Dear Stranger (12/n)
2025 Ins and Outs
Nineteen days into the new year and it’s going prettyyy well. I’d usually end up forgetting or ignoring my goals by this time of the year. But I think I’m doing a better job of it this time around (touch wood and let’s not jinx it just yet, please). What’s different this year? I’ve allotted one or two goals for each month. And have started to break each goal down into weekly bite-sized actions. It’s been life-changing, truly. What’s a productivity hack you use? I’d love to know. I’m trying to optimise my ‘I have the energy to do something productive’ time in my days!
So for today I still kind of am in the spirit of the new year still so I wanted to write about 2025 ins and outs. I came across a couple of these posts on Instagram and they had me quite inspired, so here goes!
2025 INS:
Bring back handwritten letters: I remember how much I loved exchanging letters with friends in school and college. I’d write back VERY QUICKLY and would HATE whenever they’d take too long :3 I know I’m going to have to learn to be patient but letters will be making a comeback in my life this year!
Go to more concerts: I’ll be attending my FIRST CONCERT ever this year. Can’t believe it only took me this long to attend one. I’m really excited that it’s Ed Sheeran. I think I heard ‘Kiss Me’ for the first time in 7th grade, all these years later and I still can listen to it on loop :) Definitely want to attend more concerts this year!
Build consistency in the things I do: A lot of the times, I get very excited to start things and then after that initial bout of energy I lose that pace and slow down. So instead of full throttle from the very get go, I want to start slow but stay consistent. - This newsletter is right at the top of the list of things I want to be consistent with this year (I mean, three Sundays in a row? Guys, please be proud).
Learn, learn, learn: I feel like if I spent half the time I spend doomscrolling on studying, I’d learn a lottt of new things. I miss reading about things. I miss doing Science experiments and learning about the lives of Egyptian Pharaohs. I LOVE listening to people talk about the things they are passionate about and I kind of feel I don’t have something like that that I can talk about anymore. So, I’ll be finding that again and reading and learning as much as I can. Wait till you hear all my fun facts! :p
More virtual yaps: Every weekend two of my friends and I yap for about two hours while we solve sudoku puzzles, the WORDLE and a bunch of other New York Times puzzles and it’s honestly one of my favourite things. I love having that dedicated time for the both of them and I really want to do this with more friends.
Find self-help books that I actually enjoy: I’ve bought quite a few self-help books and could never get past the first fifteen pages. But I did get through Tuesdays with Morrie and I absolutely enjoyed reading it. And now I’m reading The 5am Club and have been obsessing over it. I’ve realised I need self-help books to be in more of a story format for me to get through them. So, I’ll be on the lookout for more such ones, send recommendations if you have some!
2025 OUTS:
Constantly having my mind stimulated/ Having something in the background: This has probably been one of my biggest struggles in the past year. I’d play sudoku while I’d be watching content on Netflix with my flatmates because I’d feel like I was wasting time otherwise. I felt like if I had my brain stimulated, it technically wouldn’t be wasting time. And even when I’d be working or reading, I’d constantly need something to play in the background.
Learn to not cry while yelling: I feel like usually when I’m yelling at someone it’s mostly because I’m disappointed at them than because I’m angry at them. And I end up crying while I yell because of that disappointment. Maybe ‘yelling’ should be my 2025 out instead, I think that might be easier lol. BUT if you do have tips on how not to cry while you yell, I’m all ears.
Overthinking: I’m constantly thinking about every possible outcome of every situation I’m in/ will be in. I’d like to try to stop over-complicating my life in my brain :)
Thinking ‘I can do this myself’: I HATE asking for help. I struggle with it. Sometimes I feel like I don’t know who to ask for help even though I know there are at least three people I can completely rely on. I feel like ‘oh it might be a burden or an inconvenience for them.’ So, if I ask you for help this year, please know that I have probably thought about it only a hundred and three times.
A messed up sleep cycle: I think over the last few years, the folks of Instagram have been constantly talking about the importance of good quality sleep. There honestly is SO much information about it, it’s overwhelming now. BUT I want to have a fixed sleep cycle and learn to optimise my sleep. Magnesium on my feet? Lavendar spray on my pillows? No screen-time an hour before sleeping? We shall figure out the perfect combination!
There definitely are a lot more ins and outs but I think this letter has become a littleeee long and I don’t want to make it longer than it is. But what are your ins and outs? I’d love to hear them and discuss them with you!
All my love,
Aru
PS My apologies for the flow not flowing too well. I started writing this about an hour ago. And this is me really trying to be consistent. Apparently ‘done is better than perfect,’ so I’ll try not to overthink it. And I’ll try to be better and write next Sunday’s letter when I’m not on the verge of falling asleep! Thank you for sticking around :) Have a greatttt week!