2024 RESOLUTIONS
grow plants - Absolute success. Very little has died and I've got lots of plants that just keep on growing! I've learned the tricks of the trade :)
escape the rental trap - I was never going to 100% get there this year, but I'm as close as I could have ever hoped to be.
National Automation Authority article - I took this one off the agenda early in the year because work is going well and I didn't want to publish something that might be too controversial right now.
upgrade collab interface - I did this, but sadly shortly afterwards it got abandoned. I have hopes that it will come back in a future life at some point.
project collaboration tool - Again, I made this (a rough prototype at least), but there was so little interest that it immediately got dropped. Perhaps this can come back as well.
keyboard - I'm using it to type this right now! It's incredible! I think the wooden frame could use a bit more work, and I'd like for it to have a longer battery life but other than that it's perfect :)
meet non-engineers - I did this for a bit but then I realised I wanted to work more on projects for now.
spend less time on social media - I've made some changes to my TimeKeeper app to help me control my time management but when I need a break from work social media is still my go-to alternative to wind down but I don't think it really helps me wind down so I need something actually relaxing to do to take breaks.
mechanical design - Well I haven't done gears and pulleys, but I have done woodworking, stepper motor control, pottery, and sewing my first t-shirt. I feel like I'm much more confident at making physical things now.
now for the 2023 goals...
maintain exercise consistency - I took breaks from the gym in moments of transition in 2023 and that caused me dearly, setting me back months in progress. That taught me that I need exercise to always be part of my lifestyle as a priority if I want to actually make progress. In addition to going to the gym I've also bought a bike which is like a little workout while travelling. I think that an hour every day is now a reasonable goal now that travel now counts towards that, and if there is any life transition (e.g. a new job) then I can cut back some days, but not stop entirely.
get a complete wardrobe together - I've got bits and pieces I like but I want more cohesive looks, and more cohesive looks for different contexts (e.g. work, gym, woodworking, parties, etc). I've starting making my first t-shirt over the past month and I'd like to buy some custom material (e.g. from Contrado) so that I don't need to compromise with found materials. I'll probably also be buying many of the items I need and using my new sewing abilities to take the purchased items to the next level.
make a social app - Not a social network, but I need something to keep track of people and their interests because it's so easy to forget and I want to offload the mental energy. This is particularly relevant since I want to be more social this year.
meet more non-engineers - I said this last year and I wasn't ready because I want to personally feel a bit more "finished". I think I'm still not ready, but that I will be by the time I've got my wardrobe together. I'll have checked enough projects off my list that I won't feel guilty for abandoning them.
get cat - I think I'll do this if/when my apartment gets renewed for another year and I have more confidence in my living situation.
buy apartment - I think this is possible, but not very likely this year. I'm putting this mainly on here as a reminder of the financial goal so that I keep saving for it.
finish up plant shelves - I made some bad design choices early on, and while I've started making this it's taking way longer to build than it should. I should finish the first set, continuing down the bad path I'm currently on and then if I decide I want more, make them in 1) a more modular way, and 2) ugly first before making them look good.
finish up pen plotter - Honestly I'm not that motivated about this one because it's not as functional as I like my projects to be, but it will lead to very useful skills, and make a great portfolio piece, and I've made the terrible mistake of telling people at work about it. I was thinking that I should make one standout portfolio piece every year and that this would be a good one.
toilet paper roll holder - This should be a super quick weekend woodworking project, but the position of the toilet paper roll holder in my current bathroom is so awkward to reach, I really just want to move it.
publish sleep stories - At the time of writing this I have four written already, and I think I've maybe got 3-4 more in me. I want to start refining the scripts a bit more having lived with them for a bit, then fine tune the sound balance (so there's less attack at the beginning), add some sound effects to make the experience even more immersive and then publish them to YouTube.
button pressing - I have a few buttons in my life that I want to press programmatically. I think a servo motor (with an attachment?) could do the job, but I'll probably have to experiment with different servo torque options. I don't expect this to take too long though.
cnc mill a keyboard frame - The current frame for my keyboard is kind of a mess and the task of making a more professional one is ideal for a CNC milling machine. Unfortunately there weren't any CNC inductions at my local maker space when I needed them, but apparently there is an induction scheduled for Jan 2024 so hopefully I go to it and make a more professional keyboard frame.
start a running maker community projects group - My primary motivation for this is to build a reputation as someone who is engaged and contributing at my local maker space so that when I want to work on larger projects with teams I have more of a network of people who might work with me on it. But I also just want to see what everyone is working on and share my own things because that's often hard to do during the time that people are doing the actual work.