December is here. That means 2025 is almost done. I’m wrapping up 2025 by looking at the past 6 months to see how the goals for the second half of the year have been going.
Back in June, I set new goals for everything I wanted to work on during the second half of the year. You can see how 2025 has been so far by reading the last Back to Basics post I published in June below. Today, I will do a progress check on the goals I set in that post and share how things have been going in the second half of the year. I
This post won’t just be a wrap-up of 2025. The next post will look ahead to 2026 and set up a plan for how I'll approach the new year.
How did the rest of 2025 go?
As 2025 wraps up, the past six months have been a bit of a roller coaster. While life is made up of equal ups and downs, the last six months haven’t had many highs and very deep lows. Although there weren’t many big highs, there were many small victories.
These small wins helped immensely during this part of the year. During this half of the year, I found myself stopping what I was doing and evaluating what was going on. After taking time to look around, I felt like I was digging a deeper hole that wasn’t going anywhere.
So I began pivoting over the last 3-4 months in different areas of my life and changing where I am putting my focus. These days, I’ve been getting into my head a lot more by thinking about what is next for me, what I’m doing now, and what I need. Time is very precious, so every moment matters.
I began to look closely at how I spend my time and what I can do to make the most out of each day. I’m still in my thoughtful mood as 2025 comes to a close. I have been looking at every aspect of my life, from what I do each day, what brings me joy, and what the next section of my life should be like.
Although 2025 isn’t done yet, here’s how the goals for the second half of 2025 are going.
Writing
A writing habit is starting to take shape. I write almost every day for at least 25 minutes. I use the Cuckoo tool from the Job Hunt group in Virtual Coffee to write, edit, and publish posts.
- I was pretty consistent by publishing once a week for a bit. However, I haven’t published anything new lately. There might not be any new posts, but I am still writing and am working on posts.
- Some series are finished. The CNC2018 Get a Job series was finished in June. There are some series I won’t be able to finish, and one series will completely get a redo in the future.
Coding
Most of the coding I’m doing these days is for Coding with Kids. I have 4 classes at the time this post is being published (2 Level M and 2 Level 2). That means there haven’t been any new projects.
- I completed the Introduction to Java and Coding for Data courses on SoloLearn. I’m putting a new coding language on the back burner for now and focusing on the languages I do know instead.
- I’ve been spending my time using LinkedIn Learning, exploring data analytics, and project management. I’ve finally gotten around to learning Agile and Scrum, two skills I’ve been meaning to learn for many years.
Professional Development
There was a good start on networking. I was attending Job Hunt and Feeling Fridays on the Virtual Coffee Slack for a bit. I attended my first two sessions in the co-working room in Virtual Coffee last month and was able to attend one Thursday afternoon chat back in October.
I applied for over a hundred jobs, but mostly got rejection emails or was ghosted. I did get one interview and received a job offer the next day. After giving it much thought, I turned it down.
- I gave up on the technical post and podcast episode goal. I’m really bad when it comes to listening to podcasts.
- I was able to update my resume, LinkedIn, and portfolio. My portfolio switched from Bootstrap to Bulma. Portfolio branding also received some updates. All social media has been updated.
- I post on LinkedIn once a week. Alex Curtis-Slep gave me some great tips during job hunt meetups about LinkedIn. I’ve been using his tips to be more active on the platform.
Crafting
I’m slowly making progress on the tree. I managed to finish one section of the skirt and have started making elements for the next part. I participated in the Creative Community Challenge on Virtual Coffee last month
The challenge helped me make crafting a habit again. I was planning on doing a little bit of crafting every day during the challenge, but I had to stop when I got sick. I was able to complete 18 days despite it all.
- I’m starting to make crafting a part of my life again. Kirk Shillingford recommended the Focus Fried pomodoro clock in the Thursday chat. This app made a big difference during the challenge.
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