That feeling where you want to write about something important and painful, but it’s too hard to think about it for long enough to even get started and anyway your laptop is...
“Why are you crying? I got six college degrees. I used to work for Kim Kardashian. And then someone snuck in and killed me one night, and now Kanye is a creative genius. Kanye,...”
Also! The person in front of me paid my toll yesterday on the way home and that has never happened to me before and when she told me I was like WHAT? OMGOMGOMG! But I don’t even
Because of my choice of profession, I follow a lot of people on social media who you could vaguely call “technologists”. This community has a larger...
there are a lot of things that have been unjustly unfairly unreasonably excluded from academia, but comic sans is not one of them. i will build those ivory tower walls myself if...
We’re now two weeks into the New Year and because Seasonal Affective Disorder is rearing its ugly head, I need to generate some motivation, so I am checking in on my progress re: New Year’s Resolutions.
Write two books. A nonfiction project I’ve been planning for the last couple of months, plus another run at NaNoWriMo. Also, revise the novel I wrote in November. I spent a small amount of time revising my novel the first week of the month.
Date Be a girl who reads. Let’s try for 50 books again (OK, so I didn’t quite make it this year at 46). I’ve read 1.5 books so far. At this rate I will only read 36 this year. Oops.
See more live everything. Music, comedy, theater, performance art, whatever. I saw Big Mouth at the Public Theater with Elisabeth over the weekend. I tried to go to Wyatt Cenac’s album taping but $7 tickets = it sold out before I could grab one.
Keep my apartment clean. Sometimes people who are not Natasha come over. Occasionally they are hot men. Yes, my apartment is clean! Photographic evidence below!
Dress less like Yayoi Kusama and more like Rei Kawakubo. I moved all my colored clothing into my closets and have been getting dressed from this rack:
Go to Iceland Airwaves, like, for real this time. Will buy ticket when I get a job.
Finally take all those Skillshare classes I purchased months ago but never got around to. (They see me coding, they hating.) Yeah, still working on this. Pretty sure I need to block time out on my calendar or it’ll never happen.
Actually update my blog and get comfortable sharing opinions under my own name again. Sort of doing this?
Re-lose the five pounds I’ve gained back over the holidays and then lose another ten. Then start walking like Charlize Theron. Lost the holiday weight mostly by virtue of no longer being invited to consume dessert and champs multiple times a week. Have not done much to lose more weight but do occasionally think MURDER while walking down the street.
Stop watching Netflix in bed. At this point my 30 Rock references are so esoteric that they are no longer fit for conversation with anyone other than Tina Fey. Plus, I sleep better without the light from the screen. I cancelled Netflix and Hulu+! And subsequently discovered that I don’t enjoy binge-watching anything on Amazon Prime. Instead I listen to podcasts while I drift off. Success!
Read GetBullish every morning. This is like the one Internet rabbit hole where falling down it actually pays dividends. Jen Dziura is a genius and I need to be more like her. Some of her best advice: don’t waste time on “anything that is not extremely productive or extremely pleasurable.” Yo Candy Crush Saga imma let you finish… Yep, still doing this.
Inbox zero every day. God gave us Mailbox app because He wanted us to use it. Doing better but not perfect. Still a lot of unroll.me activity to be had.
Learn how to use a real camera. Camera+ clarity filter can only get you so far. Oddly, I associate being able to take a decent picture with a certain form of self-reliance. Need someone to buy me a real camera and then I’ll do this.
Finally learn to play my guitar beyond AC/DC’s “TNT.” No excuse on this one. Again, needs to be added to my calendar.
Build something. I don’t know what this means yet. Probably learn to code first!
Say yes more often. I once read an interview with my grandpa where he talked about the “serendipities” that have occurred throughout his life. I find that these are especially likely to happen when you do something you were disinclined to do. I think I am doing better with this. Last Friday I met up with a friend and now I have a 20-hour/week job that will cover my rent and allow me to develop some new skills. On Sunday after the play I ran into a friend from high school on the street. Yesterday I agreed to meet for coffee when I was kind of tired and unmeowtivated and it turned out my friend had a project for me. Now I have a tentative meeting about it tomorrow.
Get up earlier. It’s the secret to finding more hours in the day, and I have a sense of calm in the early morning that’s impossible to locate once the rest of the city wakes up. Mostly doing well at this, though the gray weather really inhibits it. I want to get back to where I bound out of bed at 7 and start working by 7:30.
Make to-do lists at night instead of saving them for the morning. Allows me to wake up with focus and get started on the day instead of wondering what to do first. Yes, this really helps a lot. In fact, I’d say it’s the #1 factor in determining how productive I am in the morning.
Learn French. Again, this one requires capital I don’t have right now.
