2011: A Prelude

This was intended to be a more direct followup of 2010: A Retrospective, but well, I'm slack about things and now it's February. Yay procrastination! Anyway the following are my general aspirations for 2011. I've chosen the term aspiration as it let's me be more vague and seem less binding than resolutions.

So here goes.

A Better Job
Call centres are not forever. Or if they are, kill me now (I just mistyped kill as call there. That seems telling). So I want to move on. Into something that could be considered a career. Something with a salary, better pay and prospects for moving if not up, at least onward. This will also help with the next aspiration

Better wealth
Back when I was getting money from Centrelink I somehow managed to get by on under $500 a fortnight. Now I seem to go through more than that a week. Sure I pay more rent, but not that much. Also, since my accident on the bike my credit card has been carrying a balance. I've just got it back to a zero balance, but will nearly max it out again in a few days asI will have some significant expenses over the next few months. The point though is that I need to do better at saving money. Aspiration 1 a better job will help with that, although there will still be some budgetary expansion if I get more money. Better spending control will also be required. For the last month and a bit I've been tracking my expenditures, and food and rent are the two big ones. There were a few others but they were once off things like Christmas presents. The big goal is to start investing by the end of the year.

Better health
Major improvements in the amount of exercise I get will be somewhat restricted by my leg. Running is still not an option. I have been using the exercise bike a bit, but I need to do it more frequently and for more than 10-15 minutes at a time. I also need to be a bit more diligent in doing the exercises my physio has given me. Better diet is also required. My takeaway eating is mostly subway and kebab shops which I feel are healthier than KFC or McDonalds, although I do succumb to temptation now and then. Less snacks will be important, and will also helps save money (as per aspiration 2)

Better socialization
My social life is going all right (by previous standards very well), with a few regular activities that get me out of the house. I've cut back on things since the accident, but am slowly getting back into the swing of things. That said, a lot of the groups I'm part tend to skew in one direction when it comes to the demographics. I would like to find some activity or group that I could get involved with that had a more representative mix. Unfortunately, most of the things I can see myself enjoying tend to attract the same sort of demographic as the groups I'm part of now. Suggestions are welcome.

Better productivity
I waste a lot of time. One of my common thoughts when I notice the passage of time is that I never seem to have done enough to fill up that time. Yes, work and sleep take up a big chunk of time, but I still feel like I should have more to show for the rest of it. I also have a bunch of stuff I intend to do but don't get around to. I've a bunch of ideas for projects that never get started, a bunch of things I'd like to read, watch or listen to.

So those are the things I'd like to aspire to this year. One twelfth of the way in and I can't say I've made all that much progress yet.