SPEAKER_0 [00:00:00]
Dramas, please.
SPEAKER_1 [00:00:13]
Yeah.
SPEAKER_0 [00:00:20]
This is life
SPEAKER_0 [00:00:21]
with a twist of lemon.
SPEAKER_0 [00:00:24]
So, John, we are on the verge of a new year.
SPEAKER_1 [00:00:28]
We are.
SPEAKER_0 [00:00:30]
A year that will not be 2020, which means implicitly it'll be better. Right? Not necessarily.
SPEAKER_1 [00:00:36]
Exactly. There's always further to fall.
SPEAKER_0 [00:00:39]
Yep. Yep.
SPEAKER_0 [00:00:40]
Although, I hope there will be some modicum of improvement in 2021.
SPEAKER_0 [00:00:45]
It it it seems like there has to be like, you can only I don't know. Something has to be improved. Maybe not everything, but
SPEAKER_0 [00:00:52]
but something. Something. Right.
SPEAKER_0 [00:00:55]
So
SPEAKER_0 [00:00:56]
for the last couple years now, we have discussed our New Year's resolutions as we approached the New Year. And I think we have ridiculed and mocked them while also simultaneously
SPEAKER_0 [00:01:06]
endorsing them, which I believe we're probably gonna do again this year. Right? Probably.
SPEAKER_0 [00:01:12]
First, I think it's appropriate to maybe reflect on our 2020
SPEAKER_0 [00:01:17]
I think we call them goals. We don't wanna call them New Year's resolutions. We're we're setting goals for the year. Yeah. And just kinda see how we held up. I went back and actually listened to the episode. Did you did you do that? I didn't listen to the whole episode, but I listened to part of it. I think I actually did that before you did.
SPEAKER_0 [00:01:34]
Oh, okay. Well, there we go. I also combed through our notes from that episode in our archive note just to see, if there's anything I missed. So the the short of it is,
SPEAKER_0 [00:01:46]
I wrote down three things that you set as goals
SPEAKER_0 [00:01:49]
for 2020, and I wanna know
SPEAKER_0 [00:01:51]
if you accomplished them.
SPEAKER_0 [00:01:53]
Your your big one was you said you were gonna read
SPEAKER_0 [00:01:56]
five days a week. You didn't set a time limit. You did not set a number of books. Correct. You just set
SPEAKER_0 [00:02:02]
the days of a week the number of days a week that you were gonna read. So, John, did you read five days a week? No.
SPEAKER_1 [00:02:08]
I started off really strong.
SPEAKER_1 [00:02:10]
Then, what was it,
SPEAKER_1 [00:02:12]
April or May,
SPEAKER_1 [00:02:14]
I stopped reading completely.
SPEAKER_1 [00:02:16]
But then I've been doing really good again here in the last three weeks of the year.
SPEAKER_0 [00:02:21]
Okay. How did you keep track of the days which you read? Did you keep track? I didn't keep track.
SPEAKER_0 [00:02:27]
Okay. So you know you fell off the bandwagon, but you don't know exactly how bad you fell off the bandwagon or for how long?
SPEAKER_1 [00:02:34]
Correct. But it was over half the year. So Okay. So did you during that half of the year, did you not read at all? I did not. So I started off. I set my Goodreads goal to 10 books this year, and I read 12
SPEAKER_1 [00:02:48]
by
SPEAKER_1 [00:02:49]
May.
SPEAKER_1 [00:02:51]
And I'm due to finish the last 100 pages of the list to make 13 books on the year.
SPEAKER_0 [00:02:57]
So after you read the 12 for May, mean, were you just tuckered out, or, like, what what was the deal? Why did you just start reading the third? Really know what happened.
SPEAKER_1 [00:03:05]
It was
SPEAKER_1 [00:03:06]
summer,
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and
SPEAKER_1 [00:03:08]
it was definitely
SPEAKER_1 [00:03:10]
before
SPEAKER_1 [00:03:11]
the storm hit. But after the storm hit, I wasn't gonna be reading.
SPEAKER_1 [00:03:15]
Although during the storm week, that would have been a great time to read, but I had other things on my mind.
SPEAKER_1 [00:03:22]
So yeah. Because I read I read a lot of Percy Jackson, which I think I talked about on the podcast, and you made fun of me for it.
SPEAKER_0 [00:03:30]
I made it And I will I will do it again if you like.
SPEAKER_1 [00:03:33]
So yeah. And then I picked up Taliesin the book when I knew I was gonna get Taliesin the dog and that's the one that I'm finishing now. But that's 500 pages, so it's a sizable book.
SPEAKER_0 [00:03:46]
Okay.
