2025 Goals

 Last year, I did not set any goals for myself and life felt  quite disorganised and with out any direction. I am a person who needs something to work towards while also being spontaneous in bursts. I like to have a direction but I also like to accommodate some surprises that might come along the way.

Coming to the goals- I analysed different areas of life and decided that the below goals are my priority. For each of these goals, I have a set of habits. I will cover some of it here. I have not used "SMART" approach in describing them below.

1. 19-20 BMI: During COVID, I gained a bit of weight and I managed to lose some of it and my BMI is normal. However, I would prefer to be at a lower-mid range of the BMI. I think this would help me manage my health better. This would mean- eating balanced meals, consistent workouts and walks, and the main one for me- stress management and sleeping hours management.

2. Earn 30 PDUs this year to maintain my PMP certification: It is self explanatory- I would like to maintain my certification and would need at least 30 PDUs this year. I am setting some hours aside every month to focus on this.

3. Develop Content Creation ability: Social media is no longer a place to just express your thoughts- it is also a space to express our creativity. I have been negligent in this area and have almost vanished from it. My perspective on social media has also changed. I think it provides excellent opportunities and I would like to explore some of them. I am learning and I hope over time, I will improve and put out more meaningful content.

4. Focus on Mental/Brain Health: I have come to realise over the years how important mental health is and I am not just talking about depression- our brain is also aging with our body and needs more and more care as we grow older. All these years, I had never done anything intentional to keep my brain sharp and creative. This year, I would want to do some intentional training and conditioning of the brain- I am already learning 2 foreign languages and would like to keep that up. Additionally, with the help of ChatGPT, I am focussing on solving complex mathematics problems mentally and nourish it with some good quality literature.

5. Investments: I have set a target for investing an x amount during the course of this year. I am setting aside sometime every week for research for this and taking small steps towards investing the amount x that I have planned.

Apart from this, there are some other areas of interests that I would like to cultivate during this year but they are more of hobbies and not really high on my list of priorities or goals this year.

2024- Last 100 Days Plan

2024 is the first year in several years where I did not start the year with any goals. At the beginning of the year or even in late 2023, I could not think of anything specific that I wanted to achieve in 2024. I invested in a fancy planner but it did not help me gain the clarity I needed. Recently, I was listening to a podcast where Ankara Warikoo was being interviewed and what he said stuck with me. He recommended that people set input based goals rather than outcome based goals. Outcome based goals are not always in our control but input based goals are always in our control. 

What exactly is the difference in the two? Input based goals are those where we state what work we would put in- Example: Read a page everyday or work out everyday etc. Outcome based goals are those where expect a pre-defined outcome- Example: 10k followers on Instagram, or , lose 45kgs this year. Even if we put in the work, we may not achieve the desired outcome. However, we would be still be making progress if we use input based goals- may be we will have 8k followers or maybe we will lose 30kg instead of 45- the work has gone in and we have made progress.

This podcast helped me with a mindset shift. Last year when I thought of what I would like to achieve next year- I was thinking in terms of outcome. After listening to the podcast, I asked myself, what am I willing to do or where would I like to focus my energy on for whatever time we still have left this year.

The other mindset shift I made was in terms of what is my purpose in life? Many people have amazing level of clarity to this deep question. Not me. I do not have a bigger purpose in life. I decided that until I find the bigger "What"/ "Why",  I will work on self-improvement and personal development. So I put together a to-do list to work consistently for the rest of the year. 

Here's a glimpse of my to-do list (not exhaustive as some are quite private) for the rest of the year:

- Read: for 2 mins everyday

- Write 1 line in my journal everyday

- Meditate for 1 min everyday

- 30 mins of walk everyday

- 30 mins of workout everyday

- Go to bed before midnight everyday

- Write a blog post daily (not necessarily publish it)

- No sugar except on festivals and birthdays

Currently I am in the pre-100 days plan period and I am testing it out to see how easy or difficult it is for me to keep to my to-do list. I would be refining in as needed to keep it as realistic as possible.

