2024 Game Plan

Bago ako pumunta sa theme ko this year, babalikan ko muna ng very quick yung late mid-year check ko for 2023. May isa pa kong goal na na-accomplish so from 77%, 85% na ang success rate ng 2023 game plan ko! Yayyy! Nakaka-excite tuloy mag-goal setting next year. Alam ko sabi ni James Clear na “forget about setting goals”, pero kanya-kanya lang yan. Kung san tayo happy.

Edit: 81% lang pala kasi nagdagdag pala ko ng 3 pahabol goals at di ko na-achieve yung 36-hour fast. So out of 16 goals, I achived 13 😊

Excited na rin akong isulat ang 2023 highlights ko. Nasimulan ko na sya several months ago pero ang dami ko na sigurong nakalimutan. I’m looking forward to reminisce the past months. Pero ito na muna ang game plan ko next year.

THEME:

Open to life’s plot twists

Next year is going to be big for us. Madaming magiging changes, madaming kaganapan. For next year’s theme, ang gusto ko lang sabihin ay: ‘Be more flexible.’ Pag meron kasi akong something na excited about and I’m really looking forward to it, tapos hindi matutuloy, babagsak talaga yung mood ko. I think lahat naman ganun pero yung sakin kasi medyo nagli-linger.

Unti-unti ko nang ina-apply ‘tong theme na ‘to last month, and I am proud na nagiging better na ko sa pag-adjust at modify ng plans para mag-fit dun sa new situation (sa mga “plot twists”). I think sobrang helpful ‘to sa mga magiging kaganapan next year, at feeling ko wala rin talaga akong choice kundi maging adaptable and less rigid. At sa mga sitwasyon na wala talaga akong magagawa, kung talagang minamalas, have acceptance kahit masakit 😣

Life is a series of endless course corrections.

Shankar Vedantam

Just like last year, I will categorize my goals into three: personal, wellness and finances.

PERSONAL

1. More in-person interactions

Siguro dahil (or sigurado dahil) almost 3 years akong walang regular job noon, nasa bahay lang ako 95% of the time, nag-weaken yung social skills ko. At ngayon na nasa office setting na ko ulit, ang bilis kong kabahan pag magkakaron ng possible interactions with workmates. Hindi talaga maganda sa feeling. Napapadalas yung fight or flight mode ko at hindi sya maganda sa nervous system ko. I want to remedy this, and I already am.

Sobrang hate ko ang small talk and I’m sure hate din ng maraming tao. Sorry na lang sa mga tao sa office na ayaw din ng small talk, because I will small talk the hell out of you para ma-overcome ko na ‘tong social anxiety ko. I am just so fed up sa paulit-ulit kong narrative na, “Mahiyain kasi ako.. Socially awkward ako.. Na introvert ako..” etc. Nakakaumay na. I seriously want to do something about it.

2. Lead by action

This pertains dito sa aming household. Noon kasi, sobrang nasusura ako pag kailangan ko pang i-remind si Kenneth ng mga assigned chores nya. Feeling ko nagiging nanay na nagger ako. Pero ngayon na mas defined na yung tasks namin, I just stick to my tasks and do it religiously(-ish). At napansin kong mas effective yun. Hindi ko alam kung nahahawa sya or nagi-guilty sya na gumagawa ako tapos sya hindi. Either way, kailangan kong pigilan ang sarili kong mag-nagger mode and just lead the way (cue ‘Let Love Lead the Way’ by Spice Girls 🎶)

3. PH Christmas

Di ko sure kung sa finance category ba ‘to dapat o dito sa personal, pero dito na lang. Sigurado kasing ang mahal ng tickets during holiday season. Kaya beginning of the year pa lang, nagiipon na kami. I hope matuloy ‘to huhu pls!

4. Simplify

Medyo malabo pa ‘to sakin kung pano ko sya i-e-execute. So far na-apply ko na sya sa planner ko kasi mas simple na yung layout ko compared dati. Pero hanggang dun pa lang. Na-inspire kasi ako kay Steve Jobs nung binasa ko yung biography nya. Daming quotes about simplifying. Simplifying systems, contracts, design, etc. Currently, iniisip ko pa kung pano yung application nito sa buhay ko.

• Real artists simplify.

• To be really simple, you have to go really deep.

• Making a maximum statement through minimalism.

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

5. Book reviews

Dati gusto kong bigyan ng book reviews lahat ng librong nabasa ko. Pero hindi ko kayaaa. Pero gustong gusto ko talaga. Lalo na yung mga 4 to 5-star reads ko. Siguro okay na yung three-sentence reviews na ginagawa ko dati. At least meron at mare-recall ko man lang kung ano bang experience ko reading those books.

WELLNESS

6. Weekend social media user

Very good ako dito in terms of posting. Kasi during weekends na lang ako nagpo-post halos. Di katulad dati na almost everyday ako sa IG stories ko. Pero di ko pa rin maalis yung habit na mag-check every once in a while. Usually yung DMs lang naman yung chinecheck ko kasi sobrang rare ko nang mag-scroll so that’s good. Ang gusto ko nang mangyari moving forward ay during weekends ko na lang talaga bubuksan ang Instagram ko. Tatawag naman ang family and friends ko kung may something na importante, or kung miss na nila ko.

