progress report april 2009
Another month goes by where I didn’t do any study for Ruby or for Ruby on Rails and it bugs me. It’s strange that I managed to do a fair bit in February and even then I thought that it was not enough. But compared to this past month (and March too) it was a hell of a lot. I want a change of career and in September I will be giving up yoga teaching. So why is it so difficult to get down to study?
I think the main reason is habit and lifestyle. I am used to having a lot of time off and earning all I need from yoga. And even though that is about to change very soon I don’t think that I can take it on board as much as I need to. So even though I can see that I need to do a lot of study in order to get a Rails job I find it hard to give up on a lifestyle that I have enjoyed for many years. I will have to let go of it for a little while as I study and as I secure my new career but I am behaving like a child or a pet who believes that when something is taken away that it is taken away permanently rather than temporarily.
This is a great cause for concern because I have severely cut back on yoga classes and other activities in order to focus on the study and I have been covering some expenses with my savings. I feel like a parent sending their child to uni only to find that they have squandered their time and money and then got kicked out. Money hasn’t been a worry for me for a very long time, perhaps since I was at uni. So here’s another habit. But during the current economic climate everyone is worried about money.
But in spite of the fact that I have not achieved much on the study side I have made progress on other fronts. I have been working on client websites and I have been getting organised. I have been using the methods described in “Getting Things Done – The Art of Stress Free Productivity” by David Allen and incorporating them into my general plan for getting a grip of the things I want to get done. So I feel a little more on top of things than I have been in the past. The label printer is really quite an amazing tool.
Riding a minimum of a 100 miles a week
Once again I have more than achieved this goal and did a bike ride too. I also sailed through another thousand miles rewarding myself with bike parts. A new saddle and a new chainring. I’m getting fit and should be on for some Audax action pretty soon.
Meditation
Still no meditation happening and I still can’t figure it out. For months I thought it was all about finding a time slot but now I’m thinking that as well as that I need a physical place too. And perhaps a bit of reading to inspire me. After all, at one point it was one of the most important things in my life.
My own yoga practice
As I have said before, I need to practice a lot more now that I’m not teaching so much. I have created a bit more space so that I can do it at home. But I’m not happy with my progress this month. I suppose then I need to ask myself what would make me happy? What do I want from my practice?
Keeping in touch with friends
I have done pretty well at keeping in touch with friends and even cycled down to Brighton to see them. I really enjoyed both the ride and the visit so I want to do it again soon.
The wheel log
I am finally up to date with the wheel log which had wheels waiting to be logged since the end of January. That’s a load off my mind and there has also been a reduction in inquiries in April. Perhaps due to increasing my prices and changing some of my services.
De-cluttering my life
I did take a load of books to the charity shop which was nice and I also threw out some old clothes which I was wearing not because I liked them but because I couldn’t be arsed to go and buy new ones. I have also been doing a bit of ebay selling and so my mental and physical space is feeling a bit less cluttered. Got to keep an eye on it though as the stuff keeps coming back.
Relaxing & goalless activities
More xbox this month but perhaps a little too much at times. I guess I jsut have to allow myself to do it sometimes. I have also been reading a novel, that same one that I’ve been reading last year. Perhaps I’ll finish it this year. But that’s not what it’s about really. Now that the sun is coming out I think I’ll venture to the park and read there.
Learning Ruby on Rails
As I already mentioned I want to work in IT hopefully doing project based work as that suits my character and my lifestyle. But haven’t done much study this month. As the savings are being depleted I need to buy more time and so it’s time to try and get some more web design work with my current skills. I have written a brief pitch to primary schools and it’s time to start approaching them as I have created a really nice website for one school in Wandsworth.
But time is running out. I will quitting yoga at the end of September and I am eating up my savings. If I don’t find another source of income by then I may have to go into debt. I need to think about this you know.