SPEAKER_0 [00:03:47]
Did you did you mostly focus on fiction then? I did. So I read
SPEAKER_1 [00:03:53]
maybe two nonfiction books. You put me on the spot. I didn't come prepare with my book list.
SPEAKER_0 [00:03:59]
Hey, man. You knew we were gonna review. I did.
SPEAKER_1 [00:04:03]
But I read I think I read Radical Candor this year and then
SPEAKER_1 [00:04:07]
told you that you should read it
SPEAKER_1 [00:04:09]
just to make sure I wasn't missing something.
SPEAKER_0 [00:04:12]
I did not enjoy that book. I didn't really either.
SPEAKER_0 [00:04:16]
Alright. So in addition to reading, you also said you were gonna give up social media, and I I feel like as your friend, I probably
SPEAKER_0 [00:04:23]
worked against you on this one.
SPEAKER_1 [00:04:25]
That's probably true. So I started the year off with no social media,
SPEAKER_1 [00:04:33]
and I had removed everything.
SPEAKER_1 [00:04:35]
And I can't remember exactly when I introduced it back.
SPEAKER_0 [00:04:39]
Now to to rewind a bit, what was the reason for wanting to give up social media? Did you just feel like you're spending too much time on it, or or what was the deal? Yeah. So initially,
SPEAKER_1 [00:04:47]
the reasoning was basically I was scrolling and I didn't really enjoy it anymore.
SPEAKER_1 [00:04:52]
So
SPEAKER_0 [00:04:53]
there was no reason to be on it. There's there's a term for that, isn't it? Isn't that, like, called doomscrolling?
SPEAKER_1 [00:04:59]
I have no idea.
SPEAKER_0 [00:05:01]
I I think that's what they I think that's what they call the kids these days, called doomscrolling. Doomscrolling. Alright. Yeah. So
SPEAKER_0 [00:05:08]
you gave it up, and then you slowly reintroduced stuff. Like, what let's let's just level set. What do you have installed on your phone right this moment?
SPEAKER_1 [00:05:17]
On my phone, I have nothing installed. No. I have Instagram installed.
SPEAKER_0 [00:05:22]
Okay. Do you do most of your social media browsing then on your laptop?
SPEAKER_1 [00:05:27]
Yeah.
SPEAKER_1 [00:05:28]
So Okay. Twitter and Facebook for sure. But, like, I feel like since I can't I didn't I started the year off without having any social media, and then I've deactivated social media, especially around election time.
SPEAKER_1 [00:05:42]
Like, I just don't spend that much time on it.
SPEAKER_0 [00:05:46]
Okay. So you've got control of the situation. I I would say
SPEAKER_0 [00:05:50]
I mean, do you feel like you've met this goal despite still some limited engagement?
SPEAKER_1 [00:05:55]
Yeah. I think the spirit of the goal, I definitely have hit, because,
SPEAKER_1 [00:05:59]
like,
SPEAKER_1 [00:06:03]
I'm just not spending time on it, and I've used it to keep in touch with people
SPEAKER_1 [00:06:08]
and to share podcast episodes.
SPEAKER_0 [00:06:11]
And that was the thing where I I feel like I set you up for failure because I did
SPEAKER_0 [00:06:15]
pull back from social media. I pulled back hard.
SPEAKER_0 [00:06:18]
I I completely deactivated Facebook. I don't even know when I did that. That was that was a while ago now. Maybe it was July?
SPEAKER_0 [00:06:24]
Yeah. It was a long time ago. Yeah. So I I pulled back hard. I have no regrets. I did add Instagram
SPEAKER_0 [00:06:31]
primarily to follow
SPEAKER_0 [00:06:33]
my wife's pictures. She's been drawing Which are amazing, by the way. Yeah. She's she's quite talented.
SPEAKER_0 [00:06:39]
However,
SPEAKER_0 [00:06:39]
we her and I had a discussion the other night.
SPEAKER_0 [00:06:42]
She's gonna actually show me her pictures in person so that I don't have to follow them in Instagram. Anymore. Yeah.
SPEAKER_0 [00:06:48]
There you go. But then I peeled back on Twitter quite a bit.
SPEAKER_0 [00:06:52]
I I follow those people. I look at it less.
SPEAKER_0 [00:06:55]
I still have been on it and that is that is something I'm gonna take a
SPEAKER_1 [00:06:59]
an axe to, I think, on the Yeah. So I think the election cycle really killed Twitter for me. Like, I used to use it more for work,
SPEAKER_1 [00:07:07]
but,
SPEAKER_1 [00:07:08]
now it's just
SPEAKER_1 [00:07:11]
it doesn't interest me anymore. So, like, maybe I check it every couple of days
SPEAKER_0 [00:07:15]
or if something's broken.
