Monthly Review: July 2016
Last month's review. All monthly reviews.
This month's goals
- ✖️ Complete changes to Exist Timeline tab to match Android app: FAIL But close! I was ahead of schedule all month until I got really stuck on the last major chunk of work. I'm still not sure how to move forward, so it may take me all of August to finish this off.
- ✖️ Keep my total expenses under budget: FAIL I tried hard to stay under budget this month, but accidentally didn't count some expenses from early in the month, so I ended up going over. But I was close, and I think I can manage it next month.
- ✔️ Write 2 posts for my blog: WIN Stuff I like: 2016 edition, The ups and downs of freelancing
- ✖️ Publish my next Field Trip article: FAIL I didn't work on Field Trip at all this month. In-between my client work and trying to keep up with working on Exist for iOS, I just didn't find the time or motivation.
This month's daily habit
Exercise. 14/30
I wanted to get some exercise every day—either weights, biking, or a short bodyweight workout.
I tried scheduling these workouts into my day so I would get them done, but still struggled with motivation. I'll need to adjust and keep trying on this next month.
Time spent coding
18h 30m, 8 commits
Fewer commits because I've been working on a feature branch that GitHub doesn't count commits for (grr). But I did increase my time... almost doubled it this month!
Most played music
Books read
- City of Thieves, David Benioff 4/5
- Good Prose: The Art of Nonfiction, Tracy Kidder and Richard Todd 3/5
- Still Writing: The Pleasures and Perils of a Creative Life, Dani Shapiro 3/5
- The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life, Twyla Tharp 3/5
Theatre
None
Money spent
107% of budget
I tried really hard to stay under budget but accidentally went over because I wasn't keeping track properly (oh the perils of switching apps all the time). I had a look at where I could have saved money, and there wasn't a lot—stationery to the tune of almost exactly the amount I went over budget, and a shirt I'll need a bit later in the year that I could have put off buying.
Biggest expenses: $1293 for rent, $130 for haircut
Goals for August
- Stay under budget
- Finish Exist for iOS changes that I'm working on
- Publish 3 posts for my blog
- Publish 2 posts for Exist/Hello Code blogs
- Draft one personal essay/magazine article
August daily habit focus:
My morning routine.
At the moment my routine is: get up, make coffee, grab doughnut, get back into bed and watch football. After that I sometimes go straight to the shower, and sometimes dally around if I don't want to start my day yet.
I still want to do coffee and doughnuts for breakfast, but I want to do my French lessons in the morning again on a regular basis, and try to fit in some exercise and writing. So I'll try for this:
Get up, make coffee, grab doughnut, go back to bed. Do French while eating doughnut. Drink coffee and write for Exist, my blog, or a personal writing project. Get up and exercise, then shower, eat morning tea, and start work. If I'm really not in the mood for exercising, I can do some weights while watching more football, but hopefully I'll be bothered to do something more active on most days.