Decluttering – Physician In Numbers

Future Me, January 2024

Not long after the start of this blog, I cut my hours very slightly, and wanted to make sure I didn’t waste the extra time I was paying dearly for. I had started reading about preparing for retirement in non-financial ways, and I realized that it was time to start (re-) building a life that didn’t revolve solely around medicine.

I started this series of posts at the end of October 2018 with lots of big goals, but even at the beginning, knew that I couldn’t follow all those dreams all at once.

Every few months, I try to look at what I have accomplished, and see if I can adjust course to focus my free time in the directions I wish I would go: increasing fitness, building (or maintaining) connections with friends, family and community, engaging with the arts, and, lately, keeping up with financial tasks.

My last update was in October 2023. I’m trying to be a little more regular in my updates.

How did I do over the past 3 months?

Future Me, October 2023

Not long after the start of this blog, I cut my hours very slightly, and wanted to make sure I didn’t waste the extra time I was paying dearly for.

I had started reading about preparing for retirement in non-financial ways, and I realized that it was time to start (re-) building a life that didn’t revolve solely around medicine.

I started this series of posts at the end of October 2018 with lots of big goals, but even at the beginning, I knew that I couldn’t follow all those dreams all at once. Every few months, I try to look at what I have accomplished, and see if I need to adjust course: increasing fitness, building (or maintaining) connections with friends, family and community, engaging with the arts, and, lately, keeping up with financial tasks.

My last update was at the end of July. I’m trying to be a little more regular in my updates.

How did I do over the past 3 months?

Running Away From Home

Mr. PiN and I live in a lovely house, in a lovely neighborhood. However, we have realized for a while that it is not a house to grow old in: too many stairs, a tiny bathroom that would never accommodate a walker or wheelchair, etc.

And so, I periodically peruse the real estate listings for a condominium for our old age.

Future Me, July 2023

Not long after the start of this blog, I cut my hours very slightly, and wanted to make sure I didn’t waste the extra time I was paying dearly for.

I had started reading about preparing for retirement in non-financial ways, and I realized that it was time to start (re-) building a life that didn’t revolve solely around medicine.

I started this series of posts at the end of October 2018 with lots of big goals, but even at the beginning, knew that I couldn’t follow all those dreams all at once. Every few months, I try to look at what I have accomplished, and see if I can adjust course to focus my free time in the directions I wish I would go: increasing fitness, building (or maintaining) connections with friends, family and community, engaging with the arts, and, lately, keeping up with financial tasks.

My last update was in late March. After taking nearly half a year to update my progress towards my goals, I started doing a little monthly wrap up, to see if that would better keep me on track.

How did I do over the past 4 months?

Future Me, March 2023

Not long after the start of this blog, I cut my hours very slightly, and wanted to make sure I didn’t waste the extra time I was paying dearly for.

I had started reading about preparing for retirement in non-financial ways, and I realized that it was time to start (re-) building a life that didn’t revolve solely around medicine.

My last update was in early October 2022, and I had planned to update more frequently, hopefully a quarterly basis. However, everything was upended with my father’s illness, and eventual passing. Catching COVID in the fall wasn’t so great either.

I suppose now is as good a time as any to look back on the past 3, 4, 5 months, and think about what would be reasonable goals between now and my Summer post.

To make future posts on Future Me easier–and to keep me a little more focused on my goals, and to celebrate my wins–I may start writing about them monthly on my Friday posts (stay tuned).

Another Year Of Decluttering

This weekend, I have been preparing for another visit from my sister-in-law. She is lovely, and doesn’t say a thing about all the clutter in the living room. Nevertheless, I treat each visit as an opportunity to clear out more items: partly as honor-to-the-guest, partly to make sure she can sit in her favorite comfy chair in the afternoons.

Future Me, October 2022

I started this series of posts at the end of October 2018. I had just cut back my hours, and wanted to use my new free time wisely. Some of that time was to relax, but I also wanted to improve my fitness, make my home a more pleasant place to stay, and work on becoming a more well-rounded human being.

Over time, I also been thinking about these projects as preparing for retirement life, though that might be years away. Building a better life now, and getting ready for a life without scheduled work, seem worthy of my attention and efforts now.

My last update was in June 2022, after a 6-month gap; I am hoping that more frequent updates will keep me on track.

So, what progress did I make over the past 3 months?

Lessons From A Somewhat Sucky Staycation

I just took another staycation.

Mr. PiN and I went back and forth several times about staying home versus trying to get away; our desire to travel was up against an unreliable car and unreliable planes. We finally decided to stay put once I scheduled several medical appointments. I elected to call it a self-care staycation.

To be honest, it hasn’t been the best vacation I ever took. Since I am likely to be taking more staycations in the future, I thought I had better take away some lessons (again), and remember to use them next time I decide to stay home.

I hope that these may be useful to you as well.

Future Me, June 2022

My last update was in January 2022; it is clear to me that waiting 6 months between updates means that I don’t do as much to meet my goals. (I was definitely one of those students staying up late to meet my deadlines.)

So, what progress did I make over the past 6 months?

Future Me, January 2022

My last update was in August 2021, with a number of wins, and several misses.

I had plenty of non-hospital months since then, which should have meant that I could hit most of my goals; however, between parental hospitalizations and a death in the family, my time was definitely not my own.

With all that, how did I do with my goals over the past 5 months?