My resolutions for this year:
- Do better in school
- Continue exercising regularly once a week
- Maintain better track of my spending
- Spend less time on Reddit and Facebook
- Work on a few close relationships rather than trying to (pointlessly) widen my circle
- Start on a program to study and practice Chinese
- Pick up some Japanese
Well, it's just past midnight, and I'm chilling out, playing Warframe, packing my bags, reviewing my flight details, and arranging my dates for tomorrow with my girlfriend and my bros.
That aside, these are my main resolutions for 2017.
Do Better In School
The minimum grade that is tossed around by most people for accounting is a "3-0" in GPA terms, or a "credit" in Australia. Right now I am sitting below a credit, that is to say, a GPA in the 2's. Thus, my two specific goals are:
- Don't fail any more courses (especially the one that I must repeat)
- Get high enough grades to push my cumulative up to a credit (or a 66%)
Right now I've identified several key issues with how I'm studying:
- Note-taking: I noticed the really good students take incredible notes, whereas I just kind of fumble around with my computer (which often breaks down too). I'm going to start implementing a better system of note-taking on my laptop. I'm also going to test on the damn thing before lectures and tutorials to ensure it works.
- Assignment time management: Notably, I don't feel like I have that much of an issue with time management for studying, but for assignments I have a tendency to grossly underestimate the time I need. I actually took a clinic (a little too late last semester) and I've got some ideas for a schedule. Currently my plan is to put the thing into Microsoft Excel and then print it out, but I might come up with a better idea later.
- Exam time management: I don't think this is a strict "issue" per se but something I need to keep in mind. What I want to do is come up with a schedule so I'm not bogged down by multiple exams on the same day or one day after another.
- Retention: This is a difficult one. Something that I noticed worked for me oddly well is the "talk show" strategy, where I put on my computer headset and pretended I was giving a live explanation of the material to an audience over the computer (similar to a Twitch.TV livestream). I plan on using this method more in the future.
- Timetabling: I am changing up the way my classes are laid out to reduce time travelling from the dorm to class (I realize I was wasting like 3 hours a week or something with all that walking). This should give me free days so it gives me a larger block of time to study, rather than being forced to constantly rotate between studying, meals, and class.
Additionally, I am also working on general scheduling and time management, with a paper agenda and a Microsoft Outlook calendar. It's not strictly related but it will help me stay on top of things. I will probably improve this further over the course of the year.
All of this, combined with the additional motivation of having a girlfriend now (plus not subconsciously wondering what the girls in class think of me anymore) and not having stuff like my sax or random club meetings or Overwatch is going to improve my focus greatly. I'm pretty confident I'll do a lot better this year. :)
Continue Exercising Once A Week
Previously I exercised on weekdays because my gym buddy Per was free during that time. This year I have learned that I cannot rely on Per to spot me because he is usually busy; plus he's graduating in 6 months too!
I think I was not focusing on school partly because I was too tired from the gym. Additionally, the whole change-to-sports-clothes-walk-to-gym-sign-in-bag-in-locker drill actually takes like 30 minutes which I cannot afford to do that many times a week. I will move my gym day to Saturday morning or Friday afternoon, and not exercise outside of that time.
Maintain Better Track of My Spending
This idea actually came from a Reddit thread. With the advent of Donald Trump as US President, a question was posed if anyone had actually met him in person and what he was like. One guy replied that he used to work for a store that Trump frequented, and that Trump always paid in exact change. It was then commented that the wealthy are frequently calculative; even if they spend extravagantly, they always know exactly how much is leaving their wallet.
I do not have this trait. But better change it now than never.
Right now my personal spending is not particularly complex so I can probably maintain this in OneNote. If it gets more complicated I may move to Excel or ECCO (which is what my dad uses) and track individual categories through OneNote. Time to put that accounting to good use.
Spend Less Time on Reddit and Facebook
I figure with all this talk of saving time to spend on studying, I might as well tackle a huge one. I've actually been pretty good about Facebook this semester, but it could be better. One thing I want to do is get important people (such as my girlfriend, my parents, and Henry) to message me on Whatsapp instead, and switch my Facebook Messenger notifications off. I already do a decent enough job of not checking the Facebook feed, but to really solidify things I might deactivate my account during exam period.
With regards to Reddit, I think it's not healthy to browse it too much (although still better than Facebook with all the fake news). I've moved the Reddit phone app, along with Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, etc. to the third page on my iPhone (whereas previously it was in the first).
In its place, I realize I've been neglecting my E-book app, which has a bunch of really awesome/useful books I still have yet to read. I should spend more time looking at those rather than Reddit and Facebook.
Work on a few close relationships rather than widening my circle
I should perhaps clarify that this does not cover networking, which is for professional purposes; I'm speaking solely of the act of making friends out of the student body in college.
Honestly I've got enough friends as it is. I really want to focus on the few relationships I value, such as my girlfriend, Henry, and my bros from high school and NS. I don't really want to waste a lot of time on, say, attending residence stuff just to talk to random kids in my dorm that I honestly don't give a damn about.
Study Chinese
Donald Trump's election has kind of given me a shake of reality; the American empire could fall in my lifetime. Being an English-speaking, Western-educated Singaporean, I will be far worse off for it. Not only is Chinese a useful life skill and business contingency, but it is also, to an extent, my culture and heritage. It has been a shame to neglect it, and I hope to find a way to change that this year.
Study Japanese
Simply because I want to retire in Southern Japan; I suppose one would perhaps find it useful to know some of the native language there.
It is of note that these "language" goals are more urgent than they appear. The human brain is generally believed to stop growth at the age of 28, after which it becomes significantly more difficult to learn new skills. (This is why sportspeople, and now e-sportspeople, have been known to retire soon after 28.)
...
In making this, I realized I had a few goals that I did succeed in this year:
- Improve my fashion sense - I was planning this since I graduated. Basically in school I only owned graphic T-shirts, jeans, and sneakers (aside from school uniform and band stuff). Since I got the ability to spend my own cash in NS, I've been buying a few better pieces here and there. But in 2016 I had my biggest wardrobe change; nearly 75% of the clothes I wear nowadays are from stuff I bought in 2016 or 2015.
- Get back to the gym - I actually went overboard on this, thus my current resolution. I also spent far too much on gym fees, taking up the most expensive plan which I definitely didn't need. But hey, a success is a success, and I have the coming year to iron out the details.
That's a real booster in positive thought. Honestly after the month of lazing around, I feel so much better and am pretty ready to head back to school and kick around some textbooks. Well, not literally, of course. You get what I mean.
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