In case you are a bit all over the place like me, and do not have concrete goals in place, I suggest to give this approach a shot. I hope it will give you a plan to work towards.                                     

2020 Goals

In my previous post, I had mentioned that I had worked on defining my goals for this year. I started thinking about them in Dec,2019. This year, I also put a system around it so that I am more focussed on it. Some of my goals are currently high level without much details. This is because, I have decided that not everything needs to begin on Jan 1st. If Jan 1st had life, it would have crumbled by now under the weight of expectations and the number of things people would dumped on it. Anyway, I would be working on some of my other goals, adding more specific details and information as the year progresses. Some of my goals have a strict deadline as well, so I need to get them out of my way by those dates, so that I can work on other goals. This year, I have split my goals into 3 categories:

1. Related to Habit- This is about forming new habits and maintaining existing habits. I will be measuring these but in terms of how compliant I have been.
2. Time-bound Goals- These are goals with a strict deadline for me to achieve them.
3. Self-improvement- While the above 2 categories of goals are also for self-improvement/personal development, this particular category of goals is focussing on development of soft-skills. There is no way to know if I have achieved them but I need to make a conscious effort every day to follow some tips. I doubt that such a goal can come with a deadline, so I have not set any. To me these are for life but I am going to make a conscious effort this year.

With this introduction, I present my 2020 Goals before you. I am going to be as brief as possible with minimal to no explanation, so that this post does not end up being too long. I am not mentioning here which goals begin when and end when as I am working on getting some of the timing right myself and trying out different permutations and combinations to find the best schedule to work on them:

Habit Goals:

1. Write 1 line in my journal everyday: In the past years, I did not have much success with writing everyday. After extensive research, I think this one is easier to keep. Even if I have nothing to write on a given day, I can still say- Nothing interesting worth writing happened today. Just a routine day. :)

2. Read for 5 mins everyday 

3.  No Instagram, Youtube and Pinterest beyond 7pm everyday: This is one of the ways by which I will make some time to work on my goals or just relax.

4. Organize and Clean twice a week: I was doing this once a week, I think, the amount of pressure on that 1 day when I need to work on them could be reduced.

5. Spend 5-10 mins time learning something new or listen, read the news everyday

6. Connect more deeply with my family on a daily basis: I do not want to share the specifics further but there is a list of habits in place.

7. Take a meaningful photograph once a week
8. Eat healthy, sleep well and exercise daily

Time-bound goals:

1. Complete the certification that I was working last year.
2. Write 50 blog posts this year
3. Finish reading my current book and additionally read 1 autobiography/biography, 1 self-help book and 1 fiction book by an Indian author

Self-improvement goals:

1. Be much more proactive
2. Develop a sense of urgency
3. Be a good listener and be polite when I reply to people
4. Build self-discipline and work on my procrastination issues

Other than this, I have prepared a list of things to do this year.
- Look for ideas for a side-hustle
- Be well groomed and well dressed always
- Get back to cooking and baking as I had taken a break in 2019
- Declutter my books
- Plan my finances better
- Plan a vacation/staycation
- Work on a creative project

This is it for my goals this year. In my next blog, I would write about how I have set up my planner for the year. It is very simplistic and so far, has been working for me.

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.

Q3 2019 Update on Goals

Where has this year flown by? It was just the other day that I was greeting people for the 2019 New Years'. Every year seems to be going by faster than the previous year. I am beginning to wonder if the clock moves faster every year.

In Q3 of this year, I got to do a crazy amount of travelling. I went to Europe for work for almost a month, and put the weekends to good use. Due to the travelling and the preparation for the travel, I have had a set back in achieving and focussing on some of my other goals. The travel was unplanned and when it materialised, it presented itself with different types of opportunities for personal growth and development. I set goals so that I can live a purposeful life where I develop myself, learn new things and feel fulfilled. Let us see, how my Q3 was:

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

Q3 Update: I have been exercising pretty regularly in Q3 as well and stuck close to my no-sugar schedule pretty rigourously. Adequate sleep was still work in progress but I slept and woke up at regular times. I am ruling out participation in a team sport completely. I do not think it is something I will actively pursue this year.

