My Goals for 2019 (Revisited)
Last year I wrote an article on dev.to about my goals for 2019. I was introduced to formal goal setting at SAP Concur. Previously, I just worked and hoped good things happened. At the new year I applied the practice to my personal life, and then promptly forgot about them.
Original Goals
A few days ago I read the original article and was surprised at how far I felt I'd progressed without really thinking about it. Here were my original goals:
- Meetup with more people
- Be a mentor
- Speak at a conference
- Better music discovery (and more concerts)
Below the cut:
- Cook for myself a lot more
- Explore new hikes and trails
- Keep trying the casual dating thing
Goal Progress
Meetup with more people
I'm a very social person but I don't climb out of my shell naturally. Last year I found myself in a rut only hanging out and talking with the same group of people. I definitely spent a lot more time watching Netflix than I wanted to.
In the past few months I've started going to the gym more and I joined a bowling league with some friends. Between league and having a personal trainer I definitely get my fill of meeting new people and staying active outside of my apartment. Right now, I'm having a harder time getting myself to take a break than getting myself outside.
I made a lot of awesome new friends and get to spend time with all of them, overall: mission accomplished.
Be a Mentor
In 2018 most of my mentorship consisted of giving job advice to folks trying to get their first jobs and providing job recommendations. I had lots of 1:1 conversations on Zoom with folks and met up for coffee with a few.
Last month during a conversation with my manager I told him I'm hitting capacity for mentorship (fearing burnout). Right now at work I'm mentoring our Year Up intern, a senior design capstone project, and a recent hire through the Microsoft Autism Hiring Program. On my own I'm still helping new speakers at the Seattle ReactJS Meetup and most folks who pop into my inbox.
I think this is the goal I'm really the most proud of. Mentorship is one of my strongest values and the day-to-day feels normal to me now, but looking back I'm proud to be thought of worthy of helping folks out.
Speak at a Conference
Did I speak at a conference in 2019? No I did not.
Am I disappointed in myself? Absolutely not.
I spread myself pretty thin this year. There were many points where I just felt exhausted and I've had to put some responsibilities on the back burner. Since ramping up at Microsoft I've taken on lots of different odd jobs and opportunities.
I'd still like to speak at a conference, but with the change in priorities this year it's not at the top of my list. I plan on doing more speaking at the Seattle ReactJS Meetup, but it's become a safer space for me. I want to branch out, we'll see where that leads.
Better music discovery (and more concerts)
I think I did alright on this one as well. I mostly just wanted to get away from having stale playlists. In 2019 I tried to make more varied playlists and whenever I was driving I'd use Siri to add songs from the radio to the different playlist.
Below the Cut
Goals that I had on my radar, but didn't make the top 4.
Cook for myself a lot more
I'm still getting better at this. I'm trying out new recipes and trying to eat a lot healthier. The biggest thing I want to cut back on now are my lunches at work. I plan on doing most of my cooking on Sundays and having it ready for the week.
Explore New Hikes and Trails
I did a bunch of hikes in 2019. I still want to branch out more, and for Christmas I got a bunch of camping gear so I want to try and get out a lot more.
Keep Trying the Casual Dating Thing
It's fun to meet new people and go on dates. I have to practically force myself to do it because I get pretty anxious meeting new people. I went on quite a few last year and I'm getting a lot more comfortable doing it.