. I took a break from coding because I knew that February would be very busy, and because I wanted to take a step back in order to mentally prepare for Thinkful.
In February, we celebrated my wife’s 28th birthday, my daughter’s 7th birthday, and my own 30th birthday. Because I grew up not celebrating birthdays or any holidays, I’ve never had a real birthday. This year, my wife changed all that. She organized a great big shin-dig at our favorite brewery, vegan pizza and ice cream included, and invited several folks I haven’t seen in far too long. It was spectacular being able to experience what it feels like to be genuinely surprised by other people. The people in my life are so great, and I am eternally grateful to be able to call them my friends and family.
February also brought about a lot of personal growth and solidifying of some healthy habits.
Hit 60 days in a row of having meditated.
Every morning, I meditate for at least 10 minutes. I make sure to get to work early enought to do so, or include in my self care time on the weekends.
Finally went to the doctor.
It’s been far too long, but it turns out I’m fit as a fiddle. This is great, because it leaves room for some things that I want to do, rather than need to do, such as #30 on my 40x40 list.
Started a workout routine.
Every other day to start — and soon every day — I’m completing a compound bodyweight workout. It’s easy to do in my living room and works all of my muscle groups! I’ve already started seeing elevated energy levels.
Strengthened reading habit.
I completed Borne by James VanDermeer, and started American War by Omar El Akkad. I’ve been reading a good amount each day, and have incorporated it into either self care time or my bedtime routine.
Increased our stability.
- Our tax returns came — more than we calculated we’d receive based on our W-4 withholdings — and we put it all straight into savings. Now, with two months of expenses set aside, we’re looking to open a higher-yield savings account, most likely with Discover, with the intent of saving more for our Emergency Fund, then moving on to college savings and the like.
- Evaluated our budget and spending from last year, we modified the budget for 2018 to account for more realistic spending. This puts us in a powerful position — knowing where every single dollar goes is important. That’s why we use YNAB for tracking every single one.
- We received significant tuition assistance for this next school year for our daughter’s school, which is extremely emotionally rewarding.
I’m feeling empowered going into this next chapter in my life!
Thanks to the focus that I applied toward self-improvement this last month, I was able to modify my Google Calendar to be more realistic.
I may be able to squeeze another five or so hours out of the week for coding. Bedtime routine doesn’t take long for myself, but it does when helping my daughter get ready. My wife may be able to take on more of that responsibility on nights that she is home on time to do so.
My daughter and I had a discussion about this schedule, and she looked it over with me. She understands what is coming — and is already prepared for it, as it’s very similar to what she was experiencing when I was learning outside of a bootcamp.
So, really, what’s the plan?
The plan is to enroll in Thinkful this coming weekend. I’ve been spending this last weekend getting some things out of the way in preparation for it. If you can’t tell, I’m excited!
With strengthened core habits in place, a supportive family, and clear goals in sight, I’m ready to tackle this next step!
