2012 = Do
Looking back at 2011, I find I'm very disappointed with myself. Personally, it wasn't a good year for me -- it wasn't a bad year, mind you, but it certainly wasn't good either. I'm talking about goals here, about personal development. I didn't accomplish much of anything I wanted to do. (Granted, I did finally finish my Associate's degree, but that felt more like a "had to" rather than a "want to".) I'm quite upset about it, and I'm pretty mad at myself, too. I fell off all kinds of wagons and didn't bother to climb on to many others. That's why I'm determined that 2012 will be the Year of Do.
Looking Back
I made a list of "Goals for 2011" in Google Docs. I don't like calling them resolutions since those are the things people "resolve", but never seem, to do -- goals are things that are supposed to be accomplished. Here's what the list looked like:
- Track Every Penny I Spend
- Use tax return to landscape
- Grow a vegetable garden
- Code a video game
- Write and submit for publication at least one short story
- Finish my college courses on time or ahead of schedule
- Save at least 10% of my income (permanent, no touch savings)
- Cultivate a better relationship with my family
- Get at least 3,650,000 steps (10k a day * 365 days)
Now, let's mark off the things I accomplished, and see how it looks:
- Track Every Penny I Spend
Use tax return to landscape- Grow a vegetable garden
- Code a video game
- Write and submit for publication at least one short story
Finish my college courses on time or ahead of schedule(barely on time...)Save at least 10% of my income (permanent, no touch savings)(I actually saved 20% of each payday, though I had to dip into it a time or two, but on the average it was still over 10%)Cultivate a better relationship with my family(this is still a work-in-progress, but I feel like I've made substantial improvements)- Get at least 3,650,000 steps (10k a day * 365 days)
It doesn't look too terrible -- about 45% or so -- but it's only a few things I wanted to do and managed to jot down prior to New Year's Eve. There were many more things I wanted to do, but didn't get around to doing (or even get around to writing down). I didn't come close to tracking my cash flow. I didn't sprout the first seed on a vegetable garden (or even decide what I might want to grow). I certainly read a lot about games, gaming, and game programming (though oddly enough I don't game often at all). I didn't put one drop of ink to paper on a short story, much less submit one. And my wife lost her pedometer
On top of those shortcomings, I also botched a lot of things I had improved upon the year previous: I got out of the habit of exercising daily and I got back into the habit of eating poorly. I haven't really gained any weight, and don't feel terribly out of shape, but my level of health and physical fitness is certainly lessened from this time last year.
Doing
So, the first step in correcting a problem is to identify the problem. I'm not sure I can lay my finger to any one reason why my goals weren't accomplished. Mostly it's laziness, disorganization, and a lack of motivation. I also spend a lot of time reading about stuff, thinking about stuff, dreaming about stuff, but not actually doing stuff. That's why I think the cure for what ails me is to, simply, do. I've got to put down the books, the feeds, the HN, the daydreams. I've got to pick up the tools and get my hands dirty, make some mistakes, make something amazing -- do something.
To do that, I've got to get organized. I need a system for setting, tracking, and accomplishing goals. I feel like this is the first step, and I'm already taking measures to get things done. That's what I'm learning about Getting Things Done
I first of heard of combining these systems on this Hanselminutes podcast and I think I really like this mixture Scott uses. It's a pretty interesting listen if you have a half hour to spare. I've already read The 7 Habits
Moving Forward
2012 is going to be great a year for me. I know this, because I'm going to make it a great year by doing. I'm already off to a great start before the ball has even dropped. The recent blog revamp was a much-needed first step -- an easy win to build upon -- and I've got it finished in basically a few hours of work (granted, there's still some things to do, which I'm actively working on in my down time).
In addition to reviewing my 2011 goals, I've set up some goals for 2012, and it's a much more ambitious (and continuously evolving) list than last year:
- Do
- Accomplish leftover/recurring goals from 2011:
- Track Every Penny I Spend
- Grow a vegetable garden
- Code a video game
- Write and submit for publication at least one short story
- Finish my college courses on time or ahead of schedule (I will also graduate with a BS in Computer Science at the end of the year)
- Save at least 20% of my income (permanent, no touch savings)
- Cultivate a better relationship with my family
- Get at least 3,650,000 steps (10k a day * 365 days)
- Get back on the wellness wagon
- Exercise
- Eat well
- Rise early
- Develop a personal system of doing
- 7 Habits + Pomodoro + GTD + Agile
- Find ways to give
- Develop
- continued blog improvements
- local takeout directory website (django)
- Personal Log System SaaS app (node.js)
- simple mobile app (android/java)
- simple game (pygame?)
- contribute to open source (AWN plugin?)
- Generate passive income
- affiliate links on blog
- ads on mobile/web apps
- subscriptions to SaaS apps
- Write
- regular blog posts / essays
- short story (see 2011 goal)
- Get back into playing music
- music reading refresher
- piano, guitar
- learn a new intrument (violin, perhaps)
- Learn basic hobby/electronics
- soldering
- kits
- microcontrollers (arduino)
- Read (always one of each on hand:)
- one book for personal development / intellectual advancement
- one book for entertainment
- Do -- and evolve this list
It's a pretty extensive list compared to last year, but if I am setting and accomplishing goals the way I want to be, a lot of it will be knocked out early on in the year. I'm most excited about getting my hands dirty with development -- I'm always reading about programming and startups, but rarely do much coding outside of school assignments. I'm also pretty excited to learn/play with electronics and microcontrollers. Those are the highlights for me.
I think it also helps to focus on the potential pitfalls and weak spots in this master plan if I'm going to be successful. If I can't get a good organization/goal accomplishing system in place quickly, the whole thing may crumble to pieces before I even begin. I have a hard time eating well, rising early, and staying on track with exercise, so this will be a daily struggle. And, as much as I love to read, both as an intellectual exercise and for fun, I have trouble making time for it (wife, work, and school usually come before Drew), so I don't get much reading done outside of my daily feeds and school assignment.
Right now, I'm excited and feel full of do. Moving forward, I hope to carry this energy and excitement with with me, and I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that happens -- especially when the when odds are stacked against me.
Here's to a great New Year, for you and for me. Wake up each and every day and tell yourself: 2012 = Do.