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I have had a busy day so far. Work followed by the gym and a lot of cycling in between destinations. The body has been worked hard, and I am now resting. I could write off the day here and relax for the rest of the late afternoon and evening, but with this free time, why not keep the brain going and be productive?. Plus, having relaxing time, although good for you, maybe too much can allow bad habits and negative thoughts to creep in.
Today has been going very well in terms of keeping productive and not wasting the day. At work, whilst working, I was able to keep my headphones on and smash through an entire Audiobook. On top of that, I smashed 50% through another whilst cycling around. Getting exercise and knowledge together is a big win. I don't do audiobooks too much, I prefer to read, but with A free month of BookBeat (that's right, no payment from me, so saving money there), I may as well take advantage whilst I can. This will also be a big help towards my book-reading goal of 30 books in 2026. It is currently 15:00pm whilst I write up this post, it will probably be around 17:00 pm UK time by the time I reread and hit publish (if it does get published at all that is). Regardless, it is safe to say today and the week so far has been very positive. Long may it continue.
If you read yesterday's post from me in a way, this may feel like a continuation of that, and to be fair, it is. What I like about this type of post is that I don't overthink it and put too much planning into it. Of course, planning is important, but for this, I think letting the mind flow brings out a more authentic me.
Networking. Connect with others, build relationships, and maintain relationships. For me, I am somewhat still new to networking. It was only last year that I made a LinkedIn account and also pushed myself to get involved in communities and engage more. That doesn't stop at LinkedIn, I have also pushed myself to be more active, more creative and more engaging on Hive Blockchain, as well as some smaller platforms, with the goal being to better myself, expand my knowledge and build interesting relationships, even friendships with great people. At first, I thought networking was exclusive to someone professional, someone who knows what they want, and well, it isn't. I don't consider myself someone people should seek to connect with, and I do not know what I want. I have ideas but no clear and obvious answer, and that is OK. Instead, I see networking as an endless opportunity with no limits, so far it is working wonders for me. I have been the most active I have ever been on Hive, I have secured A job that I hope will help me progress, and I have opened my mind.
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Learning. Learning is important. I didn't know this during school, and I actually struggled in school. Mostly my fault, I focused purely on sports and nothing else, and I just didn't enjoy school. Fast-forward to today, and I realise learning is very important and even vital for everyday life and even survival. I was tutored to play and improve at sports, and I taught myself basic cooking. Whether tutored or self-taught, learning is learning.
Blogging. Blogging is something I enjoy. I don't consider myself an influencer or a great blogger. I just love to blog, and I love to engage with bloggers too, especially on Hive, where fame means nothing; anyone can create, comment and be unique, and you have the same opportunity as everyone else. No censorship, no nonsense rules like mainstream platforms and most of all a lovely community full of people that actually want to engage, help and grow together. Since Hive blogging has easily become one of my favourite hobbies.
Reading. Reading is again something I did not really do much of growing up. I enjoyed it when I did read the old Simpsons comics and occasional graphic novels, but with my time being taken up with sports and general things kids and teens do, it was a rarity for me to read, and yet today, reading is again something I really enjoy doing. Whether it is an entire audiobook during my work shift or just a page or two before bedtime, I enjoy it, and I gain knowledge from it that I didn't have previously. One thing I have personally noticed about my reading habits is that I am reading books from people regardless of their situations, controversies and status. I am reading books from names like Ant Middleton, Alice Cooper, Piers Morgan, and Jordan Peterson. Regardless of the headlines they make, good or bad, if any at all, I judge them purely on the book they write. I had a friend recently tell me their disgust after I shared that I read a book by Piers Morgan and that I, for the most part, enjoyed it. To which I shrug off and say I enjoy it for me. For me, that is how a book should be viewed when it is written by someone considered controversial.
I use a couple of book tracking apps, Goodreads, Bookwyrm, and Fable. Fable being my favourite as it is more socialable and just a nice UI. I love the tracking on it, too and the brief AI insights it gives you based on reading habits.
9 of 30 books read and 5 of 12 months into the year gone by. It isn't bad going considering this will be my first year of actually committing to a goal. The daily streak needs some work, I could cheat as it does that you edit ;) But I will keep it legit, haha. My reviews for books, honestly, take them with a grain of salt. I naturally give super high ratings if I slightly enjoy the read. I am happy that I am reading a variety of things. Furthermore, I still need to tackle more, including true crime, sci-fi, and fantasy genres, but I am enjoying it, and with my Kindle, I can save money and access more books.
Overall, I’m happy with how things are progressing. Days like this remind me that small, consistent actions, whether it’s learning, moving, or connecting, add up over time. I know I’m heading in the right direction with myself, and doing all of these helps me take my mind off of the things that aren't so great for me right now. With that, I conclude today's post. Thanks for reading.