2011 Balance Sheet

Plus

1. Started staying close to office. less than half hour daily commute time.
2. Started cycling to work and have continued.
3. Reduced weight to less that 70 kg (from 73 kg) and stayed that way.
4. Got rid of samosas and vadas in the evening snacks. Took to fruits and nuts. Have stayed that way.
5. Have got into a healthy sleep habit. Have stayed that way.
6. Spent much more time than before with family. Have felt very happy during the evening tea time with wife and child.
7. Improved significantly in hardwork, discipline quotient.
8. Got smarter in many domestic activities.
9. Filed my taxes online myself.
10. Travelled to USA.
11. Kept a steady rate at writing and programming.
12. Read a few really good books: Small is Beautiful, The Shadow Lines, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.
13. Learned a bit about formal method techniques.
14. Became much more fascinated with idea of sustainable living, Zen and minimalism.

Minus

1. No publications. I am almost happy with the amount and quality of research I have done this year. But I have gone against my own policy that every once in a while there should be a short term deliverable. I have stayed with ideas and concepts for an over-extended period. Hope 2012 will bring most of them to fruition.
2. Water colour painting didn't improve. I have felt quite discouraged with my lack of progress in this. I think I have found some leads and will try and work on them in the coming days.
3. Concentration was insufficient. Though my ability to manage many little things improved significantly, I continue to feel that breakthroughs come through concentrated and continued effort. I haven't done so well in that front. Creating space with better organisation is fine. But to be able to use that space well is quite another. Must focus serious energy into this.
4. Weakened contact with many friends even after trying really hard. This year, for the first time, I see the truth in that, beyond a point, spending excessive energy in maintaining friendships is a waste. Some friends have clung on. But many have drifted away. I also have started accepting that the large network of friends I have always boasted of is not so much a magical blessing, but largely due to ridiculous amount of energy I spend on maintaining it. Now, I agree that with growing age and life conditions, there has to be a natural evolution in relationships. Some new ones will emerge, but many many of them will have to give way. I feel sad about it. But unless I accept and internalise this, I will only pain myself more. Probably, wisdom lies in nurturing the surviving relations, because they have survived the hard struggle for existence, and in accepting with grace the demise of those which didn't.
5. Weakened contact with extended family.
6. Failed somewhat in personal organisation. I have tried hard to be better and better in this. But seems I am not good enough. My professional productivity speaks of this. My low self-satisfaction in handling my domestic matters speaks of it. Of course, the contradictory idea is that personal organisation can help only as a fine-tuning step. The major impact depends on the intensity of one's style of working. May be, organisation only helps in managing breadth, not depth. And most of the work I need to do require depth. Let's see.
7. Couldn't sustain the Yoga habit

Lessons learned

Everything has cost

Progress matters more than completion

Overall score

fitter and happier than ever before.