Doctor T Designs

On the blog I’ve traditionally done a yearly wrap up for sewing things and non-sewing things. I think it’s helpful to look back and see where I was a year ago because it really helps to put into perspective the events of the year. Last year I didn’t end on a very high note, but I’m happy to report that I’m ending 2024 in better spirits. It’s been quite a year for me and while I haven’t been sewing as much I have been busy with other things and that has been good too.

Non-Sewing Year in Review

This year has been extremely busy for me. I traveled a lot this year; sometimes it felt like I was at the airport every other weekend (and sometimes I was at the airport every other weekend). I have been fortunate to see family and friends during my travels, as well as continue to participate in the activities I have pursued outside of work. I will admit I’m a bit exhausted from it all, but I’m not in low spirits like I was last year. I also started a new job, which I am very excited about so far. I feel like I haven’t been able to spend as much time in my creative pursuits or completely selfish hobbies this year, and I will say I am feeling the longing for that a bit now that I’ve come to the end of the insanity that has been the past few months. Overall though, 2024 afforded me the opportunities to have some amazing experiences and start some new endeavors so although there has been a lot going on in the world, from a personal perspective I’m going to say it’s been a good year. If last year I learned to appreciate the small things, this year the big lesson was to listen when people who have your best interest in mind tell you to do a thing… even if it seems uncomfortable or hard, they are probably right.

Goals for 2024 – How Did I Do?

At the end of 2023 I didn’t really set any goals and just stated “I have a hope that when I write my 2024 annual review I have a much more positive year and am feeling more energetic by the end of it than I am now at the end of 2023”. I’m happy to report that I am in much better spirits than I was at the end of last year!

Goals for 2025

I feel like next year is already setting itself up to be quite chaotic on a larger scale, so it seems a bit silly to be making detailed plans when the only viable plan seems to be “hang on”. I also think that not having specific goals for this year was helpful in a way because I didn’t start off already feeling like I was “behind” at yet another thing to get done on the ever expanding to-do checklist. So I’m not really going to set goals or resolutions as such, but I will say that a recent work meeting icebreaker did make me realize how much I’ve missed reading this past year (I actually exceeded my Goodreads goal but the year was front-loaded for sure). So there are definitely a few things I want to do next year that I haven’t been spending as much time on this year. But since I’m expecting 2025 to start off unpredictably, maybe rather than goals here are my hopes for 2025:

(1) I hope to have more time to read. I’ve been reading a bit more the past few days over the holiday break and it’s been really nice. I don’t have any set number of books or pages, but just more than what I’ve been doing for the majority of this year. I used to listed to audio books in the car on the way to work, but I haven’t needed to spend nearly as much time driving in the post-pandemic world. Waking up and reading a bit as a “commute” to work each day could be a nice habit to start forming, and will be much more reliable than me being able to stay up late and read into the night like I did as a teenager.

(2) I want to spend more time cooking and exercising. I’ve not been dedicating time to this as much as I should be and I think it would be helpful if I did prioritize it a bit more. There are some dishes I haven’t made in a while, and because of my travels this year I even missed some of my big baking days for the Thanksgiving holiday. Plus, sitting at a desk job for much of the day is starting to take it’s toll on my back, so prioritizing movement a bit more would be helpful as well.

(3) I want to set up a more regular schedule for sewing. When I don’t having time to sew I get agitated, and I think having a more fixed time for it would help. I’ve tried scheduling it on my calendar, but it’s always the thing that gets moved when something else comes up, so maybe I need to re-arrange when I schedule it so that it is less likely to be impacted when other things are happening.

(4) I want to get my to-do list under control. Like most people I overestimate what I can do in a day and underestimate what I can do in a year, but this has led to a cluttered, over-stuffed to-do list full of things that need to get done but keep getting pushed off because there are simply too many things to do. Granted, the past few months have been super busy and have contributed to the accumulation but I really want to tackle some of the bigger projects that just keep sitting there not getting accomplished.

(5) I’m hoping to find the time to finally get my living space back in order. It’s still a bit chaotic after some of the housing repairs we’ve needed the past few years, and though I’m finally reclaiming some spaces, I’ve not had the energy to fully reorganize some key areas like my closet or dresser, which has led to the chaos spreading out and taking over other areas of my room. Here’s hoping I have the time and energy to deal with this next year and focus on some much needed organization!

Conclusion

Although this year felt like a lot while I was going through it, I think it ended up being full of a lot of memorable events and time I am glad I spent where I did. I will say it has been a lot to manage, and while I would love to have a few quiet months, I think 2025 will also be off to a busy start. I’m hoping the second half of next will be a bit calmer though, and that I’ll have a bit more time to dedicate to some of the things that keep getting pushed off. I think many of us are heading into 2025 a bit apprehensively, but for now I’m appreciating the brief respite that the end of the holidays brings and trying to be hopeful that the positive vibes will keep going heading into next year.