Yearly Journal

Yearly Journal - 2022

A yearly reflection on work, health, and writing.

Melvin Raj

Dec 31, 2022 — 5 min read

Hey friends,

This is something I started writing every year as a reflection for the whole year that went by and for looking forward to the next year (2023). I will be mostly focusing on writing, work, hobbies, and Health.

Ready?

Writing:

This year, I have written a lot more posts than last year. So, I am happy about it. However, the writing has been a lot like individual atoms, meaning, I was scattering my topics in the hope to build a molecule i.e. cluster of ideas that solidify the core topic. I couldn't achieve that. Even my weekly newsletter was all about sharing different interesting content from the internet and nothing specific. You may say, it is a good thing, but it's not.

That method didn't give one interesting path to follow. But it gave me a sense of what I shouldn't do; which is good.

Thing's to prioritize in 2023.

Write more focused posts.
Implement a way to add these posts on social media, so they can come and read more on this website.
Write more about topics delving into creativity, art, productivity, and technologies.

To inculcate this, I am removing the name of the newsletter Weekly brew starting in January. You don't have to worry about doing anything. Nothing else changes, except the name and look of the email.

You will receive an email under the name newsletter@melvinraj.com.

If you are new and would like to get the newsletter and support me, you can do so, by signing up by pressing the button below. I write about, creativity, productivity, and more.

Work:

I am working in the same company started my career with and it has been more than 2 years. This job came at a time when it was the hardest phase of my life. This job basically, saved me and to an extent my family in ways, that I can't express.

I learned a lot of things in my current job that I believe will help me in being the best in other jobs as well. Working as an enterprise support engineer gets you the ability to understand what the other teams are talking about without any requirement for you to know all of it.

I feel it's time to move to better things.

Health:

In 2023, I want to make it a priority to make healthier choices. That means, eating healthy, exercising regularly, and keeping an eye on the food I eat.

This year, I have not been able to hold to my goals in the entirety of 12 months, but of those 12, I was active for almost 4 months. It is an upcurve but I wanted it to be more.

There are a few mentions I need to point out:

I have a few things that I am happy about the past year and I am hoping to increase this context even more.

I wrote consistently for 50 days and continued writing every day since.
I have worked and learned about UX design for the past half-year since June. I am close to getting a certification and then would love to look for jobs in UX design.
I have been listening to audiobooks and completed 7 books, it is not a lot but it's a start.

I will be including more of these here and it will be interesting seeing it next year and reflect on how well have I done.

What am I looking forward to in 2022?

Firstly, more writing. I want to explore more about habits, mental models, and a few introspections.

I have also started a newsletter, Weekly-Brew where I am sending out interesting articles, tweets, and video recommendations that will be interesting and fun to watch every Saturday. It will be fun to curate and learn more.

Secondly, I would like to get back to running/jogging. During the one hour that I do, I get to listen to audiobooks and podcasts, and music, which every morning felt refreshing. This whole routine has been shelved due to an injury. I would like to have consistency again.

Thirdly, I would like to work in a company as a UX designer as the field interests me and it requires me to be the best of both worlds i.e. creative and technological. I am currently in the last phase of gaining a certificate after which I will be gaining experience by either working on my own(freelancing) or building a few side projects that are shipped.

In the same field, I would like to explore an application called bubble.io. It is a no-code application that helps build websites. I am interested because technological advances are enabling us to create something that can help others. I want to be a part of it. I want to have some part of the business that helps you. Being helpful means making your time and value a little better and more efficient.

It would not be an easy path, but I want to do it next year. So, I am giving myself 6 months to grasp and build in public with bubble.io. I will update the progress here on this space and also on Twitter.

Finally, If only the cases of covid are decreasing and the option of traveling are back. I would love to travel. I don't have a bucket list of places but I would like to be able to travel every year someplace, where I can explore and look at different cultures.

These are all the thoughts I have been meaning to write about the year and the year ahead. It is a good feeling to look back and reflect. I will be writing such yearly journals every year. I know you would want to start something like this where you can write to clear your mind and I would recommend reading this article below as it might help you get started.

My recommendations from things I have found out in 2021:

Steal like an artist Series (Book)-
If being a more creative person is one of your goals in 2023, please check out this trilogy. It is a perfect combination of how to unlock your creativity and how to share your work online.
The Playlist(tv show)-
This is a show depicting the initial stages of Spotify and how it created a space for itself when the music industry was struggling with piracy and record sales dropping.
Haikyuu (Anime)-
This anime series has been my most-watched anime. I actually am not watching The Office or Friends or The Big Bang Theory in my spare time but rewatching the series Haikyuu and I am hooked. This season has an expected final season coming out in 2023. So, get going before the 5th season.
Substack (Application)-
If you want to start writing for free, consider this platform. Don't think, just start writing and publishing. Rest you will figure it out later.
Ghost (Application)-
Ghost is a blog hosting platform. you can write blogs and even newsletters. It is honestly one of the best platforms out there. Substack is free but it takes a certain amount of fee for your paid subscriptions.
Notion (Application)-
This is all-in-one note-taking, task management, and journal and it is what you want it to be. There are many success stories from the notion that I can write an entire article about. if you are planning to write more or reflect more this application is worth checking out.
Obsidian (Application) -
This notetaking system has the ability to bring connections in between writings and also create a web of links, just like the internet. The amount of writing you do, the more interlinked articles you will have. I only recently started using it, and it is in markdown format which is a plus for me as I am familiar with it. Do check it out.