Bri Manning

2018 Resolutions Second Quarter

July 26, 2018

It’s a bit delayed, but it’s time for a quarterly 2018 resolution update.

  1. Professional Development
    1. Update Type. This was previously done in the first quarter.
    2. Create a simple app with Flutter. This is still in progress. I tried setting up the app with Bitrise to create Android and iOS build automatically. That was probably a waste of time thinking on it now, but it was still an interesting experiment.
    3. Write a blog post each quarter for the Rocket blog. Second one published about Kotlin. Time to get cranking on a third…
  2. Personal Development
    1. Continue reading a book a month with a stretch goal of 15 books this year. I’ve already got the twelve (while two were graphic novels), so I’m officially in the stretch goal territory here. The books are:
      1. The Bee: A Natural History by Noah Wilson-Rich
      2. The Black Monday Murders, Vol. 1: All Hail, God Mammon by Jonathan Hickman
      3. Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy by Cathy O’Neil
      4. The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
      5. The Weekend Garden Guide: Work-Saving Ways to a Beautiful Backyard by Susan A. Roth
      6. Beekeeping for Dummies by Howland Blackiston
      7. David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants by Malcolm Gladwell
      8. Attracting Backyard Wildlife: A Guide for Nature Lovers by William J. Merilees
      9. What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions by Randall Munroe
      10. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain
      11. Preludes & Nocturnes (The Sandman #1) by Neil Gaiman
      12. With a Tangled Skein (Incarnations of Immortality #3) by Piers Anthony
    2. Missy and I decided to do a monthly art club. This has suffered. While I’ve spent some time drawing D&D maps (yuuuuup), that’s about it.
  3. Fitness
    1. Ride my bike to work every day it’s reasonable to do so. This has been great. Both the old and new offices (moving offices will be another post) are within range, with the route to old office being just under 5 miles and the route to the new one being just over 5. It takes just around 20 minutes with the record being 18 minutes, probably because I timed the lights just right.
    2. Do the Crossfit workout of the day. Between the running below and the biking above, I’ve taken it easy here. I’ve been trying to focus more on cardio and the running has been great for that. Based on my Fitbit, my resting heart rate is 43, so I’ve got to be happy with that. Not quite down to the 41 I was in high school.
    3. Run three times a week. I’ve done this about every week since it’s been warm enough to. I typically get in 9 or 10 miles a week and I’ve also been tracking this with Strava.

I’ve been dropping the ball on the art club, but otherwise, things are more than on track.

One of my 2017 goals was to get down under 220 and while I’m not there yet, I am in the 220s range, having broken through the 230 plateau. I was just a bit delayed on that goal, I guess.