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.

Q3 Update: I have been following the news everyday, although it is primarily the headlines. My preparations for the 1st certification has been in full swing. However, due to the trip and its preparation, I had to take a hiatus from the preparation of my certification course. I will continue my preparation for one of them alone- I want to do it properly an do it well. I would most likely write the exam next year.

Hobbies:

• 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.

Q3 Update: As mentioned previously, I have finished reading one of the 2 books that I started before I set my goals and the other one is almost done. I will reveal my "book of the year" once I finish with my current reads. Usually, I like to read on my trips but I had anticipated rightly that it would be quite hectic and did not do any reading during the trip, for the very first time.

• 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.

Q3 Update: Unfortunately, my greater involvement in the trip prep, put this on a back seat but now, I have started writing again, and believe it or not, off late, I have been doing it everyday.

• 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. 

Q3 Update: Unfortunately, I have not been blogging regularly but I am trying my best to catch-up.

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

Q3 Update: This is underway but I have not been very regular but I intend to catch-up soon.

• 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!!).

Q3 Update: I will have to wait until end of this year to accomplish this goal.

That is it for now, I have had a lot of unexpected travels this year but I am happy with the amount of knowledge and experienced that I gained from these.

Q2 Update on Goals

I am a little late on this post but I have taken stock of where I was with my goals for 2019 at Q2. A quick update below:

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

Q2 Update: I have been exercising very regularly. I have stuck to my sugar calendar closely. Though I need to manage the amount of sleep I am getting, I have regularised the sleep wake and sleep times. I have not actively pursued participation in any team sport.

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.

Q2 Update: I have been following the news everyday, although it is primarily the headlines. My preparations for the 1st certification has been in full swing.

Hobbies:

• 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.

Q2 Update: I have finished reading one of the 2 books that I started before I set my goals and will reveal my "book of the year" once I finish with my current reads. 

• 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.

Q2 Update: I have been doing this regularly.

• 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. 

Q2 Update: Unfortunately, I have not been blogging regularly but I am trying my best to catch-up.

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

Q2 Update: This is underway but I have not been very regular but I intend to catch-up soon.

• 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!!).

Q2 Update: I will have to wait until end of this year to accomplish this goal.

Apart from this, I have had the privilege to travel a bit around in my home state and hopefully will be able to blog soon about it. That's all for now from my side. Stay tuned for my Q3 update which will be on soon.

30 Day 10K Steps Challenge

This April, I decided to participate into a 30 days global challenge of walking 10000 steps a day. As a part of my health goal, I wanted to be more active and was very inspired by Jenna Fisher's 30 hikes in 60 days. challenge for herself. I wanted to do hikes as well but it is almost impossible for me to get out of the city for a hike at least 30 times due to work and other priorities. The 10K steps was one of the things that I knew I could manage if I put my heart in to it and also did not really require me to go out of the city.

I have had this app on my phone called Pacer for about 3 years now but I never really explored it. On a boring day towards end of March, I decided to explore the features of the app and noticed they have several challenges like 10K steps in 30 days, 5K run, a distance challenge and so on. It is one of their motivational tools, I guess. One can participate in any of the challenges. I realised that I barely challenged my self with anything. So, decided to give this a shot.

I had been walking regularly even before I took up this challenge but I never paid close attention to the number of steps I was taking or the distance I was walking. Also, note that I do not eat sugar like I used to. I have almost given up sugar and eat a bit of it on specified days of the year and so far have been good.

Example of a Badge- They had one for every week we complete successfully

Pacer would give us their dose of pep like victory badges at their predefined milestones etc. It was to help us stay motivated and coast through the challenge.

I started very upbeat and walked as much as I could consistently. There were a few hindrances which I encountered during the whole journey:

1. First, somewhere in the middle of the month, I was taken quite ill and slept for a big part of the day. It definitely helped in my recovery as I walked in the evening, albeit it was slow walking indoors. I must have walked about 11K steps for 3-4 days until I felt all better and could step out for the real thing.

