UX Journey

I’ve never been one to be organized or methodical with my dreams and goals, but this week’s assignments helped me practice the skills necessary to get serious about it. The time, creativity, and energy management worksheets that I was tasked with completing really opened my eyes to what I could improve on work wise, what I was actually pretty capable of, and what I really wanted out of life. It started with stating in writing what my three biggest priorities in life were. I decided upon financial stability, a happy, healthy marriage, and being handy. I then divided my time spent on various activities and chores throughout the 168 total hours in a single week. I found that I ended up using more that the total number, almost 200 hours. I began seeing how my priorities were in the wrong places, as most of my attention was on entertainment and hobbies. Regardless if I overestimated how much time I was actually using, it was a problem that needed addressing.

The next exercise was more of a questionnaire, designed to reveal what I may already be doing correctly, and what I could be doing to improve my time management. I was in deep thought when asked about if I had been setting short and/or long term goals, if I knew what I wanted out of life and how to get it, etc. I was honest in all my responses, stating that I was definitely conscious of my moment to moment choices and what they mean. I also stated things like that I admittedly could research more on how to improve my productivity. It was a productive introspection on myself and daily habits and mindset.

I then took part in “The Whim reaper” exercise, where you think hard about all the things you would do with your life in a year, with you dying at the end of it. No matter how outrageous the dream or how far fetched the goal, you’re supposed to write it down and really own it, believe in it. I always found space and planets fascinating, so one of my answers was to train being an astronaut and fly to the moon! Another one of my manifestation answers was about how I would exercise daily and work up to running a marathon, since I had always had an interest in being able to run fast. From what I understand about this Whim Reaper business is that it’s about pushing yourself to make the most of your time, doing something with the life you’ve been given, a big push for you to live actively. I found it quite helpful in my personal experience.

The last big activity that really jogged my mind to start taking my goals and dreams more seriously was the “Hole/Goal” exercise. It’s meant to visualize your goals and roadblocks in the form of ladders, putting your ultimate life goal at the bottom of the “Hole” ladder and at the top of the “Goal” one. You list the obstacles that you’re facing to achieve your goal first, then you take those obstacles and turn them into solutions. In my case, getting married and having kids was my ultimate goal, but I needed to complete my masters program first, buckle down and focus on my priorities more, and needed to have a part time job for now to stay afloat. I then took a more positive approach to my roadblocks by doing the opposite on the second ladder, starting with how I can overcome my challenges. I only have to spend one year in my masters program, then I can immediately start job hunting and save 70 percent of my income. I’ll then build good credit to be able to apply for a down payment on a house and a car, eventually building up to the house and cars my wife and I want, as well as providing transportation for our future kids when they’re older.