With another year almost over, Iāve spent these final few days looking back at the past 12 months. Here are some of those reflections in writing - what went well, what didnāt go so well and what I learnt in the year 2024.
For those interested in how I approach these end of year reflections, check out a year in review. Perhaps this will give you some inspiration to start writing your own, if you donāt already.
With that said, letās get right to it.
What went well?
General
Itās been just over a year since I moved into a new house. After initially struggling with the idea of moving, I now feel this is one of the best decisions Iāve ever made. I love the house and couldnāt be happier in this leafy part of south-east London. Itās been slow progress with the renovation work, but Iām super happy with the improvements weāve made and Iām excited to continue the work in the new year.
Now we have a house, we also have a bit more space, including an office room, which has been a total game changer considering we used to work together in our one-bedroom flat. More space means weāve been able to have a bunch of friends and family staying throughout the year. Itās nice to be in a position to offer our home to others. Weāve also hosted a handful of dinners, which have been really fun.
In a similar vein, Rebekka and I hosted a big party for her 30th birthday in October. Iāve always shied away from the idea of celebrating birthdays in a big way, but Iāve really come round to the idea. I realise itās important to celebrate things. Whether itās a birthday or just something thatās going well in your life. Itās also a great excuse to get friends and family together in the same room, which doesnāt happen often enough.
On another note, itās been a great year for Chelsea FC fans. After a change in ownership, a complete rebuild and a difficult couple of seasons, it seems like weāre finally back on track. This is my 27th (I think) season going to Chelsea games with my dad. Iām proud of that commitment. Supporting a team and watching football is a strangely addictive thing. Weāve often contemplated the point of it all, but we keep coming back because thereās nothing quite like it. The shared highs and lows, celebrating with other fans, the feeling of belonging to a community. Iāve sat with the same group for the most part of my life - many I now consider friends. The main thing we have in common is our continued commitment to a football club. How bizarre. I laugh with my dad that itās too late to give up now.
My streak on Duolingo is almost at 1 whole year. Iām proud of that achievement. Iāve struggled to practice German consistently in previous years, so this is a huge step in the right direction. Iāve toyed with the idea of getting private lessons, but that hasnāt happened yet. Perhaps Iāll look into this again in the new year. But, as someone who snail paces through life, Iām in no particular rush.
I always had a book on the go this year and Iāve read some interesting stuff. Some fiction, some non-fiction. Books about finance, physics and economics. Some esoteric. Some eye-opening. Some just really entertaining. I like to keep an open mind and, as such, Iām open to reading all sorts of things. However functional and pragmatic, or wacky and out there, the subject matter may seem.
Work
This year has been my most successful year freelancing since setting up my business. A big part of that I owe to the help Iāve had from Rebekka and Ben. Right now I have a good mix of regular clients and a handful of projects already lined up 2025. Thereās much still to do, such as launching my studio website. But things are heading in the direction I want them to, which is, without doubt, the most important thing.
Things havenāt been too bad for personal projects either. In January I launched cu.css, the CSS starter I use for both client and personal projects. In recent years, Iāve been working hard to formalise my approach to designing and coding websites. cu.css has been a big part of this journey. Methodologies like CUBE CSS and Utopia ā which cu.css is heavily based on ā have not only helped me create leaner, more performant websites, but have also helped to remove the uncertainty around the way I want to be doing things. The result of which is becoming a more efficient and productive web developer.
Iām also very close to launching the first season of Practical Hugo. Since Iām not in a position to commit 100% of my time to it, this one has been a long time coming. Thanks to all of you who have been waiting patiently since signing up for the pre-release. I hope it will be worth the wait and a useful resource for the Hugo community.
Travel
In March I organised a ski trip to La Plagne in France for group of 10. Iād never organised a group trip like this before so I was kinda nervous about how it was going to pan out. Thankfully it couldnāt have gone any smoother. Everyone had a blast, including the beginners, most of whom were on skis for the first time. Weāre going for round 2 in 2025, so thatās gotta be a good sign.
I was in Germany on three separate occasions this year. At the end of March we were in Bremen, then in September and December back in Hamburg. Iām very fond of Hamburg, having lived there in the past. So it was fun to spend time there with my family and check out restaurants and sights I hadnāt been to or seen before.
In September I took 2 weeks off to travel around Croatia, where Rebekka and I first met, almost 10 years ago. We spent time in Split, BraÄ, KorÄula and Dubrovnik. Croatia is a beautiful place. Iāll try not to leave it so long before I visit again.
