January 2022 review: Decisions

This first month of the year has been a month of decisions. It has started with a one-week ski holiday with my husband, son and in-laws. I went skiing for the first time in 25 years – it was the 4th time I went skiing in my life. I am glad it didn’t end with broken bones in the hospital 😄. After a physically relaxing but mentally exhausting week, I was reflecting on what I wanted to change.

#1: I decided to do things I love

I felt exhausted after the busy year and that feeling still lasted after a week of holiday. I decided to check the list of things that give me energy and went ahead doing those things:

• I met with friends,
• ate yummy food, and
• went exercising.

Only then, I slowly started to feel better. This might sound like the normal thing to do, but I cherish every moment of it, because:

• Meeting friends is not normal for me, since I haven’t always had any, and because I have to overcome the thought that it is a non-important, selfish thing to do (as opposed to working or staying at home with my family).
• Eating yummy food is always a precious moment for me, because it means that I can afford buying food, even yummy food. I can afford eating in a restaurant. I can afford and I give myself permission to take a break.
• Doing exercise means for me that I am healthy enough to do it. And that I found someone to do it with me, since it’s too hard for me to motivate myself to start.

#2: I decided to book a business plan course

Last year, I wanted to write a business plan for my mental health platform project Gesund in MeinerStadt. I didn’t. Therefore, in January I decided to book a business plan course with Michaela Schächner, because I finally accepted that it was too difficult to motivate myself to do it alone.

#3: I decided to book an eye training course

Last year, I went to my optician to measure my eyesight. For many years, I have hoped that my eyes would recover. But I finally gave up and wanted new glasses. The optician recommended me to get varifocals. They were quite expensive. And it also meant that I would need to get used to another way of seeing. That’s when I started to look for alternatives.

I found the videos of Sylvia Gelman who offers comprehensive eye trainings, participated in her 4-day-challenge, liked it, and booked the club membership for the whole year.

What else happened?

• Finally bought my first stock and started my first ETF savings plan 💪.
• Started to write my blog articles in English to practice the language and to attract international audiences.
• Spend half a day of peer and executive coaching with my former Executive MBA working group.
• Met my friend Rabea and her husband Arash on their way back to Singapore, and we enjoyed 4 hours of talking and eating on a Saturday.
• Finished designing and copywriting the Chinese New Year’s greeting for my client Tourismus & Congress GmbH.

• Set up my new MacBook Pro – my old one was 12 years old 😆.
• Wrote 3 blog articles: 1. 12 of 12: A day in January 2022, 2. My theme for 2022: Yes, let’s do it!, 3. What’s new in my business in 2022.
• Started to write my new “About me” page.
• Published the very personal blog article “What I would tell my 40-years-younger self”.
• Got inspired by Sigrun’s Online Business Bootcamp and Stefanie Pingel’s website design challenge.
• At Max Planck Institute of Biophysics, where I work, I continued to take photos of almost all 200 employees of the Institute.

• I also created a new concept for part of my employer’s website.
• Started to learn Amira, a software for segmenting electron microscopy images of cells, so I can support the researchers with flashing visuals of their findings.

• Treated my mother with cupping. My mother, who is a Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner, showed me how to do it many years ago.

• Went to work at the library on Saturday to further work on the business plan.
• Talked regularly with my brother on the phone who has finally received medical treatment at a psychiatric clinic, and is able to communicate again.
• Love this poster I discovered outside of a pediatrician:

What I am looking forward to in February

• Do more of the things I love
• Gain more clarity through writing the business plan
• Maybe: participate at the wedding dinner of a friend in Barcelona 😊.

How was your first month of the year? Let me know 😀!