What am I searching for?

I don’t even know what my ultimate goal is. I just sort of drift haul ass through each day with an obscene amount of tasks to do. I can’t even gather my thoughts to have a casual conversation, much less a meaningful one. I’m focused not only on what my hands seem to be doing but also on what will happen in the next half hour, the next few hours, the coming evening, the next morning, next week, next month…and what didn’t get addressed still exists in the back of my thoughts like an annoying, badged app bouncing in the OSX doc silently screaming for my attention. I’LL GET TO YOU EVENTUALLY, CALM THE FUCK DOWN.

I’ve done it again—overloaded myself. If I take a step back and just reflect on what I’ve done just in the past month or so:

  • Started working out 6 days a week every morning before work for at least an hour, plus a 20-30 minute jog on Saturday mornings
  • Completely reformatted my diet which requires more attention, dedication, and preparation beforehand
  • Attended a 2-hour Agile evening class every Tuesday after work on the complete opposite side of town from home for 6 weeks
  • Attended an all-day experience mapping workshop
  • Started studying 日本語 every other Wednesday night after work
  • Started Charleston dance lessons every Wednesday night, which occurs immediately after 日本語 lesson
  • Design, customized, and launched a website for my friends’ film
  • Got stung by a scorpion 6 times down my jawline, neck, and shoulder while I was sleeping (terrifying, painful, and traumatic experience!)
  • Attended my first Kyudo/meditation lesson
  • Ran my first 5k
  • Camped on the beach for the first time
  • @Work: Launched my first iPhone app
  • @Work: Started on the Android version
  • @Work: Wireframed and oversaw a different, new app for a contracting partner

And upcoming is going to New York for a month to work remotely and attend 3-hour evening classes at SVA 4 nights a week.

I’ve done a lot…but what have I actually accomplished? What will I accomplish in the end? Am I giving myself enough time to appreciate the lessons learned? I’ve met a lot of very inspiring and helpful people along the way these past few weeks, but I hardly even give myself enough time to breathe. I think my social skills are suffering because I’m more focused on tasks rather than the people around me.

The first step is to identify the problem, right? I just need to learn how to manage my ravenous quest for knowledge down to smaller, bite-sized portions that I can chew slowly, savor, and enjoy. And then give myself time to be able to sit back and reflect on it.

This might be very basic for a lot people, but sometimes I simply get confused when people drop in terms that I don’t use often enough to have a daily, clear understanding. I found this index of terms and definitions, specifically related to a user-centered design process, to be quite handy. It’s kind of like one of those cute little dictionaries people used to keep on their desks, once upon a time… I hope you find it useful as well. DING!
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This might be very basic for a lot people, but sometimes I simply get confused when people drop in terms that I don’t use often enough to have a daily, clear understanding. I found this index of terms and definitions, specifically related to a user-centered design process, to be quite handy. It’s kind of like one of those cute little dictionaries people used to keep on their desks, once upon a time…

I hope you find it useful as well. DING!

Source: project.cmd.hro.nl