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A Year In Time 2024 - Outside Edition

Writer's picture: Leo Aram-DownsLeo Aram-Downs

I want to start this post with exactly the same sentiment as my previous year round-up post; 2024 was a good year. A great year even. Lots of wonderful things in personal life, my career, and beyond. So as I delve into the receipts of how the year broke down, even though I might have some kind of emotional reaction to some of these statistics, it's worth remembering - this is what a good year looks like.


With that said, let's have a look!


Work - 563 Hours (2023 - 847 Hours)


On the face of it, this might look like a 300 hour decrease, but rest assured that I did not work 300 hours less this year. We'll get into that in a bit. It's certainly the case that I've done less of my day job this year, as there have been other things that I categorise differently that have taken up just as much of my time. And that is...


Playing Live - 212 Hours (2023 - 32 Hours)


This must be the single biggest change in any category that I've tracked, ever. And that's for good reason! This year was the year I got back into theatre in a big way. From late spring onwards, this became a huge, if not primary career focus. I did a lot of shows I'm immensely proud of, and it felt great to be playing out in the wild again. There's more of that lined up for 2025, and I'm stoked.



Recording - 13 Hours (2023 - 26 Hours)


More time spent out in the field meant much less time in the studio. I think I went to one recording studio this whole year (which was fantastic!) but I've spent much less time working on other people's recording projects. This is something I'd like to pay more attention to, but I can only move the needle so much, and it's clear that the universe is telling me where my time should be allocated.


Practice - 121 Hours (2023 - 147 Hours)


Another year, another decline in the amount of time I'm spending with the instrument. I'd really like to use the same excuse last year and just assume that this is me learning to be more efficient with my practice hours as adulthood gets more stressful, but thruthfully I would actually like to see this number rise again, instead of declining by 20 hours a year consistently. I'm not sure how that will fit into my life, but I'd like to at least make an effort.


Writing - 18 Hours (2023 - 75 Hours)


In 2023 I put a lot of effort into production music, which can account for that considerable jump in hours. Last year, I laid off that as a project, mainly due to my Mac being broken for a large chunk of it. I've since replaced it and also seen some reasonable success in the production music sphere, so I want to take that more seriously again.


Exercise - 70 Hours (2023 - 59 Hours)


Seemingly unhappy with just having ran the one Marathon in 2023, I did it again in 2024. This is probably still on the low side for a successful training block, and if I do enter another marathon (I'm not running one in 2025), then I'd like to do a training block with considerably higher volume, but I'm still happy for the increase, no matter how negligible. That's 11 hours of exercise I hadn't done previously, and that's a good thing!


Travel - 281 Hours (2023 - 172 Hours)


No surprises here, an extra 100 hours spent on trains. The large uptick in theatre work meant that I was a commuter for a quarter of the year. This number increasing used to be something I had a bit of a phobia of, but now it's becoming an indicator of lots of time well-spent. Playing good gigs, seeing family, going on adventures. All good things, and I'm glad this number is increasing for the right reasons.


Driving - 8 Hours (2023 - 36 Hours)


I only drove when I absolutely had to last year, and I don't see this number changing drastically in the year to come. Unless I get a car, it will likely remain a fringe utility for the minute.


Dog Walking - 117 Hour (2023 - 158 Hours)


This is also to be expected given how much more travel was being done last year. I'm surprised that the amount of dog walking responsibility equates to 40 hours, but that does add up. It's still a part of my day that I enjoy a lot, and have no particular feelings about wanting to increase or decrease it. This was a good year, and part of that good year was spent with my dog in the early morning watching the sunrise over the sea.


Fun Bonus Stats

Books Read - 17

Films Watched - 24

Chess Games Played - 1000

Spotify Listening Minutes - 14,313



Enjoy your life, see your friends, drink water, and stream my album. Peace.

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