SPEAKER_0 [00:07:17]
I get very little
SPEAKER_0 [00:07:19]
in terms of election news on there.
SPEAKER_1 [00:07:22]
Nah. That's not true. It wasn't really news. It was people
SPEAKER_1 [00:07:25]
complaining about stuff.
SPEAKER_0 [00:07:27]
See, maybe that's where I where I have a one up on you. I don't follow a lot of, like, friends, if if if you will. There you go. So I I follow inform like, accounts that are related to services or systems or, you know, things that I've that I'm interested in, and they shared news about
SPEAKER_0 [00:07:43]
the thing that they make or build or whatnot.
SPEAKER_0 [00:07:46]
But
SPEAKER_0 [00:07:46]
alright. So those are the three things that I've written down for your 2020 goals. Did I miss any?
SPEAKER_1 [00:07:52]
We didn't talk about the third one, better boundaries.
SPEAKER_0 [00:07:55]
Oh oh, I'm yeah. I missed that. I'm sorry. Better boundaries between work and life. Specifically, you said you wanted to take more vacation time.
SPEAKER_1 [00:08:01]
Yeah. So 2020 happened with the whole vacation time thing. I had a vacation planned,
SPEAKER_1 [00:08:07]
which was then canceled.
SPEAKER_1 [00:08:09]
But You were gonna go to Aruba. Right? Like, were Yeah. Gonna Like, go all out completely off the grid, different country.
SPEAKER_1 [00:08:15]
So yeah.
SPEAKER_1 [00:08:17]
That was right around that was just after everything was shutting down in March.
SPEAKER_0 [00:08:23]
And so since then,
SPEAKER_0 [00:08:26]
I mean, did you I've I've had this struggle, so I I feel like I can I can judge you? Taking time off while you're at home, like, just a day off to do nothing at home? So I didn't take any time off,
SPEAKER_1 [00:08:38]
but I was much more intentional
SPEAKER_1 [00:08:40]
about work time when we all went remote, and I was working from home specifically.
SPEAKER_0 [00:08:47]
Okay. Which is which is really important. Right? And and I think if if you've managed to work from home nine months now,
SPEAKER_0 [00:08:53]
during the pandemic and you haven't figured out how to create that balance, now is definitely the time to do it. But, it I think just remote work in general. Right? Like, knowing
SPEAKER_0 [00:09:02]
where the boundaries of your workspace are and your work time are and then adhering to them is is critical for for just mental health in general. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_0 [00:09:13]
Okay.
SPEAKER_0 [00:09:14]
So
SPEAKER_0 [00:09:15]
my if you remember at the beginning of 2020, I I actually struggled with coming up with goals because I felt like I had crushed things so dramatically in 2019.
SPEAKER_0 [00:09:24]
I had wanted to read more,
SPEAKER_0 [00:09:26]
and I think I read, like, 44 books or something last year, and I declared that that was the most I was ever gonna read in a year.
SPEAKER_0 [00:09:34]
I wanted to bike more, which I didn't do. I did not do at all. Neither did I. This was a terrible biking year. It was. I I have some theories around that. But then the other thing that I said, is I didn't have any, like, fiscal goals to to work around, and and that, like, largely drove my goal setting previously was, like, reaching a certain amount on savings, tackling the mortgage, etcetera. And after I paid off the mortgage,
SPEAKER_0 [00:09:57]
it, like, it kinda threw me into this weird place where I I didn't know what to do.
SPEAKER_1 [00:10:02]
However You know what to do now?
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:05]
I wouldn't say that. Okay. You you though, you pushed me again to bike more, which I didn't do. You pushed me to have less strong opinions.
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:13]
We we took a break from the podcast. I think that was pretty close.
SPEAKER_1 [00:10:18]
I don't know. And
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:21]
then and then you challenged me to write more, which
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:26]
I I did a lousy job with to begin with the year. Right? Like, I don't think I posted anything
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:32]
until May
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:34]
on the blog, and then I I basically took another hiatus until September. Right.
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:40]
But starting November, I started writing actually once a week, and I feel like I've actually written some decent stuff.
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:46]
I'd I'm still struggling on whether or not I care.
SPEAKER_1 [00:10:51]
That's fair. I care, Stan.
SPEAKER_1 [00:10:53]
You should I write for appreciate that.
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:56]
I but but so I I this one, I I think most of the time, New Year's resolutions
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:01]
for me
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:02]
start strong and then, you know, kinda peter out. This this one though in particular was the total opposite. Right. I started terribly,
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:08]
and then here in the last quarter of the year, I've I've kicked that up a notch. So I don't know. It's kinda weird.
SPEAKER_1 [00:11:15]
Well, there you go.
