A Year In Review: 2022
Here we are once again, in January of a new year. A time to reflect on the previous year and plan for the next. I'm not one to make a lot of resolutions, mainly because I never seem to be able to stick to them. It's just not how my brain works, so why should I set myself up for disappointment?
I do want to look back at what I've accomplished and set an approximate direction for the upcoming year. General guidelines are much easier to stick to (and adjust) than rigid goals.
2022 in Hours
For a couple of years now, I've used Toggl Track to record how much time I spend on my projects. For now, I'm simply recording everything as "knitting," but if I wanted to, I could also track time used to frog, re-knit, wind yarn, block, and any other conceivable action involved in creating a piece. But it was hard enough to train myself to remember to turn the timer on and off, and I don't see splitting things up like that as giving me enough additional benefit to be worth the stress of remembering to switch between tasks.
In 2022 I tracked a total of 638 hours and 55 minutes (plus a few seconds) of knitting time. In Toggl, that's tracked across 28 projects, but nine of those are Afghan squares that will eventually end up in the same blanket.
Also in the count are
- 13 Pairs of Socks - 284 hours
- 2 Long Cardigans - 184 hours
- 2 Shawls - 77 hours
- 1 Sweater - 60 hours
The "other" listed is a project of small hearts I made to send to some friends but have run into logistics issues with. I might elabo
Another cool thing I can see in Toggl is how my hours were spread across the year. As you can see, things cooled down going into summer and then ramped back up at the end of the year.
2022 on Social Media
The most surprising thing in 2022 was the unexpected success of a TikTok video I made. You may have seen it. It has been watched five million times.
@finnishedknits Want to learn how to knit? Knitting is a brutal business #knitting #stabit #neulonta #learntoknit #opineulomaan ♬ original sound - Finnished Knits
I haven't had the same level of success on any other videos I've posted, but I've been having fun with it.
I've tried to stick to mostly pictures on Instagram, but recently a reel has been getting a few views:
Onward to 2023
The thing I want to focus on the most in 2023 is consistency. I want to be more like the tortoise and less like the hare. I want to be more intentional and purposeful in what I do. I"ll still do projects just because I want to, but I want to put a little more thought into what I'll do with the finished object once I'm done.
Being intentional and thoughtful also applies to what I'm doing with this website and my social media. I want to focus on taking nicer pictures. I want to have some sort of theme for the videos I create. I'm very good at just flying by the seat of my pants, and the results could be improved if I just took a few extra seconds.
I hope you join me for the journey in 2023; I'm sure it'll be fun!