This post is more about my own personal reflection than anything else.
Toward the end of each summer, my own “work year” as a teacher is about to start. (I teach through the summer, but summer is summer. So whether it makes sense or not, that’s how I think about my year.)
One big part of this time of year is my planning of what will happen in the next year. This involves making a large calendar (I won’t show you my calendar don’t worry), reassessing to goods and bad of the last year, and thinking a lot about my trajectory and goals in the year(s) to come.
So in keeping with last post’s theme, here are some reflections on the last year and the state of things as they are now.
The good:
- I upped my work and my income considerably.
- I oversaw another exciting Austin Piano Festival.
- I’ve improved my overall anxiety level.
- I’ve become more aware of myself and what I want out of life.
- I’ve become more efficient with my time and waste far less of it.
The “could be better”:
- I can stay more on top of being clean and organized
- I
wantneed more low-stress free time for things that really matter. - I’ve lost touch a bit with my creative and intellectual outlets.
- I’ve become inconsistent with my physical health.
- I could use even more clarity and direction in what I want and who I want to be overall.
Interestingly, both lists intersect a bit. I’ve certainly become better with my time, but I also want more of it. I have more of a sense of direction, but it could use more clarity.
Maybe the reason for this is just that these areas could always be improved upon. But maybe it’s also a matter of learning from what works and what doesn’t. I never feel particularly lazy, for example, so if I’m having that much trouble staying on top of my organization, could there be an issue that I’m overlooking?
It seems that many extremely productive people who “have it together” lead far less frantic lives than I. Is this simply and illusion, or is there an approach I often miss? Perhaps I’m overlooking a fundamental – a certain “one in the many” of achievement. If this exists, you can probably bet I’ll talk about it in my next post. See you there.