What did I achieve in 2023?

I originally thought it was the perfect job for me and my set of skills, but I quickly discovered it wasn't a good fit for me at all. If there is anything I gained from the experience, it is that I need to work quickly towards being self-employed as soon as possible. Here, I can have total control over my work process. "Total control" being a relative term since I would still have to work with clients, but at least I would only have to worry about my bottom line and not an employer's.

I'm not really sure I've expanded my skill set this year, but in the past couple of months I have been going deeper into mastering my core competencies. I believe as we are entering the age of Artificial Intelligence, having true mastery of your core skills is one of the best ways to remain relevant in the workforce and the marketplace. Well, at least for a couple of years (or months) until the next AI innovation renders this point moot.

This is still a struggle for me, although I'm slowly getting better at it. I am much more productive on days where I limit my consumption of the news and media in general.

It's easier to buckle down and get to work when I'm not thinking of celebrity gossip that doesn't affect me or world events I have no control over. Something that helps me is holding on to the belief that I have the power to improve my own future even as the world itself grows more chaotic and uncertain.

Truthfully, I haven't felt very inspired this year to create many posts here. Maybe it's because I haven't been making as many idea lists on pen and paper offline. Maybe I'm afraid of not living up to the standards I set for myself. That I'm not writing as deeply on topics as I could be. Maybe I'm a little demoralized by the decrease in engagement on my posts as well as on NotePD in general.

I'm sure I could get a lot of engagement on my posts if I summarized a bunch of popular personal development books, but I'm more interested in writing about things that aren't already popular and mainstream. To do something truly innovative is hard and can't be banged out on a keyboard in half an hour every single day.

I'm not sure anything I've written is worth charging for. Also, Premium Posts don't seem to be doing well on this site judging by the lack of new premium posts this year. I don't say this to denigrate NotePD, I love this website. I just don't think NotePd is a large enough platform to support having ideas behind a paywall yet.

A while ago, I saw buttons indicating that tipping posts and users would soon be an option. If this is still being worked on, I think it would be a much better alternative for showing appreciation towards posts that added value to your life.

Due to circumstances that I don't care to discuss, I haven't gone on any vacations this year. Ideally, I would build a lifestyle where I could take off and go hiking in the mountains of Alaska or get sunburned on a Caribbean beach anytime I wanted. I'm nowhere near this kind of life yet, although I'd like to have this kind of flexibility before the decade is over.

I actually accomplished this earlier in the year, and it was a lot easier than I thought. Sometimes all you need to get something done is to get out of your own way.

This is something I'm continuously working on, as I'm sure I'll be able to think more clearly and execute on what I want to do more decisively. I think my greatest challenge is setting up a routine around physical activity and sticking with it as well as knowing when to take enough time off, but not too much.

Truthfully, I haven't put myself out there, so having no results isn't a surprise. I guess I feel that I need to be at a certain level in my personal life before I'm "worthy" of trying to find dates on whatever app is popular at the moment. It's probably not the healthiest way to think, but I don't want to meet someone amazing only to feel that I'm wasting her time because I'm not operating at my true capacity yet.

Turns out that it's really called "Daylight Saving Time," weird. As much as I detest the practice of daylight saving time, I lack the time or resources to launch an effective movement to change the hearts necessary to repeal this reprehensible practice.