I regularly keep and update a list of goals that I want to achieve. A number of these goals are the same kinds of things that everyone wants: a healthier body, deeper relationships with others, more financial stability, etc.

But there are plenty of goals that involve learning. For instance, a few tech related things that I’ve wanted to learn or improve my abilities in:

• Build Tools: to manage my web dev projects. Like actually understanding a bit of how things like npm and composer are working and not just running commands.
• Laravel: I am working on a personal project that I’m very excited about, and I’ve been getting coaching on using Laravel. Plus, I’ve been asked about my skills with it for paid work, and it’d be nice to have that additional option.
• Mobile App Development: There are several mobile app ideas that I have had in mind for a while. Including the one that I’m starting to build in Laravel! But I know that not everything is going to be as easy to make in a platform like that.

Outside of tech though, I want to learn more things for myself. I love the idea of having more skills that I can whip out at a moment’s notice. It’s

• Cooking: I like to cook, but could stand to have a few more recipes just in my head and ready to go.
• 3D Modeling: I have a 3D printer, I love to paint minis, and I want to make my own to make things like fursona prints for my partners and friends.
• Time Management: With the many things that I’m listening, I want to actually get better about using things like Time Blocking and Pomodoro. Knowing is one thing. Doing is another.

And some of these skills are completely unnecessary in life, but just fun things for myself. They seem almost silly to share, but that’s the point. Life is silly! Having fun is just as necessary as having competency.

So with that in mind, here’s a few things that I want to practice just for my own wants:

• Juggling: I very briefly was able to juggle three balls at once a few times, and I’d like to get this physical skill back. Wouldn’t it be cool to whip out some balls to play with?
• Singing: I took vocal lessons when I was younger, mainly for accent training. The biggest thing that I took away from it was diaphragmatic breathing, which has helped me when it comes to running as well. I guess I just wanna have what I hear in my head more closely match what comes out of my mouth. Maybe that should be a goal for public speaking too…
• American Sign Language: I think that this comes from wanting to be more helpful in general. I only know a few words, and I want to at least be able to do basic non-verbal communication. You know, that thing that I already am bad at

This isn’t any sort of promise to do these in a timely fashion. I’m just trying to put some of my thinking publicly. It’d be nice to set some habits though!