*Updated 2021-01-01: I forgot to finish and post this last year. It's posted now, but this was before anyone knew about COVID-19.
This is the first time I've read what I wrote a year ago and looked back at it. I'm still going to go over what sticks out most in my mind about this year.
Professionally, I learned a whole lot about the startup world and product companies. I mentioned last year that I found a new job that I felt was more in line with what I liked. The funny thing about that job is that management and the dynamic of the group changed drastically after the new year. It was different from that point on. Regardless, I still learned a ton. Even things I probably wouldn't have learned had management not changed. The way I see it, change always creates opportunity. In short, I feel like last year was a professional growth spurt for me. I'm glad was able to have that experience.
Personally, I learned a lot about myself as well. I learned that I can't do long distance commuting (relatively speaking) long-term, even if the opportunity is great. I didn't realize it at the time, but some of my drives back home were really risky in the winter. I lost time in transit that I could have used to spend time with my family, or take care of my own personal well-being. I didn't realize how much of toll commuting took on me until I started working closer to home.
I got a new job that's close to home. This has been the biggest change of 2019 and it only happened in October. The time that I've saved has made a night and day difference in my everyday life. I can actually come home for lunch every day if I want to. It's nice.
I really got into philosophy. When I was commuting to work, I started listening to a philosophy podcast and I feel like it changed my life for the better. I found that it could get me through rough patches whenever I felt overwhelmed with life or work. The podcast is called Philosophize This! and the creator, Stephen West, does an amazing job in keeping you interested and breaking down some big ideas. I will definitely be writing a separate post about this dude.
I started a project and did a good amount of work on it until I got super busy.
I started working out consistently and started seeing some pretty good results. Work became hectic and my health became an afterthought.
My tires got slashed in my driveway. The lesson I learned from that is to not ignore my dog when her ears go up and she runs towards the door. We now have security cameras and can confidently say that we have 1 skunk, 1 opossum, 1 or 2 racoons, and about 4 squirrels as possible suspects.
In partnership with my wife, we created another human being, which is currently incubating inside my wife.
Working, looking for a job, taking care of a pregnant wife and a toddler, is a lot of work.
I capped the year off with the most nasty cold I have ever had. It was bad. I've heard people talk about the cough that it gave people.
My thoughts on last year's wrap up
Lol.
Tracking time on my personal projects is still working for me.
I haven't really connected that much more with my family and friends, but I know I should.
Moana is old news.
2019 Goals Achieved
Create a short basic podcast with at least five “episodes”. Attempted
- Played around with my new microphone and Audacity, but nothing came of it.
Write at least one short story. No Attempt
Finish at least one personal web application. Attempted
- Started working on a listing site and then got super busy, so I lost momentum.
Finish reading at least six books that I started. Attempted
- Finished Based on a True Story: A Memoir, but that's it. If you like Norm Macdonald, it's a great book.
Find and eliminate my own personal junk (stuff I don’t use anymore). Attempted
- Eliminated a lot of old clothes I had and some other stuff. I know still have a lot of junk, so I didn't mark this as accomplished.
Plan at least one date night a month with my wife. Attempted
- Did this the first two or three months and then lost track of time and life took over.
Plan at least one family outing a month. Attempted
- Same as 6. We still did stuff, it just wasn't planned and my have been months apart at times.
Perform at least two stand-up sets. No Attempt
Keep in touch more with my family and friends. Check in with them at least once a month. Attempted
- I did this the first month and then forgot about it. I definitely need a system of some sort. My wife has a system and she's a pro.
Exercise at least twice a week. Attempted
- There was a point in the spring and summer where I was consistently exercising. Eventually, I got busy with work and life and never made any time.
Act in one play. Attempted
- This one was kind of sad for me. I had an opportunity, but I realized that a play demands quite a bit of time from you. It's not a big amount, but it's a consistent amount of time that fell on the weekend, which is when my wife needed me. Unfortunately, it wasn't the "season" for that activity.
Try to volunteer somewhere at least once a month. No Attempt
Start a tech meetup that runs bi-weekly at the very least. Attempted
- I switched it to monthly. Bi-weekly is crazy when you don't have a lot of time to begin with. There's a lot of initial planning and promoting, but I did end up starting Brantford Indie Hackers, but it was very late in the year and I wasn't consistent.
Improve my conversational Spanish. Read at least for 30 minutes a week and converse for at least 30 minutes a week. No Attempt
When I read all of these goals now, I don't really see how I would have time to accomplish all of them. At the same time, some of these goals would take up all of my time for a year, if I wanted to do it well. Otherwise, I almost accomplished one. I just had to be more consistent. We'll see how 2020 goes.
Goals for 2020
With the new family member coming, there will be a lot of change, so my time management will need to improve in order to get some goals accomplished. Either way, I think my strategy will be to focus on two goals that I really want to achieve and the rest will be icing on the cake. Here are some of those goals:
- Finish at least one personal web application.
- Finish at least six books that I started.
- Keep in touch with my family and friends at least once every two months.
- Exercise at least three times a week.
- Improve my conversational Spanish. Read at least 30 minutes a week and converse (or listen to spanish) for at least 30 minutes a week.
- I don't know.