2025 Review

Review of my Resolutions for the past year - 2025.

2025 was a very busy year, and that is probably an understatement.

In January and February I still worked and lived in the Netherlands, and was preparing for our move back to Greece.

In March I went to Greece solo for a few weeks, to start at my new job, while my girlfriend stayed in Amsterdam.

In late March I went back and in April we finally did the move, shipping all of our belongings.

I stayed at my parents' house for a couple of months, because the flat we were renting had no furniture and appliances. So we spent a whole lot of time decorating and equipping. During that time I also managed to hit the ground running at my job; putting out fires which had been triggerring critical alerts for the last 3 years. Working overtime, and then going to IKEA, and then going to the new flat and assembling furniture was the daily schedule for almost 2 months.

During that time, we were also preparing our wedding. We organized everything by ourselves, from decorations and flowers, to music, lights, photography and food. Of course, we hired others to -for example- take photos and print the invitations, but we were designing and planning everything. That was quite a lot of work.

After getting married, we started planning our honeymoon, and in October we finally managed to spend 20 days in Japan. That was amazing! Unfortunately we had saved all of our annual leave for that, and of course when in Japan you need to see things! So, that was pretty exhausting too…

Luckily, in the meantime we got two presents from the universe. First, through a random meeting (what a small world though) we got a brand new car at a very good price, and secondly we got in the process of buying a flat outside of Athens.

Then winter came, and we are still trying to piece our life back together, trying to tie loose ends, and finally get into a daily routine. But life goes on, and we not only have to ride it, but we have to guide it to where we want to.

Do we feel tired? Yes. Would we do it all again? Well, no - we wouldn’t do all of that in the same calendar year. It was exhausting. We didn’t break, though, and I feel refreshed knowing that we can manage all of that well, going into our 30s.

1. Wellbeing

Do weight lifting 3 times per week for 20 minutes.

Walk, run and/or cycle at least 3 times per week.

Meditate daily around noon.

Take 2 15-minute breaks every working day.

Do not talk about work after 7pm.

Review

I didn’t keep a good workout schedule. In January and February I tried to work out daily, but from March until September there was no time for anything like that.

No cycling, essentially no running. Quite a bit of walking at least.

No meditation at all.

Breaks work nicely, and this is easy to maintain without setting a goal for it. Doing a coffee break in the afternoon is perfect, and we have managed to keep lunch time religiously.

I have definitely been talking a lot about work after 7pm…

Overall, I’d say this goal was about 50% complete.

2. Meaning

Go into nature at least once every 2 months.

Get married.

Read at least 10 books that make me happy and/or wiser.

Pick up a hobby and dedicate time to it.

Give meaningful gifts to at least 6 different people.

Maintain strong relationships with friends and family.

Review

I pretty much did go into nature quite a bit, but it was usually for barely an hour, so I don’t really feel like counting that. I am definitely still missing nature.

I did get married.

I barely read 3 books… No time for anything else.

I picked up 3d printing again, and that has been fun.

I was quite generous with gifts this year, and after a while I stopped counting them. This was an easy goal, but it hasn’t really been as rewarding as I’d hoped. I am doubtful about continuing it for that purpose.

Being in Greece made it so much easier to keep up with friends and family. This was a success and has been rewarding.

Overall, I’d mark this goal as 65% complete.

Overall, I don’t feel satisfied with my focus on these resolutions. However, I did manage to do a whole bunch of things, while under great pressure at work, and multiple different things happening in my personal everyday life.

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2026 Resolutions

I want to continue being as specific as possible with my goals. I also like the thematics which I used in 2025, and I think that they make the most sense after all these Resolutions. “Meaning” is part of “Wellbeing” though, and I’d like to “take a break from running 24/7” in 2026, and think & plan ahead.

Here are my resolutions for 2026:

1. Wellbeing

Do weight lifting 3 times per week for at least 20 minutes.

Walk, run and/or cycle, for at least 30 minutes, at least 3 times per week.

Take 2 >=15-minute breaks every working day.

Go into nature, for at least 2 hours, at least once every 2 months.

Read at least 10 books that make me happy and/or wiser.

Pick up -or resume- a hobby and dedicate time to it.

2. Planning for the future

Maintain strong relationships with friends and family.

Start investing again, and doing proper financial planning for the future.

Submit at least 1 proposal for a tech talk.

Take good care of my wife.

Create documentation on important matters in case I die.

Have a virtual or in-person coffee chat with someone I’ve never talked with from work, every month.