Chris WiegmanDoesn’t everyone love writing end of year posts (or in this case, beginning of the year posts)? I had some pretty lofty goals last year, some I did well at and others, not so much. If there was a theme of this past year it would probably be disconnecting from work, at least from working too much anyway. That wasn’t a bad thing. With a little luck it will continue this year with an added focus of improving my own health.
2017 In Review
When I started 2017 I layed out 10 goals for both professional and personal growth. Some I did well at including beating my reading goal, speaking at a non-WordPress conference and learning about technologies that didn’t involve WordPress and PHP. Others, not so much. I’m heavier than ever, I drink a bit less but still too much and I never could keep up a good step goal although much of the steps and weight were probably a result of me trying to move to something other than my trusty FitBit last April. Here’s a few of the highlights (both good and bad):
- I’m up 10lbs and hit a new record of about 210 back in November
- While I had hit 10,000 steps a day back in the Spring I lost it all when I tried switching to the Apple Watch
- I published 14 out of my goal of 50 posts for this site (which is, coincidentally, the same number of posts I made in 2016)
- We drank a lot less but still far more than I’m comfortable with
- I spoke 6 times from WordCamp London to HighEdWeb and others
- We actually went on a real vacation, an Alaskan cruise in September for our 10th anniversary
- I’ve simplified my online life from social media to the devices I carry leading to less stress and, hopefully, the beginning of far more productivity
Basically, with the exception of my health it wasn’t a bad year. I have high hopes to make 2018 even better though
2018: Hopes and Dreams
If I could pick any theme for 2018 it would be getting healthier, mentally and physically. To get there I’ve got a fairly good lists of specific goals. While I’m sure that, like every other year, not all of them will be reached I do think I can make a good run at most of them:
- I’m going to mostly go dry. I did really well at this in December where we only really drank anything while traveling. I’m looking to expand this in the new year and try to keep any drinking to traveling only
- I want to finish 26 books. This might be a little low but it still seems pretty reasonable to me
- I want to finish 52 posts on this site
- I want to get my step goal back to 10,000 steps and keep it there
- I want to get my weight under 180 lbs (a loss of 25 pounds from where I’m at today)
- I want to start work on side projects again and have a few ideas in mind
- I want to get back to Europe, this time with Joy
So with luck I’ll get healthier and put the time we’ve spent on drinking in the past to good use building something fun. Seems simple, right?