I started to write this post the end of December, during my visit in Leipzig at the 36th Chaos Computer Congress. If you do not know it, it is basically the biggest German hacker convention, similar to DEFCON in the US. The 36c3, how it was called this year, is the place where hackers, makers, developers meet to discuss technology, politics and social events. It is THE PLACE TO BE for any enthusiast and I had a good time there.
Nonetheless, every year after Christmas, I get very thoughtful and start to look back at the year, and I also gave a brief look at my blog to understand what has been happening. With 14 posts, I had more or less one post per month, which is pretty decent in my opinion. But I noticed a big difference to last year’s review, and it is the ratio of technology and personal posts. I tend to switch a lot between them and realized that I did not care enough about my blog this year. I have basically no idea who reads my blog, who is following up on posts, who is using the RSS feed and so on. Of course, with the little bit of tracking that is enabled, I know that some people (5.380) visited my website (and that’s half of last year, btw). As you can see, not marketing your own blog comes with a few drawbacks.
This review is called private accomplishments because I have reflected a lot on what I achieved and there is nothing noteworthy for my professional life. I wrote a lot about my Masters degree and the PhD program I started, but that was basically it. But after talking to my personal therapist, which happens to be the Miss by my side, I realized that much of what happened last year was just not happening online:
- I found a new apartment
- I bought (for the first time) a lot of new furniture, and finally got a NAS server for my data
- I finished my studies and went on a long and exhaustive job search, which helped me find out what I really want to do in life.
- I bought a fancy new standing desk and furnished a great office in my flat, which helps me be productive from home
- I spent some more time with friends and I am now the official head of the Montagsseminar, a social event at the university I am working at
- I regularly visit a business seminar which helps founders to start a business
- And much more…
So, I did really a lot of stuff this year, and it was exhausting. At the 36c3 there were so many people that worked on incredible projects, and I was kind of disappointed in myself that I did not do anything meaningful this year. As you can see, it was nothing which you can put into a technical blog post, but these are still achievements.
So, if you are struggling like me to see the progress in your life, remember that even personal progress regarding relationships, your mental health and fitness is a valid achievement. Be proud of yourself!
For the future of this blog, I will make a separate blog post later this month. Looking back, this blog was an experiment and the results still need to be evaluated. In April, it is the 5 years anniversary, so maybe that is when I will decide on the future direction.
Happy New Year, dear reader, and thanks for following my posts!
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