7. Reduce inflammation

Matagal ko na ‘tong alam pero ang nakakapag-aggravate ng endometriosis ko ay chronic inflammation. Na-remind ako about dito nung pinapakinggan ko yung isang podcast talking about sugar spikes. Lately nakakaramdam ako ng pelvic pain so medyo na-paranoid ako na baka lumalaki nanaman yung cysts. Kaya magse-seryoso na talaga ko. Major bawas muna sa mga foods na nakaka-worsen ng inflammation:

• commercial baked goods (cakes, pies, cookies, brownies)
• sugary snacks and beverages (candies, jelly, syrup, iced tea)
• processed meat and red meat
• bread and pasta made with white flour
• deep fried foods (huhu)

Pero dahil maraming kainan ngayong holiday season, sa 2024 na talaga ‘to 😅 Magco-control na lang ako.

8. More home cooked meals, more vegan dishes

This is the reason why I hoarded cookbooks during Black Friday. Gusto ko lang matuto ng iba-ibang recipes kasi nauumay na ko sa mga niluluto kong paulit-ulit.

9. Intentionally expose myself to discomforts

Feeling ko nasa comfort zone ako masyado kaya ambilis ma-trigger ng anxiety ko lately. Ito yung mga na-search at naisip kong little discomforts na makakatulong para mas maging resilient ang nervous system ko.

• cold exposure (pwedeng cold showers or wearing light jackets during winter)
• initiate small talk, much better kung long conversations
• exercise (ughhh kakatamad talaga)
• sitting on hard floors (this also strengthens the core and help with hip flexibility sabi dito)
• continue with my 24-hour fasts (burns calories and activates autophagy)

FINANCES

10. No new gadgets

Quota na ko this year so wala na next year and probably the following year. Parang wala na rin naman akong maisip na kailangan ko. Oo gusto ko ng bagong laptop pero hindi naman need. Pero baka bumili pala ko ng vibrator pag natuloy kami sa Japan. Di ko alam kung considered ba yun as gadget. Parang oo pala. Basta, hindi pa naman sure. Iko-convince ko si Tricia na bumili rin hihi.

11. Limit food deliveries

Binilang ko yung food deliveries namin at naka-17 pala kaming deliveries last month. That’s 4.25x per week! Ngayon hindi pa tapos ang December, naka-20 deliveries agad kami (21 including yung pinadeliver naming Wendy’s ngayon huhu).

So nagkasundo kami ni Kenneth na starting next year, we’ll cut it in half and we’ll do maximum of 8 food deliveries per month. Ang ultimate goal ay maging once a week na lang. Hirap kasi pag nagkatamaran magluto. Hays.

12. Complete 20% home deposit

I feel like we are on track. Kaya sana pagkatapos ng Pinas vacation, makahanap ako ulit ng work!!

13. Find a more purposeful and fulfilling work

Speaking of work, medyo bumabaliktad ako ngayon. Sabi ko dati ang perfect nung trabaho ko kasi sobrang dali lang, plus the pay is not bad. At yung bonus, we are free to listen to music, podcasts and audiobooks. Ang bilis kong na-achieve yung reading goal ko at updated ako sa mga kaganapan kakapakinig ng podcasts at audiobooks. Pero ngayon, gusto kong medyo mahirapan. Waaa wait! Nakakatakot i-wish baka magsisi ako. Pero yun yung sentiments ko lately.

14. Increase monthly net income

Dahil magkakaron na kami ng mortgage loan probably next year, it would really help kung ma-increase pa namin ang household income namin. Na-express din ni Kenneth during our weekly meetings yung wish nya to travel more. Nung nasa Pilipinas kasi kami mas nakaka-travel kami. Kaso nung lumipat kaming Canada almost 6 years ago, never pa kami nakapag out of the country ulit. I’m going to make your wish come true haha!

CONTINUE

Some of the things I’m already doing that I want to continue for next year:

• be employed *
• my prepaid phone plan
• listen to podcasts and audiobooks
• be an imperfect environmentalist (using detergent strips *, ditching tea bags *, using shampoo bars and menstrual cups)
• looking for pockets of awe
• journaling (gratitude journal, negativity journal *, weekly memory log + reel, one photo a day)
• trackers (daily activity, expenses, reading, sleep, fasting times *, crying *)
• regular yoga and meditation
• reading books almost everyday
• improve French
• alternating weekly on who’s in charge with meal planning *
• setting boundaries *
• having conversations with family members at least once or twice a month
• wake up early (around 4 to 5 AM)

* new this year

Yun na muna. May 1 week pa bago matapos ang 2023 so baka may mabago pa. I-edit ko na lang. Happy Holidays!😊

Between stimulus and response, there is a space. And in that space is our power to choose. And it’s in that choice that lies our growth and our freedom.

Viktor E. Frankl