There are two kinds of people in this world - I am one of them. So are you.
Do you or don't you make New Year's Resolutions? Ask yourself a few questions. How intentionally do I want to live? Will setting goals help me or hinder me in the coming year? Am I a list maker?
Having worked in various corporate environments and gone through the objective-setting and year-end-review cycles for about 15 years, I've learned a lot in business that impacts my personal life. I find it useful to set and measure personal goals the same way I do professional ones. In some cases, there's actually lot of overlap. I find that deliberately thinking through what I want to do with my time on this planet helps me achieve more. Heady. Plus, I'm a list maker. Checking things off a list makes me smile.
On the last day of January 2015, today feels like the right time to quickly see how I did last year, and to set out my 2015 resolutions for the world to see. I do this so that you, gentle reader, can hold me accountable for meeting these goals. So, 2014 resolutions...
1) Update resume and LinkedIn profile by January 31, 2014 - check.
2) Get web site up and running by March 31, 2014 - done.
3) Read 1 book per month during 2014 - done and done.
4) Get 100% Primal - hmmmm.....not quite. More like 55-60%. Mark Sisson tells you to aim for 100% b/c even if you only reach 80%, that's great progress. I'd say I'm 80% there on diet, rest and engaging my brain. On the physical activity side of the equation, I have a long way to go. See 2015 goals below...
5) 600 push ups per week (on average) in 2014 - riiiiight.... not even close. Fell off the wagon here mid-February and never got back on - for shame.
6) Launch 2 businesses in 2014 (first $$$ by 6/30 / turn profit on both by end of year) - made significant progress in learning the process and brainstormed quite a few ideas. Even bought domains and developed the web-site for one, but couldn't make the numbers work out for it on the cost side so it never launched. Still working here - but stay tuned - I'm nowhere near done here yet.
So overall, 3/6 - batting 500. Not bad in baseball. But still room for improvement don't you think? But.....2014 also saw a few other un-planned-for "accomplishments". Got a new job, moved across country with my wife, started a family, sold a house, kept my blog going (even if sporadically) for the whole year. Great things I believe - combined with my resolutions I met and despite those I didn't, 2014 was a success! Cheers to you 2014!
As for 2015... a few more to bolster my denominator and hopefully enable me to up my tally of check-marks in my numerator as well. I like to mull them for a while - use the entire month of January to really try them on and see if they fit.
2015 New Year's Resolutions:
1) Become functionally proficient as a Python programmer this year - learn to import .csv, tab, pipe and JSON documents, as well as how to export these docs as output. Scripting, file-parsing, looping, etc. are all part of this. Use this capability to help a non-profit make better use of available public data.
2) Work with data coming out of at least 2 APIs - preferably open-source, but weather.com, zillo.com, facebook graph, etc. are all ok as well.
3) Keep at the Primal thing - still shooting for 100%.
4) To that end, get in sufficient shape to start bouldering again and send a v4 problem in 2015.
5) Write at least 1 blog post each month
6) Get caught up on all my National Geographic magazines by the end of the year - currently I'm almost one year behind - reading March 2014 in January 2015.
7) Read 1 book per month for the entire year.
9) Learn to line dance.
10) For a rounded out 10 goals (and easy math come January 2016), my last goal for 2015 is to actually connect with or remove each of my (as of today) 303 LinkedIn connections. My rationale is this. If we are not in close enough contact over the course of the calendar year such that we haven't exchanged emails, phone calls, had coffee or broke bread, etc. during the past 12-ish months, then we have lost touch and I'd like to reconnect. Or, perhaps one or both of us connected to gain access to the other's network. Don't get me wrong, I would love to maintain my connections. But, in my effort to live both my personal and my professional life intentionally, I want real connections and not just a collection of profiles.
Happy 2015 Everyone - it feels like it's gonna be a good one!
Until next time,
jmn
Do you or don't you make New Year's Resolutions? Ask yourself a few questions. How intentionally do I want to live? Will setting goals help me or hinder me in the coming year? Am I a list maker?
