2019 Year End Goals Update

2019 is on the verge of conclusion and this is the right time to reflect on the year that was. I know I have some unmet goals. I had a lot of unexpected travel this year, so some of my goals did take a back seat. In December, my brother came down to visit me, so I traded the time I had set aside for working on goals for some family time. After doing a bit of reading, some of my goals seem to have been set incorrectly. I hope I can learn from my mistakes and make amends next year.

Health:

• I am going to continue exercising at least 5 times a week. 
• Additionally, I am eating sugar on specific days of the year and paying close attention to what I am putting into my body and will continue with this effort.
• Getting adequate sleep
• If possible, participate in a team sport but this is not a priority.

I would say I have met this goal about 90% mainly because I still need to work on getting adequate sleep. I put in place some plans which looked grand on paper but hard to implement. It is something I will continue to work on next year as well.

Personal Development:

• Read/Listen/Follow to news every day
• Take up 2 certifications/courses- one which will help me in my professional career and the other which may or may not help me professionally but it is something to help me further with a hobby or help me develop a new skill.

I am proud to say that I have followed the news very closely and also read up some historic information to understand the news discussions better. 

I have worked towards one of the 2 certifications I had planned. Due to my travel and some other family commitments, I could not really appear for my exams but I have already paid for the last step I needed to take before I appeared for my exams which is most definitely happening next year. The preparations are quite a bit for this exam.


Hobbies:

These are so important to me and help me stay sane in this mad mad world. I cannot imagine not working on one of the below.

• Reading: This year I would like to read just 1 book by the end of the year. With work and studying that I will be doing this year and with the other goals, I do not think I will be able to read more.

I did complete reading 2 books that I started reading before setting my goals and started on my book of the year. It is kind of an enormous book equivalent to about 5 books so I will continue reading it into the next year.

• Writing: Last year I started out writing every day and then ran out of content to write everyday. This year, however, I will be writing weekly. It can be about anything but should definitely include 1 thing I did proactively, 1 thing that demonstrates synergy and 1 thing with a win-win attitude, and the progress made with other goals.

I must admit, I have been a little erratic with this goal. One of the methods I will adopt the 2 min rule next year and hope I can do a better job at this as well.

• Blogging: I would like to write 1 blog post per week from now on. I know it was my goal last year as well and I did not completely meet it. As I said, I have thought long and hard and now have a very good idea of how I can achieve it this year. 

I have not met this goal 2 years in a row. My learning from last year did not help. I guess I have to come up with a new strategy.

• Art: I would create 1 art work per month. I am happy to inform that I am already underway.

I am happy I have managed this. I have a bit of work left, but mostly done.

• Cooking/Baking: I love cooking and baking. This year, I am going to try making at least 5 healthy gourmet recipes. In addition, if time permits, I will like to successfully bake 2 types of bread (inspired by Jenna Fischer's Instagram!!).

I really did not think in the beginning of the year that my travel to Italy will present me with this opportunity to try making some gourmet food (for India, not really for Italy) working with local ingredients and spices. I also tried baking one type of bread.

Overall, I think it was an average year when I think about the goals I set out for the year. However, I considering the unexpected things I did year, I think it was not a bad year. Also, I had mentioned initially that I will talk about a social cause, I decided against it as it is mainly charity and I really do not think I am comfortable at this point to discuss it. I will have a challenging 2020 and I am currently thinking of goals to achieve for 2020.