The following page contains information regarding some of the aspirations which I am working to attain.
Long-term
Studies - As an undergraduate student at North Carolina State University, I am reading in the fields of computer science and communication. Since both of these studies tend to go in depth on their own specifics, I am also augmenting these studies with a personal investment in the classical liberal arts.
Literature - I am very slowly making a dent in the world’s extensive body of literature. Let me know if there is a great work I have yet to read!
Listening - Just as with my immersion into literature, I am taking a breadth-based approach to my music listening. I listen to an average of five to ten new albums a week from a variety of genres and traditions.
Music - Of course, I do not spend all of my time simply absorbing the works of others; I also enjoy creating new things in response to what I see around me. Perhaps my favorite creative outlet is music. I am a classically trained pianist and have recently begun to work on learning the mandolin as well.
Productivity - Speaking of time, I have come to realize that I have a plethora of interests and only so much time with which to pursue them. As such, I take a number of measures in order to try to increase my productivity as much as possible. I have written about some of these techniques on this page and in other places on this website.
There is a tide in the affairs of men.
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
—Brutus, Julius Caesar Act 4, Scene 3
Daily
Habits make up a large basis of who we are. As a consequence, I use daily habits extensively in order to keep up with my long-term goals over time.
Flashcards - Using an open-source spaced repetition software called Anki, I spend about a half-hour a day improving on a vast variety of knowledge in subjects such as literature, art history, classical music, language, and just about anything else I deem worth memorizing. I have also begun to use Anki as an aid in my studies, creating flash cards for practice problems and other class knowledge. This has the distinct advantage of allowing the computer to determine when I need to review a subject, making brushing up for exams later in the semester much more manageable. I would recommend Anki or a similar spaced repetition software to anyone who would attempt to improve their knowledge and memory.
Calendar/To-do Lists - Without my calendar and to-do lists, I would have no ability to keep up with all of the tasks I must complete throughout the day. I currently use Google Calendar in combination with Google Tasks to keep track of everything I have to do at a given time or day.