In many ways, 2014 was one of my toughest professional years yet. While I didn't realize it at the time, it's clear to me that I never really hit my stride. And I really want to hit my stride. I want to feel excellent again. So, taking some inspiration from my first boss, a man who calls himself a fish but might actually be a robot (in the best of ways), I'm gonna start some experimenting with some serious life-hacking.
My personality type lends itself towards vision, but unfortunately, I struggle with execution. It's feedback I've gotten before, and it's something that I'll probably always struggle with, because that's just who I am. However, as my responsibilities became progressively more abstract, I wasn't able to build out effective processes for project management, and it showed. I've started getting involved in more complex projects on longer timelines, and my lack of discipline became professionally debilitating. Most of the things that I was involved in this year didn't really make meaningful progress. With a few exceptions, I wasn't able to really drive much forward. And that sucks.
So for me, 2015 is going to be a year of learning how to become a mechanic.
Moving into 2015, I'm experimenting with different techniques that force me to focus myself and build up my mental discipline, because I think that many of my weaknesses are just a manifestation of my fundamental lack of discipline. It's possible that someone reading this might think that I'm being pessimistic. Nothing could be further from the truth; I'm actually very excited to experiment with new techniques and figure out good ways to track, monitor, and improve my personal output. However, it's going to be hard, primarily because I'm an exceptionally organic person. I don't like structure, and I tend to find myself dancing through life, both figuratively and literally. I've thought up dozens of projects, but I've finished very few of them. Although I like the idea of finishing projects, I've struggled to learn how to structure my time in a way that actually reflects that desire.
When a lot of people hear this, they're surprised that I'm so hard on myself. And the truth is that last year wasn't a total wash - I've learned a lot of new stuff, started blogging a bit, read a ton of books, and strengthened a ton of friendships with people I love. And I've become progressively more introspective and self-aware. I travelled internationally, learned a ton about software development, and watched my company go through puberty from the inside, and I realized that I suck at managing people, especially myself.
But in the spirit of self improvement, I want to think more about how to be a better me this year, and I think that it comes down to breaking goals down into small units, building in accountability at the weekly level and publishing them publicly in a way that is trackable. So here goes:
- Habits
- Write weekly goals and reflections
- Write one blog post per week
- Write one thank you note per week
- Set up at least 5 Beeminder metrics by March 31st to track goals
- Fitness
- Drop a few pounds to 165 lbs (initial weigh-in at 176 lbs)
- 13% body fat (initial weigh-in at 18.5%)
- Ski at least one black mogul run well
- Solo kitesurfing
- Run a mile in 5:45
- Average 7m miles for one run of the Campus Loop
- Complete the Death Ride without encountering Death
- Personal Learning
- Read 15 books and expand book club membership
- Complete one project (app/website)
- Create a personal home page
- Get to 1300 ELO in chess (baby steps)
- Set up Motif and Options trading and execute at least 2 trades
- Study for and take either the LSAT, GRE or GMAT
- Complete one full online class
- Work: Goals are still TBD
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