I thought I’d take a stab at reviewing this year using my project post mortem template.
- Was the objective clear?
In retrospect it was pretty clear. I had ended last year contemplating a potential shift to going into client side work, which eventually happened. As for the year itself, my two goals were to read more books and get a handle on the paperwork. I think I did a reasonable job of the former and essentially failed on the latter.
- What went wrong, how can we fix this?
I think the biggest issue is time wasted on Social Media. It is the only optional item in my life that I can easily trade out for better work, but I still haven’t been able to kick the habit. I don’t know if I’ll ever delete my accounts, but not drastically nuking my accounts might be like smoking one cigarette a day – a rough week and it’s right back to a pack a day.
- What went well, how can we improve?
With the new job, I think my reading interests have been focused. There are a lot of soft skills to be learned, so I’ve been able to indulge my guilty pleasure of reading business self help books. But it’s also a case where when I’m so fried after a hard day, I’ve felt the need to pull out some of my old favorites to read. I think I’ve maintained a good balance. And then this blog has been the surprise hobby of the year. I’ve taken up Seth Godin on his daily blog challenge, and so far, I can’t complain. It eats up a chunk of my morning, and I’m sure it makes me think more clearly, but I think it’s worth another year.
- What opportunities did we miss or overlook?
I’m not sure, this post seems to keep coming back to the idea of tradeoffs. The trope is that you need to say “no” to enough things in order to have room to say yes. Unfortunately, I’m already good at saying “no”, so there isn’t really any fat I can easily cut out. The real problem is “what good things are in the way of doing great?”… and I’m not seeing what good items I should be amputating out of my life.
- What are the next steps?
I think my goals next year are pretty straightforward. I want to give this blog another year’s run. And I need to make time to exercise, since my blood pressure is now borderline high. Beyond continuing / creating these two daily habits, I’d like to keep reading, clear up our housing situation, and clear through (or delete through) a pile of little things to do items that have been sitting on my list for quite some time now. I’m still getting acclimated to the new job, and I suspect that will take quite a bit of mental drag over this new year, so this is plenty.