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:17]
Alright, John. Stanlemon.com.
SPEAKER_1 [00:11:19]
You can see all of the lemon ramblings,
SPEAKER_1 [00:11:22]
on tech, on books.
SPEAKER_1 [00:11:25]
Did you talk about music? Yeah. You talked about music, donut fairies,
SPEAKER_1 [00:11:28]
all sorts of things.
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:30]
That so the the most recent post I did was the the books that I liked the most this year out of the turns out it was 66 that I have read. That is more than one book a week.
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:41]
It is. It is. And that was, like, I joked around like,
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:46]
maybe I could ante up from last year's 44 and just do one book a week, you know, and hit 52, and then I could say I've done that. I did not set out to read this much. And they weren't short books either. Like No. They're all all over the map. There were there were a bunch of pretty hefty ones though.
SPEAKER_0 [00:12:03]
But my top 10 list is is on the the blog, and I'm pretty proud of that list.
SPEAKER_1 [00:12:08]
And I think I told you I've read two of those.
SPEAKER_1 [00:12:11]
Well, hey, there's always twenty twenty one, John. There is. And I'm actually in a reading habit currently, so we'll see if that sticks.
SPEAKER_0 [00:12:18]
There you go, man. I'm I'm, we're not gonna talk about this today, but I'm I'm actually slugging through
SPEAKER_0 [00:12:24]
Lord of the Rings,
SPEAKER_0 [00:12:25]
and I am less focused next year on I'm I'm gonna try and pay less attention to the number of books Sure.
SPEAKER_0 [00:12:31]
And and just enjoy some I'm
SPEAKER_0 [00:12:34]
gonna yeah. But I'm gonna focus on fiction. I read a lot of what I would call political garbage this year, and I don't think that that was a good choice in hindsight.
SPEAKER_1 [00:12:42]
Probably not in 2020. But
SPEAKER_1 [00:12:45]
it's interesting because usually your fiction involves just Star Trek novels.
SPEAKER_0 [00:12:50]
Star Wars novels. Yeah. Yeah. Yep. So
SPEAKER_1 [00:12:53]
And and I branch out You've
SPEAKER_1 [00:12:55]
been reading high fantasy with Lord of the Rings. Yeah. Yeah. I I read some Firefly.
SPEAKER_1 [00:13:00]
I I did read The Hobbit. I didn't care for it, but I read it. So I read The Hobbit this year too, so maybe that's something we have com in common.
SPEAKER_0 [00:13:07]
There you go. There you go. Alright. But that was last year. Let's let's look ahead, John. What are you what are you setting as a goal for 2021?
SPEAKER_1 [00:13:14]
So we're going to
SPEAKER_1 [00:13:16]
come at the reading goal in a different way.
SPEAKER_1 [00:13:21]
And my goal is to read 14 books because that will be one more than I read this year.
SPEAKER_0 [00:13:26]
Okay. I I mean, that seems like a reasonable goal. Have you thought about the kind of books you're planning to read? Like No. So I've run it I hit these things
SPEAKER_1 [00:13:35]
Like,
SPEAKER_1 [00:13:36]
I think it's a really good idea to read the Washington biography by Chernow,
SPEAKER_1 [00:13:41]
and then I get 200 pages in and stall. So it's basically gonna be whatever engages me, and,
SPEAKER_1 [00:13:48]
I keep reading.
SPEAKER_1 [00:13:50]
So right now, I've started Taliesin, as I mentioned before, which is the first book of a five book series.
SPEAKER_1 [00:13:56]
So I imagine those will be the first four books of the year.
SPEAKER_0 [00:14:00]
Okay.
SPEAKER_0 [00:14:01]
Now are you
SPEAKER_0 [00:14:03]
do you ever read multiple books at the same time? Do you ever do that?
SPEAKER_1 [00:14:06]
Very
SPEAKER_1 [00:14:07]
rarely these days,
SPEAKER_1 [00:14:09]
because
SPEAKER_1 [00:14:11]
I don't have specific set times where I'm reading. I just pretty much read in the evenings at this point. Okay. And previously, I would read certain things during the day and certain things during the evening. So
SPEAKER_0 [00:14:23]
I mean, maybe that's something to consider, right, to have multiple books. I when I'm reading a nonfiction book, I like to have a fiction book that I'm also simultaneously going on. They they have to be different enough that I don't confuse them, but then it allows me to to have a reprieve from the seriousness of whatever I'm I'm digesting and then flee to a galaxy far far away usually. Right.
SPEAKER_1 [00:14:45]
So that is one goal. I actually have a a couple here.
SPEAKER_1 [00:14:49]
A bonus goal I will set, and it is a bonus goal, is to actually go on vacation because who knows what the world will look like in 2021.
