Iβm a few days late in getting around to reviewing how I did on the goals for 2020, but whatβs new there in a year full of challenges?
Itβs an understatement to say that for anyone that set quantified personal goals at the start of the year had a rude awakening in March. We all encounter setbacks along the progress bar throughout any year, but this one was a doozy, and a protracted one that just kept dragging out.
Luckily here in Florida weβve been able to have some normal(ish) activities the past few months. Even just taking the kids back to playgrounds again around August was like a weight off the chest. The months of cabin fever dragged down everything for the whole family.
So howβd I do on those goals anyway?
| Activity |
Progress |
Pace |
Goal |
Plus-Minus |
| Running |
650.24 miles |
650 miles |
650 miles |
+0.24 |
| Meditation |
1070 minutes |
3120 minutes |
3120 minutes |
β |
| Reading |
31 books |
30 books |
30 books |
+1 |
Here are my original notes from the start of the year with some comments on each.
Health
β
Run 650 miles β When I set 500 as a target for 2019, I thought itβd be all I could do to hit that. I ended up landing on 615. With consistent effort (it requires an average 12.5 miles per week) I can definitely hit 650. Feels incremental, slightly uncomfortable, but attainable.
With a couple of days left I crested the running target just barely, 2 free days to spare. Throughout the entire year I donβt think I got more than a couple of miles ahead of the pace marker. I procrastinated way too frequently
β Run 2 half marathons β Did one last year, will shoot for one in the spring and one in the fall or winter.
For obvious reasons this one wasnβt possible unless I did them on my own, which would be a long shot for me. I may try one this year, weβll see.
β Deeper meditation β In my takeaways on this from last year, I mentioned the lack of depth with short, frequent sessions. This year Iβm going to try doing 2 sessions of at least 30 minutes per week. Iβve read from multiple sources that anything shorter than about that length doesnβt get you all the way to the βpresentβ state that mindfulness techniques are targeting. Half an hour will feel like a long time, but only twice a week should be fine.
2020 wouldβve been a great year for improving meditation practice. For no good reason I just couldnβt get myself back into the routine to do it. Iβm not sure what Iβll do with this in 2021. Iβd rather not put a goal up on the board with no real plan to try at the moment. Can always start anytime without an official goal.
β Begin strength training β Shooting for 3 days per week. My plan is to get a setup in the garage to do workouts pre- or post-evening run.
Another one I just never got around to. We just bought a new house (which Iβm due to write about, more on that later), so when we move Iβm hoping to get a zone set up in the new garage and work this in sometime in the morning after everyoneβs in school. Easing into it and getting consistent will be the key.
Reading, Learning, and Writing
β
Read 30 books β Iβm lowering the number this year, but have no plans to read less. I want to prioritize more long-form, deeper books that Iβve got on the shelf.
I notched just over this without trying too hard. I even had a few spells throughout the year with very little reading.
β
Continue daily posts β Iβd also like to force myself to write posts on 1 book per month.
I started 2020 with an intent to keep this going. As it was I made it to the 2-year streak mark in mid-October and put myself on hiatus. It was a good move since itβs given me a little breathing room, with time to spin up what Iβve been doing with the newsletter: Res Extensa.
β Study finance β With a half-decade of being heavily involved in the business end of a SaaS company, Iβve gotten a βcrash MBAβ in budgets, finance, and tons more. I plan to spend more time learning about markets, investing, and economics to have a broader understanding.
Didnβt spend much time here, but I did get some personal budget stuff in order. Not quite done yet.
Professional
β Host Fulcrum Live 2020 β The name of the event is TBD, but weβll be doing another iteration of our user conference that we last did (with success!) in 2017.
Really want to be able to do this (something) sometime in 2021.
β
Grow the team β Much of my time this year will be focused on team growth. No hard targets yet, but we have some things in the works thatβll be expanding our team.
We grew quite a bit this year, even with the tumultuousness of shifting to full remote.
Other Things
β Share more posts from the blog β When I started the daily posting habit in fall of 2018, I made the intentional decision to just put posts out there and see what would happen organically. No expected plan to drive traffic, just post and leave it be β personal journal out in public. One of my main reasons for doing that was to reduce the friction in getting things out there. The idea that every post was getting tweeted or shared couldβve made me overly attentive to perfection and polishing, something I wanted to avoid not only because itβd take longer on net for each new post, but it could make me hesitant about certain things. This year Iβll plan to share more widely the content for feedback and discussion.
I didnβt do as much of this as Iβd planned. Footnote to include this one for 2021 goals.
β
Take a few local weekend trips with the family β Thereβs a shortlist of places in driving distance Iβd like to take the kids to, like on long weekends.
COVID shut us down here. We did get to drive up to the Georgia mountains for a week in late October. Another one that I hope can be resurrected for an improved 2021. All in all I hit the big primary targets.