The rest of my year was mostly spent at home in London. However we did manage a few trips to various other parts of the UK: Rye, Wiltshire, Warwickshire, St Leonards and Dorset.
Health
Iām struggling to recall being sick at all this year, except for a cold in January. For most the year Iāve felt really good. Iāve made sure to rest when Iāve not felt my best and always tried to get plenty of sleep. Iāve also exercised consistently and been mindful about what I put in my body ā trying to eat a variety of healthy food often. A while back, Phil Stutz introduced me to the Life Force model, so I try to prioritise work on my physical body (sleep, nutrition and exercise) as much as possible.
Itās been a good year for running. I went for my first Parkrun on Christmas Day last year and subsequently went for a bunch more throughout the year. In May I ran the Hackney Half Marathon for the first time. Iām not sure Iāve ever had so much fun running. I have another half coming up next year, this time in Hamburg, which Iām excited about. Signing up for a race is a great way to find some focus with your training. Iād like to do more interval training in 2025 and try to improve my 5K time.
Iāve had another consistent year of yoga. R and I go to a classes 2-3 times per week. Since my favourite teacher took a year out, weāve branched out to trying new studios and new teachers. Itās been fun to explore London more and experience other teaching styles. Hopefully we can continue this adventure in the new year and perhaps do a little more strength training. Everyone (particularly my PT sister) keeps telling me itās important, especially as we grow older.
I went bouldering with friends a bunch of times this year. Iād like to go more as itās such a great way to catch up whilst doing something thatās good for your body. Itās just so damn expensive in London these days.
What didnāt go so well?
It wasn’t a great year for publishing blog posts. I tend to start the year well, then hit a wall towards the middle of the year (typically when Iām really busy with work). I struggled to find a balance between writing course content and writing blog posts. I want to make a real effort to commit, at least, an hour each day to writing. Even when work, and life in general, gets busy.
I didnāt complete any courses this year. I dipped in and out of Compound Content from Visualise Value, but I didnāt finish it. I want to change this in the new year. I picked up Complete CSS and Radical Design during the Black Friday sale. So if I can complete Compound Content and see these two through before this time next year, then Iāll be happy and feel like Iām not stagnating.
Iāve made a considerable effort with digital decluttering in recent years, but I didnāt make a huge amount of progress this year. Iām still working through my old Notion bookmarks, but it always gets relegated down the todo list in favour of other more pressing tasks. I also need to add YouTube and Spotify to my todo list, as I realise Iāve created a real mess with playlists. I probably need to think more about my system and perhaps be more strict with myself when I comes to sticking with my time blocks.
I had big plans to ski in Milton Keynes in preparation for this ski years season, but I failed miserably. Perhaps lugging skis across London is just too much effort to do regularly. With a group of friends who are now also keen to ski more regularly, perhaps weāll be able to hold each other accountable in 2025. Weāll see.
What did I learn?
In no particular order, here are a few things I learned this year:
- Organising events is fun.
- Push yourself outside of your comfort zone, you might even enjoy it.
- The right decision is usually found within, not by following what works for others.
- Let your values dictate your actions.
- Be generous with your time and knowledge.
- Play long term games. The things you stick with the longest are typically the most rewarding. Relationships, side-projects, investing, interests and hobbies all apply here.
- Share your space, offer it to those in need.
- Reality is the product of relationships and interactions, without which there is nothing.
- Rich is what you see (income, fast cars, etc). Wealth is what you donāt see (years of boring saving and investing).
- Everything is paranormal until we understand it, at which point it becomes normal.
- Consider all life experiences, even the ones that seem implausible or difficult to comprehend.
Final words
All in all, 2024 has been a positive year and Iām happy with how it turned out.
I worked hard, but also took it at my own pace. Iāve tried to manage my expectations and let go of the mindset that I should always be achieving more. As a result, itās been the first year in a while where I never felt too stressed.
I now realise how important it is to appreciate where youāre at in life, rather than constantly striving for more. When life it going well, acknowledge (or celebrate) it. It will help you realise that youāre doing ok.
Writing these reflections continues to be a great way to spot progress, however slow or insignificant it sometimes feels. Looking back over past years is also a great way to benchmark progress against yourself, instead of comparing yourself others.
As in previous years, itās the sum of the things Iāve stuck with the most, and new things Iāve pushed myself to try, that turned out to be the most rewarding.
Anyway, hopefully this has be as helpful to read as it has been for me to write. And, I wish you all a healthy and prosperous start to the year 2025.