SPEAKER_1 [00:14:58]
But,
SPEAKER_1 [00:14:58]
like, I mentioned it might happen.
SPEAKER_1 [00:15:01]
Do you like, do you have a vacation in mind or just, like, you're gonna leave Cedar Rapids for a period of time? I'm going to take missus Kolmeyer somewhere besides Cedar Rapids, and we are going to go to a place where we can walk around and find good food.
SPEAKER_1 [00:15:15]
Like Des Moines?
SPEAKER_1 [00:15:16]
Sure.
SPEAKER_0 [00:15:17]
Okay. So he can still be in Iowa. I I guess that's where what I'm what I'm getting. It can be. I just don't know that that interests either of us. So I I don't know anyone that's interested by Des Moines, but I I'll just leave it at that. I'm with you. Okay. So that's the bonus goal. So you get two. And So
SPEAKER_1 [00:15:34]
be better about reaching out to people.
SPEAKER_1 [00:15:37]
So I set a goal to reach out to somebody who I don't talk to regularly, which would basically be Anna, you, and my father-in-law.
SPEAKER_1 [00:15:46]
So one person a month who I haven't talked to for a while. And this really comes out of because I've been thinking about
SPEAKER_1 [00:15:53]
really, it was my high school mentor who I used to spend every afternoon in his classroom.
SPEAKER_1 [00:15:59]
And I just haven't talked to him in a couple years now since we went to his retirement party. So
SPEAKER_1 [00:16:04]
I've been thinking about that. I just need to pull the trigger and give him a call.
SPEAKER_0 [00:16:08]
I, it's it's funny that this is a goal of yours. One of the habits that I formed,
SPEAKER_0 [00:16:14]
really, as COVID was ramping up, is I decided that I I I made a list of people that I wanted to reach out to once a week and and just, like, stay connected with. Because at the start of COVID, if you remember, by the time we paused the podcast,
SPEAKER_0 [00:16:26]
I went dark, man. I was I was gone. I didn't I think everyone was grumpy then. Yeah. You know? But it made me realize that I have I have friends that I love and care about that I wanna stay in communication with. I also have people that I wanted to check up on and make sure they were doing okay. So I made a list of, like, your people that I needed to just touch base with once a week.
SPEAKER_0 [00:16:43]
I am definitely texting more in 2020
SPEAKER_0 [00:16:46]
than I was in 2019. There's no doubt about that in my mind, but I think that's okay. Yeah. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_1 [00:16:53]
So that is two and a bonus.
SPEAKER_1 [00:16:55]
Three,
SPEAKER_1 [00:16:57]
start making wine.
SPEAKER_0 [00:16:59]
Oh,
SPEAKER_1 [00:16:59]
you're gonna go for it. So within the year, that is on the list, so now it has to happen.
SPEAKER_1 [00:17:05]
And last but not least, the one that I will need your help the most with is
SPEAKER_1 [00:17:10]
write code at least three three days a week. Now this could be work code,
SPEAKER_1 [00:17:15]
or it could be basically, I'm wanna revamp my website,
SPEAKER_1 [00:17:20]
and
SPEAKER_1 [00:17:21]
basically write that completely.
SPEAKER_1 [00:17:23]
So
SPEAKER_0 [00:17:24]
Have you thought about how you're going to so,
SPEAKER_0 [00:17:27]
like, this is my thing. Right? I I need things to keep me accountable for my my goals
SPEAKER_0 [00:17:33]
besides me. Right? Like, how are you gonna track
SPEAKER_0 [00:17:37]
whether or you've written code?
SPEAKER_1 [00:17:39]
So I have a note,
SPEAKER_1 [00:17:41]
and I will have the week one, week two, week three with a yes or a no.
SPEAKER_0 [00:17:47]
Okay. And you've already made this note? I have. Oh, look at you. You're ready to start. What
SPEAKER_1 [00:17:54]
is it? Friday is the first Friday.
SPEAKER_0 [00:17:56]
Yeah.
SPEAKER_1 [00:17:57]
So how are you going to keep yourself in check on this wine thing? I like, we can definitely follow-up on the podcast here. I have nothing to keep me in check other than it being on the list. I think what I am gonna do this year so I don't actually forget about what I said on this podcast
SPEAKER_1 [00:18:12]
is I'm going to put sticky notes on this wall here behind my computer.
SPEAKER_0 [00:18:16]
I think that's a good idea. So so here's what I'd like to challenge you on. I have all the equipment
SPEAKER_0 [00:18:21]
to to make wine. I enjoy making wine. You sent me a starter kit. Once.
