Weeknotes 19:23

December 30, 2019

Week of December 22-28

  • I used my remaining PTO and two holiday days to take the entire week off. It was nice to step away from work and have a break. Always gives me some fresh perspective when I reengage. To be honest, I could have used two weeks away but I am grateful that I had the week.
  • When I have vacation time like I did this past week, I always have more in mind that I would like to be able to do than I actually can get to. This year was no exception. I had wanted to spend some time reflecting back on 2019. That did not happen. Hoping to do it this week at night and on Wednesday.
  • I finished reading Range. I really liked the book. I thought a lot about my college-age daughter as I read the final chapters. One thing that stood out is that we need to encourage young people to try a lot of different things and not lock into things too early. I was encouraged to try a lot of different things and have different experiences early in my career. It really is the only way to help you figure out your match. But I feel like so many things like education forces specialization and focus too early in the process. You need exposure to a breadth of things to help determine what matches you. It is a shame that college is not broader in the first years and then more focused in the latter years. No wonder students switch majors so often. I am looking forward to re-reading this book next Spring with my team at LGND.
  • I finally saw The Rise of Skywalker on Saturday. No spoilers here. And I was able to avoid any spoilers that ruined the experience for me. But it sure was hard even just going on my tablet because Google kept suggesting stories related to the movie.
  • I read Sara’s article, What a Year of Learning and Teaching Accessibility Taught Me this past week. It is worth the read.
  • I also enjoyed Doug Neill’s How to Build a Daily Drawing Habit. I have been a bit frustrated about my sketchnoting over the past year. I think developing a daily drawing habit would address that frustration. When I first started serious sketchnoting six years ago, I would spend time practicing and trying to draw new things. I have not done as much of that over the past few years. Developing a daily habit seems like a great place to start.
  • I wrote the first draft of a post reflecting upon the past decade (2010-2019). I focus on several different themes like changes in the industry (responsive design, tooling), major life changes (career transitions and relocation), and what I have learned about myself along the way. I want to give the draft one more pass and hope to post it mid-week.
  • I enjoyed the final episode of The Mandalorian. I was glad that it did not end on a major cliff hanger. It definitely left me wanting more. Looking forward to seeing where it goes in season 2.
  • Another thing that I really enjoy about Disney+ is Rebels. I have really enjoyed watching it with our kids. We took a weeklong break while everyone was sick. I really enjoyed getting back into it this past week.

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