A look back to 2017 and forward to 2018
At the beginning of this year, I didn't make any resolutions like "lose 5 pounds" or "work out 3 times a week." Rather, I just vowed to be more focused, disciplined, and consistent in work and life.
Let's see how I did, and what's in store for 2018.
Looking back to 2017
Focus
For 2017, I pledged to be more focused on a macro level (doing fewer things better) and a micro level (focusing more on the task at hand).
I'd call this a minor win.
In 2016, I spent a lot of time working on my podcast, the Go and Grow Podcast. While I really enjoyed it and it helped build an audience, it wasn't getting me closer to my goal of launching my startup. So I put it on hold, which gave me more time and mindshare to work on WinOptix. That was a win.
But I did and continue to spend a lot of time learning how to program in Python. Python is great for data science (which will help with WinOptix) as well as back-end and web development. While learning Python took away some time and focus away from WinOptix, I think it will help me become a better technical leader, which will certainly help the company and my career in the long run.
On a micro level, there were certainly times where I got distracted from the tasks I was working on. But overall, I was very consistent in using the Pomodoro Technique and turning off notifications on my phone to stay focused. (Just as I write this, my phone buzzed. Ugh.)
Discipline
I vowed to be more disciplined with my schedule and diet and exercise regimen.
I'd also call this a minor win.
I made it a point to schedule my tasks in my Google Calendar the night before or morning of a work day. Specifically assigning a time to execute the task and setting its duration forces you to focus on that task and not allow it to expand. Super helpful.
Overall, I was relatively disciplined with my diet and exercise, if you leave out the last two weeks of holidays. :) I worked out about 2-3 times a week, with a mixture of basketball, lifting, and push-ups and sit-ups at home. And overall, I think I ate pretty healthily over the year. Vicky and I did do the keto diet for a while, but my cholesterol spiked, so I had to stop. So I just went back to a balanced diet.
Consistency
I'd call this a draw.
I was pretty consistent in working on WinOptix. I worked an additional 10-20 hours per week on nights and weekends to make as much progress as possible.
I mostly kept up with posting to this blog weekly, only missing weeks where I was traveling or on holidays.
Unfortunately, I don't think I was as consistent with blogging for Thorn Technologies. Writing about very technical topics like cloud computing can be tough.
And I was just OK in staying consistent on social media and keeping up with personal and home improvements.
A draw sounds about right.
Looking forward to 2018
2018 is going to be a big year. Yeah, I know, I say that every year. But for real.
First of all, I'm turning 40! So I better figure out my life soon. :)
Next, there are a few things that I'd like to accomplish this coming year.
While I'll continue to be more focused, disciplined, and consistent, there are a few specific goals that I'd like to achieve.
The first is to acquire at least 5 paying customers for WinOptix. We're launching the product by the end of January, and hopefully we'll get a ton of feedback from our initial users to make the product better to the point where they'd be willing to pay for it. Then we can really go out to the market and sell it.
Second, I'd like to complete at least 3 Python projects. I'm currently working on a Pomodoro timer and a program that takes data from CSV files, concatenates them, and runs reports on the data. So my goal is to complete those and add one more project to the mix.
Finally, I want to be a better dad and husband. While this isn't as concrete as the other two goals, it's still something to strive for. I think I'm doing a good job, but I can always get better.
What are your goals or resolutions for 2018?
I’d love to hear from you. Write your thoughts in the comments, tweet at me @mikewchan, or email me at mike@mikewchan.com.