SPEAKER_0 [00:18:26]
Like, a link to a starter kit. Oh, okay. I just I didn't think I actually physically sent you one.
SPEAKER_0 [00:18:32]
You you need to get the kit, but what I was gonna say is we should make the same kind of wine and trade bottles and about it. There you go.
SPEAKER_1 [00:18:39]
I have not tasted any lemon wine yet.
SPEAKER_0 [00:18:42]
The the wine that we made was a week what they call a weekday wine. It's not particularly
SPEAKER_0 [00:18:47]
eventful, but it's consistent, you know? So Fair enough.
SPEAKER_0 [00:18:51]
But I think you should pick out a wine, a wine kit, you know, like a a recipe that you wanna make, and let's let's tackle it at the same time,
SPEAKER_0 [00:18:59]
and then we'll we'll come back at some point and trade bottles and try it out. Now is is missus gonna get involved in that hobby with you? So that remains to be seen. So
SPEAKER_1 [00:19:12]
missus Kolmeyer enjoys drinking wine,
SPEAKER_1 [00:19:16]
occasionally.
SPEAKER_1 [00:19:18]
But,
SPEAKER_1 [00:19:19]
yeah, I don't know if she'll be any interested in making it or not.
SPEAKER_0 [00:19:22]
Well, you should play this part of the podcast for it right here. Missus Kolmeyer, I highly recommend that you do this with John. Missus Lemon and I brew beer and make wine together, and it has been a real pleasure have a hobby that we can bond together around,
SPEAKER_0 [00:19:36]
especially during 2020.
SPEAKER_0 [00:19:38]
So they're good. Alright. You can stop listening, missus Colmer.
SPEAKER_0 [00:19:42]
Alright. Is that, is that it for 2021, John? So that is it for 2021,
SPEAKER_1 [00:19:47]
which is actually more than last year because I'm sitting at four and a bonus.
SPEAKER_0 [00:19:51]
There you go. Hey, man. I mean,
SPEAKER_0 [00:19:54]
you know, you got
SPEAKER_0 [00:19:55]
why not? Like, what do you got to lose?
SPEAKER_0 [00:19:59]
So I you know, speaking about my my writing habit, I actually have a
SPEAKER_0 [00:20:05]
post that I'm gonna make about 2021
SPEAKER_0 [00:20:08]
and New Year's resolutions.
SPEAKER_0 [00:20:10]
And I this year is going to be, I think,
SPEAKER_0 [00:20:13]
a little,
SPEAKER_0 [00:20:15]
I don't know, different for me.
SPEAKER_0 [00:20:18]
I as you know, right, I I prefer, like, formulating habits,
SPEAKER_0 [00:20:22]
and the the goals I set usually are around, like, establishing a habit.
SPEAKER_0 [00:20:26]
And Which is how you get 66 books in a year. Exactly. Right? Like, you once you once you start the habit, then it just keeps going, and now, like, I'm doing something that I wanted to do, but it's sustainable.
SPEAKER_0 [00:20:37]
And part of that, I think, is, like, having ceremony to it is is really important. Right?
SPEAKER_0 [00:20:41]
And for me, when I was starting my reading habit, I had, like an actual to do that was in my face, and I had to check it off. And there was a prescriptive time around it, and I could cross reference it against the Kindle app because it told me the days I read, and like, it was a whole thing, you know. And I and I could again create some ceremony around it too with Goodreads as I tracked it, and then marked it off.
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:02]
I am, in general, okay with my habits right now. I wanna continue to do habits that that I've established, right, which is like daily devotions with the family, journaling, reading. Those are those are really the three critical ones that I worked hard a couple years back to establish.
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:17]
I'm not I don't think this year I'm going to set a explicit number of books goal,
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:23]
but I am going to try and read more fiction and stay away from serious reading. So those are like those are things that I wanna just continue to do.
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:32]
On the new front, the new habits,
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:34]
I've been thinking about this a lot.
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:36]
I I generally like I wake up
SPEAKER_1 [00:21:39]
relatively early, but I don't get out of bed right away. I will sit there and I'll read the news or I'll read a book. This is one of the ways that I think I'm different from most people, because I don't do a lot of scrolling or reading or anything in bed. I sleep in bed,
SPEAKER_1 [00:21:52]
and then wake it up.
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:54]
I
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:55]
yeah. And this this has this has been my downfall, because I used to get up and get going all the time, but now,
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:01]
I mean, I can I can literally stay awake laying in bed for an hour reading? Right? And because I like to read, it's not lost time, but I also know that there there are other opportunities in my day to read, and I I I really I wanna get up and get going and start the day. Right? So the waking up is not really something I'm worried about, but the getting out of bed is.
