Hello 2019, Goodbye 2018!

I’ve taken some time in the past to try to reflect on how my year is been and what the upcoming year holds in store. So with New Year just having passed us by I think it’s time to take stock of how things were in 2018 and how I hope they’ll be in 2019.

The Year That Was

I’ve taken some time in the past to try to reflect on how my year is been and what the upcoming year holds in store. So with New Year just having passed us by I think it’s time to take stock of how things were in 2018 and how I hope they’ll be in 2019.

First up, 2018 was a year of change for me. Adapting to life in China and a new job have been both stressful and exhilarating in equal measures. I’ve had to also try to come to grips with the fact that I’ve picked up close to 10kg after 7 or so years of being at a healthy weight! That’s what the convenience of ordering food from your phone in China can bring unfortunately.

My job has also been challenging with Chinese students in private schools being totally different from Japanese students in public schools. I’ve had a lot more responsibility and I’ve found myself being far more challenged than I ever was while teaching in Japan. I’ve been fortunate enough to get the chance to do some editing and proofreading on the side and it’s been wonderful to get back into writing that way.

On the downside, I’ve read almost nothing this year despite being motivated to try to read through a couple of books after a pretty barren spell over the last few years. I did pick up quite a few new books though, so I’ve got no excuse for the coming year.

I’ve also been far too complacent when it comes to updating this blog and my writing in general. Over the last few years I’ve had a lot of joy from just putting pen to paper or typing out a few paragraphs, so I’m a bit sad that I couldn’t do more in 2018.

On the health front as I said, I’ve gained too much weight and not done enough exercise. This is something that I must sort out in the coming year and while I can try to make excuses, I need to just get out there and start cooking more at home and exercising more.

The Year That Will Be

A new year of course brings the chance to start anew and so it’s a good habit for me to try to write a bit about how I hope this year will go for me.

First off, I need to get my health and weight back to a manageable level. The ways I need to do this is to start cooking more at home and no relying on food deliveries so much. I need to try to set aside some time on the weekends to work out a meal plan and try to cook some new dishes and recipes. The second part will be to get outside and exercise more and I’m fortunate enough that I now have a small gym right outside my apartment which means it’s easier than ever to drag myself out of my warm bed to hit the gym.

I want to also start devouring books more than I’ve done these last few years. I’ve set myself a goal of reading at leas t15 minutes every day if possible. After all, 15 minutes is not that long! I’ve gotten back into HP Lovecraft, so I’ve got plenty of reading material stored up for when the reading bug hits full swing.

Other than that there’s not much that I want to do differently in 2019. I feel that it’s easier to focus on just a few small things at a time and if I manage to succeed in making them habitual then I can always move on to other things I want to change.

So hopefully in 12 months time I can write here that I’ve been successful, but it always seems that it is our destiny to never be able to succeed in our New Year’s resolutions.