Hello hello,
As we approach 2024 like a speeding Maglev train, I’m still wondering where 2020 went. Can you believe it’s been 3 years?
If you’re here for the end of year review template, scroll to the end!
In three whole years we all grew up. Some of us married, some of us became parents, and some of us… are unable to believe people are married and became parents.
2023 forced me to reevaluate a lot of my iron-clad beliefs. I see merit in a lot of practices I had dismissed earlier. I’ve been lazy, I’ve worked a hell lot, I’ve been motivated, demotivated, sometimes just waited (get it?) to see if anything would happen.
Some things did.
I got to design a mural and paint a mural (eeeeee), something which was on my bucket list for so long. Volunteering has been the most emotionally rewarding thing I have done this year.
This is the illustration!
( I’m open for mural illustration projects, so shoot a mail to shamikasmruthi@gmail.com if you want to get in touch! :D )
I went on a solo trip with the full trust of my parents, and that hopefully will make conversations for bigger solo trips easier.
I quit my job in April and it took a lot to leave a cushy job for uncertainty. Life needs some element of risk taking, or else it’s just wasted potential. An injustice to what you could have done.
(Please don’t come at me saying you can’t quit - I am not advising anyone to do so.)
It wasn’t a bed of roses though, there was a layer of thorns underneath.
I don’t want to share lows for personal reasons but one generic low I see is the tediousness of adulting and the rampant loneliness. Though there are obvious solutions - make friends, attend events - there’s nothing that can substitute for a context aware friend.
Is this a sign to train an LLM with your life story so you can rant to someone who has context?
I digress.
I don’t want this to be lengthy as I am saving my ruminations for ‘Every end is a new beginning’ Notion doc.
Speaking of -
Every end is a new beginning - Notion Template
Every year I buy a planner and every year it goes unused with no impact on my life. This year, I decided to translate some of my overthinking into a cohesive narrative that will make my next year better.
Sneak Peek -
Every section contains questions that I personally want to reflect and evaluate for myself.
Feel free to pick, choose, modify, tear it apart and put it together in a way that makes sense to YOU.
To use the template, you need a Notion account.
Go to the link below, click on ‘Duplicate’ on the top right (see image), and it will be duplicated right into your workspace. Ta da!
Get the free template here! Reflect away!
If you have any queries, drop a comment or reply to this email and I’ll get back to you.
What’s in store in 2024? (For me)
In a future letter I’ll share the Notion doc with MY answers and plans. Since I put a lot of thought and effort into my plans, I don’t want to give it away for free.
If you are interested in reading my thought and decision making process, lists on everything under the sun, projects I plan to work on, and the graph of my character arc I will plot in 2024, buy me a coffee* and I’ll send you the PDF.
Who knows, we might even work together on any of my ideas and make it a reality <3
Excited for what’s to come!
* I’ll explain the concept of ‘buy me a coffee’ in the next edition. However, if you can’t tolerate suspense, look it up here.
ICYMI, Get the template here!
Warm warm regards, and wishing you a happy happy new year in advance,
Miks.