2008 goals recap and 2009

January 13, 2009

Last year, I wrote a post about things I wanted to do in 2008.

• Lose 30 pounds (I’d be fine with losing 10 this year, but close enough!)

I lost 10, then gained back 5. 

• One blog post per week – I tend to do more than that, but occasionally slip for more than 7 days without, so I’ll likely keep on top of that more.  And keep them more focused.  I may end up splitting in to two blogs.  OR migrate WebDevRadio to Wordpress and use that as a combined ‘tech’ blog and podcast.

Didn’t hit this.

• Write one new article per month – I’d like to write more in-depth how-tos than I do (which right now is almost 0).  Focus will probably be grails or groovy, but I’ve got some PHP ideas I’m working on.  Documenting those would be a good start.

Didn’t hit this.

• Another book in 2008.  Funny enough, I did a book in 2007 – well, 2/3rds of one after the publisher reviewed it.  It *may* come out this year, which would be nice.  I have two other ideas I’m putting together, and I have interest from publishers on them.  The issue is time to write, and I’ll work on making that happen.

Didn’t hit this.

• A picture a day in 2008.  I don’t think I’ll be doing this one.

Didn’t try!

• Learn a new language.  I was inspired to try to learn Chinese this year.  I have a tiny bit of the spoken down, but the writing is what I’ll need to concentrate on if I do this.  When I was in China, I couldn’t *read* anything, so trying to look it up in a dictionary was pointless.

Had been inspired to get into Chinese because of my 2007 trip, but ultimately didn’t do this either.

What the heck?  Well, early last year I had an abrupt shift in the employment situation, which took some scrambling and readjusting to bring in to balance.  I’m trying to take a more ‘ownership’ stance over my work and time this year.  I made it through 2008 being entirely self-employed, and intend to do so in 2009, unless some great opportunity presents itself (basically, never say never to things).

So – 2009.  What are the goals this time around?

• Lose more weight.  20 pounds lighter by January 2010.
• Financial stability – I have a number in mind (and written down) as to where I want to be at the end of 2009.  Never written one down before – we’ll see how that goes.
• GroovyMag and related projects being profitable enough to meet all basic living expenses every month by the middle of 2009.  This is a somewhat modest goal, not over the top.  The over the top stuff comes a bit later.
• Get in to other information publishing arenas – books, videos, training – either produced by myself, or acting in the publisher role for other talented people.
• Speak at at least one conference this year (besides Codemash, which I just got back from).

What are your goals for 2009?

Posted in Friends, General, Personal