Happy 2015!

Happy 2015!

It’s a whole new year! I’m not sure how I really feel about that, but I do like the years that are evenly-divisible by 5.

To discover how I’m feeling, I’ve decided to keep a gratitude journal where I list one thing I’m grateful for every day and see what patterns develop before Groundhog Day Resolutions rolls around on February 2nd. Until then, I am not going to make any long-term plans for the year.

Some recent happenings:

  • My new standing desk is almost here; I had to send back the top because it had been damaged in shipping, and it might be another 4 weeks before I get a replacement. We will see.
  • Although my living room cafe plans had stalled, I had a pork chop party on the weekend after Christmas, and for the first time I could see how the space could work with actual people. This was very encouraging, so I am excited about getting the project moving again.
  • I picked up a copy of Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing on a whim, and found it unexpectedly delightful. I have been telling people that it reminds me of the movie Amelie in some ways, with Kondo as the protagonist, because of the personal narrative interwoven between each principle in the book. Kondo would probably be regarded as an odd kid, obsessive and principled, and that is the kind of thing that turns me on. Plus, I think the general principle of “keeping only those things that bring you joy” is a good one when combined with her uncompromising approach to achieving that state of material being. I’m looking forward to trying it.
  • The full-size Emergent Task Planner notebook project is still chugging away. I heard from the printer yesterday that the sample covers have finally come in, so I will probably have the mockups ready to evaluate this week or next. I’ll be sure to post pictures.

That’s about it! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! Let’s have a great 2015!

3 Comments

  1. Scott 10 years ago

    Dave, it was great to catch up with you last week, and thanks for that book recommendation (Tidying Up). I picked it up before my flight back and finished about a third of the book already (it’s a quick read, but I wanted to stop and digest it so far). It’s got me inspired, and I plan to follow through on it!

  2. Tessara 10 years ago

    Thanks for the word-tracking calendars–I bought a copy and I’ve stapled a few months into my planner. One of my goals for the year is to create a daily writing practice. Besides that, I’m waiting for Groundhog Day to create resolutions (I also pre-scheduled the check-ins for that in my planner); I hope to do some great things this year, and I think this will help.

    I appreciate all your work–thanks for putting it out there.

  3. penny 10 years ago

    i’m happy to hear that you found Tidying Up unexpectedly delightful too! sending good thoughts for a wonderful, happy, healthy, and productive 2015!