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:21]
And so my goal this year is when I wake up,
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:25]
to get out of bed, to not spend time
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:28]
just hanging out in bed. And I have a I have a couple of things I'm gonna do to reinforce that.
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:33]
The biggest one is I'm gonna move where I charge my phone to the opposite side of the room,
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:39]
so that I will have to get out of bed to do it. The struggle is gonna be the Kindle,
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:44]
because I read before I go to bed, and I've been thinking, like, maybe I can actually physically toss it away
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:50]
from the bed.
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:51]
You know? Something something like that. I need to move those devices away.
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:55]
I recently adjusted the the the heat schedule in the house so it's a little warmer in the morning, so I'm not like, you know, kink it out. I just replaced the mattress. I think that all those things are gonna help to get me out of the out of bed.
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:07]
I am going to set a goal to ride my bike, and I just wanna do two ten mile rides a week, which I I feel is a pretty low bar compared to what I've done in the past. But it's been a while. Right? Is this only during good weather?
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:22]
It is. It is. And this is Starting in, like, April?
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:25]
May. May. May 1. First.
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:30]
And I've I've been thinking about this, like, part of part of what set me up for failure last year was the pandemic. There's no doubt about it. Right? Like, what's safe to go outside and and, like, to travel and, you know, just all that, like, complexity. It it really
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:43]
I started off on the wrong foot, and I never got onto the right foot. The other part of this though is that because it was
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:50]
five months in, I didn't like, I forgot about the goals I set, and I didn't have any ceremony around it. So this is going into my calendar. I'm gonna put a recurring thirty minute event in my calendar
SPEAKER_0 [00:24:02]
twice a week beginning in May,
SPEAKER_0 [00:24:04]
and I'm gonna use it. It it my calendar is sacred to me, so I will I will notice it. It will be in my face. If I don't do it, I'll have to reschedule it, and and I think that'll I'm hopeful
SPEAKER_0 [00:24:15]
that that will help me.
SPEAKER_1 [00:24:16]
There you go. And 10 miles is not a huge time commitment, which is where I got into things. And then,
SPEAKER_1 [00:24:23]
like, a lot of my biking the year before
SPEAKER_1 [00:24:26]
was commuting to and from work and
SPEAKER_0 [00:24:29]
wasn't working in the office anymore. So Yeah. Yeah. I mean, there there were forces this year we just couldn't possibly control. You know? It it is what it is. So the other thing I wanna do is is, I wanna I wanna get back to practicing my clarinet. I was doing really good up until the pandemic, and then I just I fell off the map, and there really wasn't any reason for it because I was home. You know? But,
SPEAKER_0 [00:24:50]
I I lost my motivation, and so I've fallen off that bandwagon, and I wanna get back into practicing my clarinet. My daughter just got some new music. We we play together. Like, sometimes her and I, she's on the trumpet and I'm on the clarinet.
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:02]
So I'm I'm gonna look to Lucy combined with probably a,
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:06]
reminder in my reminders app to practice clarinet twice a week. That's all that's all I'm setting the goal for There you go. To begin with. So And I expect some Lemon Family Trio videos sent to me.
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:18]
I I don't know that that'll happen, John. My my my wife loves to play for an audience. I do not. So
SPEAKER_1 [00:25:24]
It's just me.
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:26]
I've seen you live. Were you gonna send that, were you send I can't that play clarinet at all. So
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:32]
Well, that's that's great. But so here's here's the other thing that I was thinking about, just with 2021. So those those are my those are my habit forming goals. I, I've also made a list though
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:42]
of things that I want to do that are not habit centric, and I'm gonna put them on a on a piece of paper. I'm gonna have little check boxes next to it, and it's gonna be in my face in my office.
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:52]
And, for me, 2021 is gonna be about getting back to normalcy.
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:55]
Right? So just like, I I want some
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:59]
semblance of normalcy back in my life, and there's some things that
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:03]
I think will factor into that. One, I wanna get vaccinated. I wanna get a vaccine in the arm as soon as they'll give it to me. Right? So that's gonna be a checkbox on there. I wanna show John Colmire how to brew beer. That's gonna be on my on my checklist.
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:18]
Does that have to be in person, or are you gonna video it? No. We're we're gonna brew beer in person. We're gonna brew beer in person. I don't know when. Ofty goals in 2021.
SPEAKER_1 [00:26:26]
We're
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:28]
we're gonna do it. We're gonna do it together.
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:30]
I wanna see my mom and dad in person. That's on my list.
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:34]
And I wanna take two family vacations, because I didn't take any this year. That's not true.
