2025 Mid-Year Review

Every year I make a long list of things I want to do and accomplish and then … I Blog about it all. Scrolling back through my Blog is, at times, an admission of massive failures. But, the things that stick? I’m immensely proud of. Things like performing at The Moth or a strict bedtime routine. Drink a gallon of water each day (I’ve scaled back to a 1/2 gallon because I’m a small human and a gallon I think was flushing out too many good stuff). Breathing and meditating daily. Shaving at night. Applying some Atomic Habits to my life like setting up my morning coffee the night before and setting up my workout clothes the night before.

Some things stick. Some don’t. But as they say, if at first you don’t succeed, make excuses. Err. Um. No. Actually, try again.

So … 2025 I made a bodacious list. But I’m proud to report, at the midway point of 2025, I’m at about a 45% success rate. Some highlights…

• Make my Blog hobby and website into a REAL website
  • It was a scattered mess. No real audience. No real focus. I’m fine with that, but … being clear about my audience and writing and redesigning it for (1) my kids and (2) my eventual fans, book-buyers, or clients has allowed me to better understand who I’m writing for.
  • I’ll say I’m 50% of the way to where I want the final donkowalewski.com to be
• Don’t get Alzheimer’s
  • I’m proud to say, even though I’m forgetful and easily distracted, I don’t have it. 
  • Here’s my list of things that fall under the “don’t get Alzheimer’s” to-do list
    • Weigh 155 … I started the year at 175. Now I’m at 165 and have momentum
    • Walk (exercise) for a minimum of 30-minutes per day … A+ – I haven’t missed and we bought a walking pad and that thing was a GREAT purchase – I can watch TV and walk. 
    • Sleep for a minimum of 6.5 hours per night (but 7 hours – 11pm-6am is better) … 100%
    • In-my-bed by 10:30 p.m. each night, reading a book … 10% on the bed time … 25% of the book (I’m sorry, I like to watch vids on my iPhone and I know that’s not right
    • Start using my Rucking Vest … I’m doing it!!!  I started in April and now I have a system. Morning 1, Ruck (with lunges every 5-minutes). Morning 2, Walk with Burpees. Morning 3, Walk to the local park and do a circuit of pushups, pull ups, hangs, and back exercise things
    • Get my hernia fixed and start exercising again by end-of-February … fail. Haven’t even scheduled it
    • Floss Daily … 75%.  But that’s better than any point in my life. I think my dentist will notice. 
    • DO NOT EAT in the evenings after dinner Sunday-Thursday … fail, but as of this Blog post, I’ve been really good for the last 3 weeks (Note:  I hate it and this is the hardest thing on the list … I love a little sweet snack in the evening)
    • Lift Weights Min. 3x Days Per Week … not excatly, but the squats, burpees, and body weight workout circuit definitely makes my muscles sore and because I’m 52 years old, it’s better than nothing
    • Learn Polish … no progress, but I have the Podcast saved and I still plan to start
    • Learn a min. of (3) songs on the Ukelele … no progress
• Commit a full 50-hours to Work every week and have fun … I think I’m VERY close the to 50-hours but for the rest of 2025, I’m going to actually log it and track it. But I will say, I am having fun and doing my job with joy and that’s made a difference …and makes it easier to throw myself in for the full 50 hours
• Creative life … pretty much a fail across the board
  • Blog Daily + Fix and Organize My Blog … 50% success
  • Journal Daily    …25% success
  • Homework for Life Daily (and get better at it)  … 0%
  • Finish Writing My Book  … 0%
  • Get An Article Published   … 0%
  • Attend 1x Moth StorySLAM Per Month (with a goal of being picked to tell a story) … 0%
  • Create a Family Tree … a Story-Based Family Tree  … got this started that I now know my family tree … now I need to gather stories
• Personal Development
  • Cold Showers in the Morning and Quick Warm Shower at Night Before Bed … 100% and I can’t believe I’ve been doing this because, basically, it means I fight with my shower every morning but it’s a noticeable difference. I can sometimes feel it on my skin and am aware I took a cold shower even mid morning.
  • Read :30-Minutes Per Day … 100% and I’ve exceeded :30-Minutes each day
  • Journal Daily … 25%
  • Meditate Daily   … 10%
  • Memorize Things   … 0%
  • Complete a 15-Minute Chore Daily  …. 100%. This has been a game changer
  • Kiss My Wife Before Bed … 100%
  • Kiss My Wife Each Morning Before We Head Out to Work  … 100%
  • Stop Getting Mad … I don’t even want to put a percentage on this… here’s another 2nd-Half-of-the-Year re-focus
  • Stop Gaslighting  …. crap! Sorry, world.
  • Stop Hurtful Sarcasm   … I’ll say 100%. I have managed to eliminate sarcasm.
• Home Improvement
  • Garage makeover … 100% and I’m very, very proud that I did this. I mean, I really tackled my garage and I’m not embarassed by it
  • Adopt minimalism … this is pretty vague. I love minimalism, but I don’t know that I’ve properly looked at my life and environment and truly mimimized anything
• Miscellaneous
  • Don’t destroy my AirPods … 100% … this is big for me. I’m a clutz and careless

I’ve added a few things, too … like I clean my toilet and bathroom every morning before I shower. I’m focusing on form when I sit, walk, or use household items. 

Often I’ll spend too much time focusing on my fails and the things I didn’t do, but this time … I’m gonna celebrate my wins and build on that momentum.

I’ll leave you with this … what is rucking and why rucking.