Having worked in various corporate environments and gone through the objective-setting and year-end-review cycles for about 15 years, I've learned a lot in business that impacts my personal life. I find it useful to set and measure personal goals the same way I do professional ones. In some cases, there's actually lot of overlap. I find that deliberately thinking through what I want to do with my time on this planet helps me achieve more. Heady. Plus, I'm a list maker. Checking things off a list makes me smile.
On the last day of January 2015, today feels like the right time to quickly see how I did last year, and to set out my 2015 resolutions for the world to see. I do this so that you, gentle reader, can hold me accountable for meeting these goals. So, 2014 resolutions...
1) Update resume and LinkedIn profile by January 31, 2014 - check.
2) Get web site up and running by March 31, 2014 - done.
3) Read 1 book per month during 2014 - done and done.
4) Get 100% Primal - hmmmm.....not quite. More like 55-60%. Mark Sisson tells you to aim for 100% b/c even if you only reach 80%, that's great progress. I'd say I'm 80% there on diet, rest and engaging my brain. On the physical activity side of the equation, I have a long way to go. See 2015 goals below...
5) 600 push ups per week (on average) in 2014 - riiiiight.... not even close. Fell off the wagon here mid-February and never got back on - for shame.
6) Launch 2 businesses in 2014 (first $$$ by 6/30 / turn profit on both by end of year) - made significant progress in learning the process and brainstormed quite a few ideas. Even bought domains and developed the web-site for one, but couldn't make the numbers work out for it on the cost side so it never launched. Still working here - but stay tuned - I'm nowhere near done here yet.
So overall, 3/6 - batting 500. Not bad in baseball. But still room for improvement don't you think? But.....2014 also saw a few other un-planned-for "accomplishments". Got a new job, moved across country with my wife, started a family, sold a house, kept my blog going (even if sporadically) for the whole year. Great things I believe - combined with my resolutions I met and despite those I didn't, 2014 was a success! Cheers to you 2014!
As for 2015... a few more to bolster my denominator and hopefully enable me to up my tally of check-marks in my numerator as well. I like to mull them for a while - use the entire month of January to really try them on and see if they fit.
2015 New Year's Resolutions:
1) Become functionally proficient as a Python programmer this year - learn to import .csv, tab, pipe and JSON documents, as well as how to export these docs as output. Scripting, file-parsing, looping, etc. are all part of this. Use this capability to help a non-profit make better use of available public data.
2) Work with data coming out of at least 2 APIs - preferably open-source, but weather.com, zillo.com, facebook graph, etc. are all ok as well.
3) Keep at the Primal thing - still shooting for 100%.
4) To that end, get in sufficient shape to start bouldering again and send a v4 problem in 2015.
5) Write at least 1 blog post each month
6) Get caught up on all my National Geographic magazines by the end of the year - currently I'm almost one year behind - reading March 2014 in January 2015.
7) Read 1 book per month for the entire year.
- January - Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters: 10 Secrets Every Father Should Know (Meg Meeker, M.D.)
- February - Brain Rules for Baby: How to Raise a Smart and Happy Child from Zero to Five (John Medina)
- March - n/a
- April - n/a
- May - Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems (Richard Ferber, M.D.)
- June - n/a
- July - The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity (Julia Cameron)
- August -
- September -
- October -
- November -
- December -
9) Learn to line dance.
10) For a rounded out 10 goals (and easy math come January 2016), my last goal for 2015 is to actually connect with or remove each of my (as of today) 303 LinkedIn connections. My rationale is this. If we are not in close enough contact over the course of the calendar year such that we haven't exchanged emails, phone calls, had coffee or broke bread, etc. during the past 12-ish months, then we have lost touch and I'd like to reconnect. Or, perhaps one or both of us connected to gain access to the other's network. Don't get me wrong, I would love to maintain my connections. But, in my effort to live both my personal and my professional life intentionally, I want real connections and not just a collection of profiles.
Happy 2015 Everyone - it feels like it's gonna be a good one!
Until next time,
jmn