Navigating the Past#2: Crafting a Yearly Report

Reference: https://readingoutpost.com/how-to-new-year-plan/

This is my learning note from Waki’s blog article: ‘How to new year plan.’ This is not only an inspiring and insightful article but also a step-by-step introduction. This week I will focus on learning and following this guide to build my personal yearly report as well as a new year plan.

Introduction

Foremost, we need to take some time to review ourselves by asking the following questions.

1. What are the good things in this year?
2. What are the not-so-good things in this year?
3. What did I learn from those things?
4. How do I look if I am successful in the following year?
5. What are my new year’s resolutions?

It may take a couple of hours to answer all the questions. The most important is to be honest with ourselves: by navigating the past, we can make more informed decisions for the future.

1. What are the good things in this year?

1-1. I wish I could say that I am delightful about my past year, but I can’t. Life is full of ups and downs, and the most significant personal accomplishment I made is that I built my website.

1-2. Another minor thing is I took the TOEIC English test earlier in this year. My friends congratulated me on getting 820 out of 990, but I think it is not good enough, especially for a person who majored in Applied Foreign Language. At least I know my current level, and I am working on my English proficiency by daily writing.

2. What are the not-so-good things in this year?

2-1. I gave up several ‘projects’ this year. The first thing comes to me is my YouTube channel. I kept updating it for a couple of weeks and then abandoned it. I even can’t recall why I gave up my YouTube channel. Things just happen.

2-2. It turned out that my touch-typing practice was not fruitful. I have been struggling in my comfort zone, 50-55 word per minute, for months. Maybe it simply mean that I am not eager enough to improve my typing skills.

2-3. I did not successfully cultivate my reading habit. I know that reading will definitely do me good, but I just can’t establish a routine for reading. I mean, real reading - read a book or a magazine instead of a random article from the Internet. It is challenging to switch from a digital realm to a traditional style.

2-4. I still can’t get rid of the bad habit of binge-playing video games. It is totally acceptable to spend some time on entertainment, but it is not beneficial for me to waste all my spare time on gaming.

3. What did I learn from those things?

After contemplating the issues above, I found out the underlying problem might be my dreadful time managing skills. Despite the fact that I incorporated several ‘productivity tools’ into my daily life, I am still a layman of self management and productivity. It is pathetic. When I go to work, the supervisor or the boss is in charge of everything. All I need to do is heed the order. However, this modus operandi does not work if I crave to create something, whether it is writing or learning.

The tapestry of self-learning is an intricate pattern. I have to weave my own experiences and new knowledge together. In fact, after practising writing in English for a period of time, I began to feel discontented with my current status. I attempt to achieve a higher level of linguistic proficiency, and I start to think about applying for a job that requires English ability.

Another quintessential lesson I learnt from the past year and Waki’s ariticle is the importance of setting priorities. This is a pivotal skill that I always neglected. If I don’t set up my personal priorities, I am allowing other people or distractions to take over this power.

4. How do I look if I am successful in the following year?

In terms of ‘being successful,’ everyone conjure different images in their minds. I want to be more productive in the following year. This involves practice and dedication. I hope in the first quarter of 2024 I can make some accomplishments.

Additionally, I hope to improve my English speaking and listening skills. Although my activities in the language learning community turned out to be in vain, my journey of learning English will not be stopped. The experiences of joining a community or finding a learning parter might be disappointing, but they were part of the learning process.

5. What are my neaw year’s resolutions?

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