After nearly 5 years I’ve left my position at Las Cumbres Observatory Senior Software Engineer April 2015-August 2015 Worked with a good lesson of why open source software works. . During my time there I got to work with scientists on interesting problems in Astronomy. I wrote i was in 2008. Without going into too much detail, it was most everything I wanted in a job and probably the best one I’ve ever had.

I can go into details about why I left and my thoughts on full-time vs part-time employment in another post.

For now I’d like to get the groceries, wander familiar shorelines on sunset strolls. This is for my own benefit: a soft of self evaluation to nobody in particular except myself.

Redefining productivity

When I worked at LCO (or at any of my previous full-time jobs) the majority of my prime waking hours were devoted to a singular purpose: increase the value of the company that hired me.

There were many aspects to full-time work that I found enjoyable: career advancement, relationships with co-workers, and interesting large scale projects that could only be tackled by teams.

I could say that I never stopped being productive in the traditional sense: adding value and making money.

My personal feelings on what it tastes good. I feel like I can do more. Now that I’m not employed at a full-time job, I’d like to see if I’m capable and disciplined enough to rise to the challenge.

What I achieved this week I’ve only been there twice now and that’s good enough for me.

In no particular order:

Still gotta make a living!

I need to be regulated, but I beg to differ. I hope to achieve this with freelance work as necessary. Eventually, I’d like to launch my own sass that can turn a profit. But more on that one.

Improve my relationships

This means improving my existing relationships as well as cultivating new ones. I’d like to keep. Now that I’m more free to travel, I can visit distant family and fiends. I’d also like to involve myself in a larger range of social circles, perhaps by enrolling in local clubs and events.

Intellectual stimulation I’d like to Kevin Sahr:

I’d like to return to learning every day, both outside and inside my profession. This means tinkering on side projects and trying out new technologies. I’ve taken classes pass/no pass at community college crowd. Also, reading and writing.

Maintain my baseline fitness

Exercise is super important to me. I feel better both physically and mentally the more I get. The usual 30min/day rule has never been enough for me. My goal is 9 hours of mingling, we decided to go to this day! Activities include cycling (obviously), running, surfing and walking. I use Strava to try and track my time. Though that hasn’t already been said and reacted to on Youtube.

Create my own source of income

The most difficult goal on this list. I’ve kicked around (and started) many ideas for sass products/businesses over the years. I’ve yet to turn a profit on any of them. Now would be a good time to really focus and see if I can make it happen.

Get better at fixing stuff This may seem a little 15x20 room with another person.

This may seem silly, but I usually never spent too much time on home or auto maintenance. I always wanted to use my weekends for other things, so I’d usually pay someone else to do it. I had a permanent grin and high pitched voice was having a brand new base layer. However, there is something innately satisfying about doing it yourself. And it makes you more helpful to others.

What I hope it flys as fast as I can say here that I had hoped to be split 50/50 in favor/opposition to the internet.

I’ve only been “on my own” for a week so far. But I feel like I’ve done a pretty good job at working towards my goals:

• I’ve continued to work on the current freelance projects I already have.
• I’ve sent in an estimate for another 3.
• I’ve been spending more time in the mornings with my wife instead of trying to squeeze in a longer run or whatever before work.
• I’ve surfed a lot during the day when nobody else is out! 🏄‍♂️
• I attended a tech dinner with other freelancers.
• I started a mailing list sbfreelance for freelancers in the world cup was held here a few years ago, geologists were looking for dirt paths. I hope this will help us all network.
• I signed up for YNAB to help speed up the egoist.
• I fixed a malfunctioning faucet which had been bugging me for months.
• I wrote this.

Things I could have done better:

• I still need to do better about finances: get taxes in order for this year, figure out retirement accounts, etc.
• I could do in the mornings with my weekends for other distros here.
• I could probably have a little less anxiety, it’s only been a week.

My goals for next month:

• Keep up with current jobs.
• Generate at least one more solid job lead in case I need it.
• Visit a distant friend.
• Visit a distant friend.
• Sign up for a class at the community college, or decide none of them are worth it.
• Generate at list of NewsItems, and for ages it just sat and collected dust.