2018 Mid-Year Reflection

This is the first year in which I have set resolutions. Due to my coworkers switching departments, I was thrust into more responsibilities. I have learned a lot so far and since we are halfway through the year I’ll reflect on my progress and see what I can further improve on.

On a side note, I started video blogging for the first time. Improving my communication skills has become a priority for me in the recent months. Even though it’s essentially just me speaking into a camera, it’s still a great way for me to improve how I articulate and communicate my thoughts. Like every habit, I’ll start small and aim to do one every month. There will be no editings involved so please bear with me as I improve my communication skills gradually. 😀

Thank you in advance to anyone who watched my first video content. And if you prefer written content, please feel free to skip the video and thank you as well for your time! 🙂

Complete My Vocab Project

My Vocab is an Android vocabulary builder application that I’ve been spending the past few years working on and off. While learning Spanish a few years back, I needed an app to help me record, translate, and review the vocabulary I wanted to learn. At the time I just finished my commerce undergrad degree a few months ago and wanted to learn more about programming. So naturally, I decided to build a vocabulary builder application to help me learn more effectively and I’m glad it has been able to help others as well.

A few weeks ago, I’ve finished developing all the key features that are beneficial for what the app was set out to accomplish. I have addressed all the reported bugs as well as redesigned the screenshots for the app store listing.

I’m glad to say I’ve completed this project! It has been a great journey up to this point and I’ve definitely learned a lot from this experience.

Be Conversational in Spanish

Up until two months ago, I was watching anime in Spanish every day as well as reading Spanish books during my commute. However, since then, I’ve opted for reading personal development books in English instead. Therefore the time I’ve spent on improving Spanish is considerably less than before even though I still watch anime in Spanish every day.

In order to reach my goal, my action item on this front is to find a Spanish meetup for me to have Spanish conversations on a weekly basis.

Read 20 Books

I’ve read 6 books so far. For a few months, I was dedicating 1 hour to read every other day. I was reading at a good pace, but it has slowed down considerably since. In the past month, I have only been reading during my commute. As improving my communication skills and finishing up My Vocab project became a priority, I put less and less emphasis on reading.

One thing about setting goals that I’ve learned is to reflect and readjust your goals periodically. I thought about readjusting my goal to 15 books instead. However, If I can dedicate 30 mins each day for reading as well as getting better at skipping materials that aren’t beneficial, I can still accomplish my 20 books a year goal. We’ll see how I do at the end of the year, but for now, I’m still sticking with 20 books.

Build Personal Brand

After reading Crush It! by Gary Vaynerchuk, I learned the importance of building a personal brand. I have since been posting articles once every 2 weeks on my personal blog as well as Medium. I don’t have any goals in terms of wanting X number of followers since my content is for me to document my learnings and to connect with people. I’m happy with my progress and as long as I keep posting content on a regular basis I’ll consider this goal accomplished.

Start a New Project

This was my fifth and final resolution for the year. It was made due to My Vocab project coming to a close. I wanted to improve my technical skills off of work which is why I wanted a new project to work on.

However, my focus for the year has changed since. I’m going to put a stronger emphasis on improving my communication skills rather than my technical skills. If I were to start a project, it will be because I have a good idea or an opportunity that I’m passionate about. So until then, this resolution has been crossed off my list.

Improve My Verbal Communication Skills

This is the area which I have dedicated the most time for in the past month. Communication skills have always been something that I need and want to work on. And public speaking specifically is an area where I struggle the most. I want to be able to speak in public confidently but more importantly, I want to be able to articulate and communicate my key messages effectively.

I have been taking an online public speaking course by TJ Walker. By recording myself speaking and getting feedback from TJ Walker, I can see the improvements I’ve made. However as helpful as the course has been, it is still an online course. To complement the course, I’ll look for and participate in either a toastmaster club or a public speaking meetup at least once every two weeks. And as mentioned, my video content will be a channel for me to practice as well as share my progress with you.

I’ve made some good progress but there are some action items I need to take in order for me to reach my goals. I’m very excited to see how much progress I can make by the end of the year! Thank you for dropping by and I’ll love to hear your thoughts and feedback. 🙂