As we’re coming to the final weeks of the year today I suggest you put a little effort in to refresh your mind, and help your year end with a positive bang.
Choose Your Challenge
As we near the end of 2021 I feel like we all need to reset in a different way. Today let’s challenge ourselves, after all the covid lockdowns worldwide, to refresh our minds a little.
Please note, options below are in no order. The idea is to give yourself a short period of time every day in December to finalize your year on a good note.
There are tons more options, these are just the ones I’ll focus on for the rest of this year.
Option 1: find a challenge
As a fellow programmer, suggested by a best friend of mine, why not participate in Advent of Code 2021? Every day we will get a challenge to solve in our language of choice. I sided to F# in discussions about it, then thought ‘why not randomize languages a little‘?
It would be a great idea to find a challenge you’d like to finish the year with. You’re an artist? Find an ‘end of year doodle challenge.’ You’re a baker? Find a great ‘things you didn’t know you can bake.’ I figure you get the idea. Find a challenge for yourself to test your skills, as well as reflexes, and give your mind time to ‘reset‘ by not worrying about work and chores.
Option 2: finish your overdue projects
As you’ll note below, I still haven’t published my first novel. I still haven’t published my games, yes there are two which fascinate me and are fun to play. I still haven’t done…
It’s probably a great idea to challenge yourself to finish something. It doesn’t need to be your project, yet, mind you. Just finish a few things so you can pat yourself on your back a little. For me that will include blog posts. You can find things you’d like to finish for the end of this year that can help you feel you’ve at leas accomplished something in these troubled times.
Option 3: get into proper exercise
I’ve found the primary problem I’ve got is I keep going into exercises that are too intense for me. I get easily demotivated and stop without reason. Find what your body can handle as your exercise.
It would be better for us all if we did more than sit at computers every day, cough as a developer this makes me sad cough, find the exercises which work for you. Even if it’s a simple as walking constantly for 2 minutes: do it. Even if it’s stand for a minute or two and stretch: do it.
You can’t make progress if you don’t start.
Me
Your results won’t arrive tomorrow, hold on to what you can do.
Option 4: get a new hobby
These may be things that have nothing to do with your every day life at the moment. It isn’t to give you any trouble, no, rather to help you spend time doing something else. It can always help to relax and do hobbies that you never have to worry about.
I knit, mostly squares for charity now. I’ve learned the starts of my crocheting, I struggle. I’ve tried a few times to learn other languages, I’ve got random sentences which are fun. It isn’t something which affects your daily life, no, rather it can help you give your mind a break by changing your focus.
My General Tasks To Finish, Or Do, For The Challenge
- Accidental Distances:
– Edits
– Publish - C# 10 .Net 6:
– Introduction and usability - ASP.Net Data Driven Design:
– Full services
– Full security
– Interaction with Android client - Write enough blog posts to prove I’m alive and well
- Finish the new improved edg3Helper revamp for exercises
– Have visual assistants
– Tracking assistants
– Wide variety of suggestions you can use - Fulfill the Advent of Code
– In random languages for me, I hope
Final Thoughts
The intension isn’t to change things completely. The intension isn’t to break things completely. You can make, or break, whatever you choose. Just try and challenge yourself for the end of this year to make it all feel more positive for you!