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:39]
Oh, I I went to Disney World. That's And you almost died. Yes. I I
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:44]
but
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:45]
but the the thing that I
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:47]
I want to get away from the house and have some unwind time with the family. We've had unwind time in the house,
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:55]
and it's different. Right? So I've already got one vacation booked in June for my wife and my's fifteenth anniversary,
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:03]
and we're gonna take the kids with because it's
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:05]
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:06]
There's still probably a pandemic going on. Can't really leave them anywhere.
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:10]
But I'm I'm working on trying to to strategize around another vacation. But another, like, take a week away
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:16]
from my house, my obligations.
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:18]
Right? Like, you can take time off work at your home, and your obligations still haunt you. Right? They'll they'll Like recording this podcast.
SPEAKER_1 [00:27:25]
Exactly. As you're we're doing on your vacation week. We are. We are. You know?
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:30]
But those are the those are the four things
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:34]
right now that I have on this list. I might I might try and come up with one or two more, but they're not habits. Right? They're they're just things I want to be different this year, and there are things that I would never have dreamed of putting on a list last year. Right? But I I think in 2021,
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:50]
they're important. So this is my, like, getting back to normal
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:54]
list for 2021. These are the things that I want more than anything just just to do to try and instill some
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:00]
some normalcy.
SPEAKER_1 [00:28:02]
So Alright.
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:04]
And and the the key, if this wasn't clear, is I'm this is gonna be on piece of paper. It's gonna be in front of my face every single day. I will not be able to escape it. And that, I think, is my my 2¢ to anybody that listens and carries a hoot about New Year's resolutions.
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:19]
Write them down.
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:20]
Get them in your face.
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:22]
Habits and ceremony are so critical,
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:24]
in my opinion.
SPEAKER_1 [00:28:26]
So really, you just have to create a ceremony around this clarinet thing with Lucy hounding you to come play with her?
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:33]
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, there's
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:35]
all of these things, right, I'm gonna be looking for things that get in my way. And I I think,
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:41]
again, I that toot my own horn here, but you should read my 2021
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:45]
New Year's resolution post. I'll probably come out. I'm gonna probably do the first or the second,
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:49]
on on the blog. You check it out. But,
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:52]
you can't count on your motivation. Right? Motivation comes and goes. We we learned that in 2020.
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:58]
Like, everybody learned that in 2020. And so,
SPEAKER_0 [00:29:02]
you need those things that compensate for your lack of motivation. When your motivation wanes,
SPEAKER_0 [00:29:07]
these things kick in and remind you to stay in check. For me, it's gonna be some paper and some apps,
SPEAKER_0 [00:29:13]
and and we'll see what happens.
SPEAKER_1 [00:29:15]
There you go.
SPEAKER_1 [00:29:18]
Alright.
SPEAKER_1 [00:29:19]
What else, Stan? 2020? 2021?
SPEAKER_0 [00:29:23]
That's that's it for my list, man. I I do have a question. Do we have any goals for the podcast in 2021?
SPEAKER_1 [00:29:30]
52 episodes.
SPEAKER_0 [00:29:32]
52 episodes. Okay. That's the goal. So we're not taking a break this year. That's the goal. No summer vacation. That's gonna take some,
SPEAKER_1 [00:29:41]
some planning if you're gonna be gone two weeks. So
SPEAKER_0 [00:29:44]
Well, they'll be it'll be just a week at a time. But yeah. We'll could we wanna get more guests on the podcast in 2021?
SPEAKER_0 [00:29:52]
I I would like to have Patrick back to talk
SPEAKER_0 [00:29:55]
about
SPEAKER_0 [00:29:56]
Marvel stuff. I know that that's not for everybody, but I'd like to I'd like to have him back. I also I really want your father-in-law to come and talk about
SPEAKER_0 [00:30:04]
Apple Fitness plus.
SPEAKER_1 [00:30:05]
Alright.
SPEAKER_1 [00:30:06]
We should get Joe Taylor on here to talk about something. What can Joe Taylor talk about?
SPEAKER_0 [00:30:10]
Oh, Joe Joe Taylor can talk about all kinds of things. Joe Joe Taylor is a a talented man with with, just a a breath of knowledge. In fact, after the Marvel episode, he slugged through all two hours and sent me a whole bunch of commentary about some of the characters we talked about, as well as some specific comic book recommendations to read. So Now, did he shower for two hours? Did he listen to us outside of the shower,
SPEAKER_1 [00:30:34]
or did he spread it over multiple days?
SPEAKER_0 [00:30:37]
That's a great question, and I think I think there's no better way to end this podcast than with that bit of speculation. We'll let him listen to it and let us know. Alright? Alright.
SPEAKER_0 [00:30:46]
On that note, this is Stan Lemon reminding you to help control the spread of COVID nineteen. Wash your hands, wear a mask, and have a great New Year.