2. The next hurdle I would say, is when I had to change my shoes. I was walking with an old pair of really comfortable shoes. It helped me with the pace and was really comfortable on the feet. However, I guess I had been walking a lot for a long time and it lead to wearing off of the soles of the shoes. I continued wearing it until there were giant holes in the soles and pebbles and cement and dust particles started entering into my shoes and made the walk uncomfortable. When I would take the shoes off, my feet would be coated with something really black and it would cling on to it. It was quite a chore to restore my feet's original colour. Though the news shoes are not bad, they are quite different from my older ones and my feet are not yet used to them.

3. One of the days, towards the end of the challenge, I walked excessively at a stretch, so much, that the entire stretch of my not so long legs began hurting and in the next few days, closer to the close of the challenge made it only worse. I have decided that until the first weekend of May,2019, I will relax and not walk a lot in order to recover.

I am really proud of myself that despite all these hurdles, I was determined and did not give up on a single day and on most days crossed 10K steps, even on the days when I was sick.

In terms of the results, though I could not see the weighing scale tip in a negative direction, some of my colleagues at work mentioned that I seem to have lost weight and looked leaner, and that it was quite visible. I am not sure if it is anything to do with the walk or the fact that I have not eaten sugar in a long time. On a personal note, some of the clothes which felt tight a year back, seem to fit me again well- mind you, I had not worn them a whole year and tried them on around mid-April, so cannot say definitively that it had anything to do with the challenge. My mom noticed that I have become leaner and look taller as well. Another thing that I practise is restrict eating outside. As much as possible, I try eating home cooked meals. I notice that I eat just enough and not too much when I eat food at home compared to when I eat outside.

I would post my progress as Instagram stories and really thank everyone who supported and encouraged me through this journey. It gave my confidence a boost and in a way tested my will-power and I think I came out in flying colours.

My Best Performance in the challenge

Q1 2019 Goals Update

It has not been too long since I set my goals for this year. I thought it will still be very helpful to me to evaluate and see where I stand. I am aware I might have not started working towards all of them, however, this review will definitely encourage me to start on things I have not worked on yet.

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

Q1 Update: I am exercising every day of the week and so far, I have stuck to my sugar calendar closely. I still need to work on getting enough sleep though. I have not actively pursued participation in any team sport.

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.

Q1 Update: I must admit I have recently started following the news on a daily basis, although it is mainly the headlines. Only if I find some topic really captivating do I go read the details further.

I have started the preparation for the exam for my 1st certification course from 01APR2019. It is tough and there is a lots to do. Once I am done with the 1st certification, I will look in to the 2nd one.

Hobbies:

• 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.

Q1 Update: I am still reading the books I started before I set my goals and will reveal my "book of the year" once I finish with my current reads.

• 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.

Q1 Update: I target to start this from the 1st week of May,2019 onwards.

• 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. 

Q1 Update: I did take a bit of break from this but now I have found my rhythm and would like to continue with it. The objective is to have 52 posts by the end of this year. I have already prepared the list of topics I would be writing on and when I would be writing those. Hope to continue with the same momentum.

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

Q1 Update: This is underway. I am preparing for my next work this month and do a little bit of finishing for the previous month. I intend to post all of them on my blog if I judge them good enough to deserve a place on the blog.

• 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!!).

Q1 Update: I have to start working on this goal. I have made a vegan banana bread and chocolate cake in March but that was not what I had in mind. So, to me I have to work on this. I would probably choose Q3 and Q4 to work on this.

That's all for now from my side. Hope to make a better progress in the next quarter. 

2019 Goals

It is March already!!! 2019 seems to be flying by much faster than any other year. I guess we feel the same every year.
This year I have really thought long and hard about what I would like to achieve during the course of this year. I have looked for inspiration everywhere and finally found it in 7 Habits of Highly Effective People course work and this blog which I think explained the 7 habits very well with real life and relatable examples . The latter also has a great podcast, which I really love as well. If you have not read/heard it already, I highly recommend that you give it a shot. After a mediocre 2018, I am determined to have a great 2019.

