Start, stop, continue 2025

Rather than resolutions, I started (from last year) setting out some goals for things I'd like to start, stop, and continue. I feel these are more realistic than some of my 2024 goals, but I've made a note in my diary to review these every few months rather than having unrealistic goals just coasting along.

Here are a few habits I'd like to start in 2025.

Doing this in my Hobonichi Techo which I use for planning & daily to-dos. I've got a small A6 one for this year, and will be sticking with that form factor going forwards after trying the Weeks version last year without it getting much use.

Hydration is a theme in this list. I've got a heap of bottles at home, so really no excuse not to take one out with me. Taipei has a lot of water machines in metro stations, parks, temples, and other places around the city, so there's no excuse to run dry either.

I've heard it's a good way to get your day started, and I know myself that I'm not getting enough water through the day. I remember seeing my dad doing this every morning when I was a kid & thought "man old age is wild". Well, here we are.

I tried to start something similar last year but then Touch World Cup, and holidays, got in the way. Now that I'm reading more regularly, this'll be a way to keep track of some of the good really good stuff. I'll try to keep it simple and short so that (at least initially) so that it feels "easier" to produce on a weekly cadence.

I used to cook at least once a week, but that fell away in the 2nd half of 2024. This is more a "restart" than a fresh start. I normally lean towards curries, soups, or roasts but want to try expanding my range this year too.

Here are some of the bad habits I want to reduce or stop this year.

There's a habit I feel I've developed where I just reach for a sugary (normally fizzy) drink whenever I'm feeling thirsty, especially in the Summer (the curse of convenience stores here in Taiwan). This is more a significantly reduce rather than a 100% stop kinda goal. I'll still probably reach for a Coke during long bike rides, or get a lychee & sea salt drink (trust me on this combo) from Family Mart after Touch in the Summer to top myself up.

This from Dave Rupert hit home:

Time builds attachment to bad ideas, making them seem good and grander in your head than reality. If you build in secret too long, it ends in disappointment when the public doesn’t understand your genius you spent all your time on.

My little games workshop - Dave Rupert

I'm one to work on ideas (both in my head and in code) for a long while before telling or showing someone else. Part of it, I think, comes from some slight perfectionist tendencies I've got which show up in other things too - like language learning. Anyway, I don't want to be a 10x developer or anything (1x is good enough) but I do want to stop sitting on projects for too long. Get smaller things out into the world, more often, then iterate.

A passion project of mine as one of the leaders of Chinese Taipei Touch Association. I'd love to be here next year talking about how we've had some inter-school games taking place on the island.

I enjoy my walks, and this idea of a "fake morning commute" by Chris Bailey really resonated with me. It gives me times to think, get through a podcast, or just get some sun. I normally manage to get in a mid-morning or lunchtime walk on most days. Hoping to add morning walks into the mix this year.

I'll keep track of how I'm going with these goals in my monthly review posts, as well as returning to them sometime through the year to see if any changes are warranted.