Day 366: December Review

It doesn’t feel right doing a 2020 review without first reviewing December so here goes!

What went well?

Once I got out of quarantine after the first week of December, I went from being hyper-focused on work to hyper-socializing. I stayed in a hostel called Meander, which was perfect for meeting a bunch of new friends right off the bat. I basically spent the month making up for a year of not socializing due to the pandemic.

Friends have asked me what it’s like being in Taiwan, and the answer is that it’s amazing. Being able to hug people, share a meal, try someone’s drink, and interact with people without the background fear of harming yourself, the other person, or someone you love is like basking in sunlight after a hard, frigid winter.

Picture time!

Went to an outdoor Christmas event called Christmasland, which I was surprised to find was Disney-themed. America exports media and entertainment like no other.

Met up with Jen and Justin! Jen and I met through Show & Tell earlier this year and she’s the one who originally told me about the Gold Card. — Met up with Jen and Justin! Jen and I met through Show & Tell earlier this year and she's the one who originally told me about the Gold Card.

Randomly chose a live music venue. Surprise — Taiwanese screamo!

The Gold Card visa community threw a fancy Christmas mixer. I only brought t-shirts with me to Taiwan so I ended up buying classy attire that I’ll probably never wear again. Rip. — The Gold Card visa community threw a fancy Christmas mixer. I only brought t-shirts with me to Taiwan so I ended up buying classy attire that I'll probably never wear again. Rip.

I led a workshop to help everyone review the past year and plan for 2021 using the 8760 Hours guide by Alex Vermeer. — I led a workshop to help everyone review the past year and plan for 2021 using the [8760 Hours guide](https://alexvermeer.com/8760hours/) by Alex Vermeer.

Went clubbing for the first time in ages. It was, uh, an experience.

Joseph and Miki took me to experience Jinshan’s golden hot spring and eat at what must be the most popular grilled corn stand in Taiwan. First time seeing Joseph since we worked together in Google in Tokyo three years ago! — Joseph and Miki took me to experience Jinshan's golden hot spring and eat at what must be [the most popular grilled corn stand](https://goo.gl/maps/VTNmoALKsg2aKHtw9) in Taiwan. First time seeing Joseph since we worked together in Google in Tokyo three years ago!

White elephant gift exchange. Arrived with a stationery for journaling and weekly planning (very R2R), left with a super warm blanket.

NYE party with my January roomies, Kelly and Tina!

What didn’t go well?

😅 Didn’t do any work

The flip side of all this socializing: I didn’t get any work done. When I looked at my time tracking, I was surprised to find that I had somehow logged 92 hours on Browserflow, but then I realized that most of that was from my work sprint during my quarantine:

When I’ve tried working again recently, I’ve found it impossible to get into flow, as if I were trying to do a pull-up after having my body turn into a formless mush from gorging myself on social interactions. It’s not a good feeling, but I know that it’ll come back once I start devoting more time to working again.

Metrics

Users & Revenue

Time

Overall reflections

All play and no work makes DK a dull boy.

I’m excited to develop more of a routine (my co-working space membership starts in January) and find a balance between working and playing.

I’m grateful that I can take a month off without issues, but this month was a reminder that I haven’t yet divorced my time from my income because the moment I stopped working, everything stopped with all of my projects. That would be fine if they were launched, stable, and had paying users, but I’m not quite there yet.