So, here is my set of goals for this year, I am not going to explain how the 7 habits inspired me or how it is linked to this blog, as that will make this already very long blog, much longer.

All I can say is that you can definitely find traces of it in my goals. Though I am publishing this only in March, I have been working on several of my goals already for sometime:

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.

Personal Development:

Once upon a time, I used to be very well-informed. However, over a period of time, I stopped keeping up with current affairs. It was quite embarrassing for me during a conversation, with a few colleagues, that I did not even know that Indra Nooyi had stepped down as the CEO of Pepsi Co and I learnt of it so much later. Apart from this, I have not been really acquiring new skills or new areas of knowledge for a long time. Anyway, I think it is not too late and I have decided to make amends this year.

• 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.

This year, I will dedicate myself to social cause(s) during my birthday month. I will write a separate blog about this when the time is right.

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

This year, I am not keeping any travel goals, if it happens well and good.

It already looks like a busy year and the only way I am going to achieve all of this, is through self-discipline- spending less time on social media and idle entertainment, owning my time more, being well organised and just not being lazy (I have appointed my husband a few minutes back as my lazy monitor. He has to "notify" me whenever I am being lazy).

I have bunch of other goals too but they are too private in nature and will not be a part of this blog but just to give you an idea, these are about family and friendships.

2018- End of Year Goals Update

Before I go into the specific goals, I would just like to quickly talk about my impressions of my 2018. I think overall, it has been a good year but not without a quarter or two of high stress. I know I could not meet all that I had set out to achieve in the beginning  of the year. After some reflection, I realise this is mainly due to how I chose to manage my time. I was working longer hours in the last 2 quarters of the year and ended up feeling too tired to work on anything else and also there have been some changes in my priorities. Professionally, I think it was a year of a lot of learning which helped me grow not only as a professional but also in my personal life. Though I may not have managed to achieve what I set out to do but I think I could achieve other things which I did not plan in the beginning of the year. So, I think I just replaced the activities in the time set out for working on my goals with other activities which were also quite important for my growth. I set goals to be a better version of myself and challenge myself to get out of my comfort zone. I think I have achieved this for sure.

Health: Keep up my daily exercise routine and ensure that I work-out atleast 5 days a week. Eat healthy meals every day- monthly once cheat day would be allowed. I would also go to bed at a pre-defined time and wake up everyday at the same time
Year end update: I started this year pretty strong, lost track somewhere in between but I did come back again pretty strong. I can still improve the number of hours that I put in but it is definitely much better than last year.

Sharpening My Culinary Skills: I have decided to not just cook regular homely meals but push myself to prepare more gourmet dishes. I have made some in 2017 as well but would like to take things to another level. I have decided to cook 10 gourmet savoury dishes and 10 gourmet sweet dishes in the year. I will be scheduling this in my monthly planner. It will take an effort to get the recipes and ingredients together. It is a little ambitious but I will do my best.

Year end Update: I started the actual work on this only in Q3 of the year and put an abrupt end to it half way through. However, when I now look back, I think I have exceeded my expectations compared to what I set out to do. When I look back, I did prepare over 10 gourmet dishes in each category. Also, the idea was to sharpen my culinary abilities which I have done, not only by preparing the dishes but also by pushing myself with respect to time. If you remember my mid-year update, I had mentioned, "In a span of 1 hour in the morning, I had to prepare an elaborate breakfast and a 3-4 course lunch for 3 whole months. I was amazed to find myself in the thick of planning and also rapid execution." I think, I should not ignore this dimension of my culinary ability.

Blogging: I have decided to blog once a week in 2018. I do not want to blog sporadically but keep to a schedule. I have been inspired by Mr. Vinod Ekbote who has been blogging for the last 10 years and has been posting every Friday on his blog without fail- click here to check out the blog. I just think I need to set time aside for it and do it every week. I have a diary that is full of things that I would like to put up on my blog but due to several reasons have not been able to do so. However, I am determined to do it in 2018.

