2019 was quite the ride. It had its ups and its downs but what's most important is that I learned a lot from everything. I think there are a few things that I want to make sure that I do in the new year.
1. Have more discipline. In general I would like to have more discipline in how I go about my life. Ever since I moved to the west coast, it's been tough getting enough sleep to function well at my job. I think these past two weeks of rest have shown me that I need at least 8 hours. I've felt well rested, clear headed and just overall less dependent on coffee to get me through the day. I will drink one large cup though because my body is now dependent on it. If I don't have caffeine, I get withdrawal headaches. I also want to be more disciplined about taking care of my body. I have been fairly consistent in the gym this year and I am proud of that - I have definitely gained some muscle. But I wasn't so great about my diet. Over the last three or four months, I've actually been doing keto and it's been amazing in terms of burning fat and shedding unwanted pounds. I did cheat for a little bit during the holidays, but I'm working on getting back into it. I think a combo of a good gym routine and keto should get me looking really good come summer time. I also think that the following points that I want to work on this year fall under being disciplined.
2. I need to do more reading. Starting from today, I want to commit at least 30 minutes or an hour a day to reading each day if possible. I want to learn more about investments and plan to constantly be on the lookout for things that can expand my knowledge.
3. Be less attached to my phone. I feel like electronics have really ruined a part of me that I used to value a lot. I am less good at mental math because of the immediate access to a calculator and am also worse at remembering things. I want to do less of that and use the time in the mornings that I use to look at my phone and replace it with something more productive, like reading. Over the last two weeks, I've spent more time interacting face to face instead of over the phone and it's made a pretty noticeable difference. I want to continue that trend to see how I feel.
4. Do laundry more often. This is something that I am really bad at, and a part of that is having a lot of clothes to go through before needing to do laundry. I plan to do laundry every week so as to cut down on time to do laundry overall. Spending my time reading while doing the laundry can also help I think.
5. Reserve my hobbies for the weekend. Given the demands of my job, I can't exactly do what everyone else in SF does. I can't just go out and shoot photographs on weeknights. It has to be something that I do on weekends so I can focus on work and being productive during the week. If I'm successful with that, I think a year from now I can look back on all that I've done over the past year and be very proud.
6. Flex less. Sure, I make a lot of money and sure I should enjoy it. But I can enjoy it without flexing so much. I think I was starting to let the money get to my head and perhaps, I was leaning into a lifestyle that was unsustainable. In the new year, I want to buy less designer clothes and flex less. I want to bring back the humble Syed that used to work very hard and not care what people thought. Sure it's great to have some fashion sense, but it doesn't need to happen at the expense of my morale. I used to be a humble guy, and I think wearing Givenchy and YSL have blown up my head a bit. Time to bring myself back down to earth. I'll keep the clothes for nights when I party, but I think that's where I will draw the line. Which brings me to my next point...
7. Party less. I partied a little too much in 2019. In 2020, I want to scale that back. I slowly realize that it's more toxic than beneficial and ruins my weekends more than I want them to. I don't get hangovers necessarily, but I do mess up my sleep schedule and that affects everything - whether that's the upcoming week of work, my weekend productivity, or recovering from my workouts.
8. Save more money. Flexed way too much in 2019. Didn't save as much as I wanted to.
9. Restrict eating out to 3-4x a week instead of every night. This is an attainable goal honestly. I just have to know how to portion food appropriately. Since I love to make spreadsheets, I'm gonna actually make one that compares the cost of food I buy and prepare vs eating out. I think there's a big difference. The other thing I like to do when I eat out is that I like to actually eat at the place instead of bringing it back home. That almost inevitably leads to me spending money on drinks and also gotta tip. Perhaps I can save that money by eating out less.
10. Drink less wine. I drank a lot of wine in 2019. I think in 2020, I can probably restrict that to maybe one or two glasses a week.
11. Meditate more. Almost every successful person that I come across does some form of meditation. Whether that is prayer or just plain meditation (Steve Jobs, Ray Daleo, etc) it doesn't really matter. All that matters is that you actually do it and feel the benefits of it, which are clear headedness and the ability to do tasks efficiently.
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