Year end Update: I was hoping to have 52 blogs by today but that is not to be, unfortunately. I have been writing regularly but have not been able to publish many. I am happy that I am at least making the effort. I hope to be able to publish some today. I took 2 big breaks this year for travelling and I disconnected myself almost completely from the internet and I enjoyed myself thoroughly through these breaks. I do not regret not publishing all my writing. I also have been reading a bit about how people with full time jobs and working long hours manage to stick to a blogging routine. I have found some useful tips and hope to implement some of them in 2019.

Watercolour Art: I am enjoying learning watercolour art from various online resources. I would make at least 10 proper watercolour paintings in 2018. It just must be scheduled in my monthly planner.

Year end Update: I had mentioned in my mid-year that I have not focussed a lot. This is work in progress and I think I should be able to achieve it tonight :-)

Writing: in my journal everyday and at least one page a day. The goal I had in 2017 was to finish writing on all pages of the journal, which in the hindsight, did not make much sense. The goal for 2018 will not only ensure that I keep to my habit of writing, but also as a bonus, would help me finish writing on all the pages. I hope I will not get demotivated like 2017 and give up.

Year end Update: I have written consistently in the first half of the year but in the 3rd quarter, I just lost way. I must have written a couple of times and that is about it. I will be honest, I really did not focus on writing after mid-year. I really did not have anything to write about. I think, in 2019, I will focus on writing weekly probably. Daily, is quite unrealistic to be honest.

Reading: I have lowered the number of books to read in 2018 to 10. As you can see, there is a lot on my plate and I do not want to make the activity that I love so much to be one that induces stress. I would also like to read some good literature, and not just fun-light reading books. I think reading before bed works for me great and I think a good 15-30 minutes before bed would be great.

Year end Update: Though I have been on track and have been reading regularly and almost everyday, I was unable to finish all 10. This year though, for the very first time, I have read more non-fiction books compared to any of the previous years. I see that as a progress for myself as I always chose to read fiction. I have read non-fiction as well but I not anything like this year.

Travelling: It is my goal to travel to 5 different places in 2018. I better get started on my vacation planning soon.
Year end Update: I have definitely exceeded this goal this year. I took a vacation this year in August and went to several places in the UK and in my second vacation in December, I was able to go to my hometown in Mangalore, several places around it and also Goa :-)

Goals Update

Since we are so close to December, I was reflecting about my Goals this year. I think I have done quite okay but observed 2 of my goals in conflict with each other while working on them. I had a goal  of eating healthy and also one about cooking 10 gourmet savoury and 10 gourmet desserts. It took me a while to actually get started on this latter. I finally kicked off the latter goal in quarter 3 of the year. However, while I worked my way up to the recipe list, I realised that almost all of them are quite unhealthy and I had to prioritise which of those 2 goals are more important to me. I chose the former- leading a healthy life and eating healthy. This means that I will no longer work on my goal gourmet cooking for this year.

I love cooking up a good meal for my family and friends and I want to really cook gourmet food. I need sometime to come up with healthy gourmet recipes either myself or find them online. I will need some time to work on this. I feel pretty terrible about not working on the goal as it was something I was excited about and to be honest, one of the reasons I procrastinated on this particular  goal was the health factor. I really cannot punish my loved ones in order to meet a personal goal.

Having said this, I have been cooking regularly and have tried my hand at various cuisines- some of which have been big hits and some, huge misses. I am determined to work on this goal next year, maybe I will modify the numbers a bit. However, making the food I prepare healthy would be my priority.

Also, I had previously mentioned, I have sharpened my culinary skills this year by working under immense amount of time-pressure and I cherish that experience.

This is it from me- a small post with an update on a goal I will not be working on this year anymore. P.S: The picture put up in the header of this blog is my pumpkin soup and I came up with the recipe for it on my own and shared it with an aunt, who prepared and loved the soup.

Q3 Update on Goals

How fast the year has flown by!!! It was just yesterday that we were greeting each other for the New Year and now, all of a sudden, we are in the las quarter of the year. I think this year, more than any other before, I have been able to focus on my personal goals more than ever before. I think tracking them through the year in my blog has helped me to keep that focus. Let us see how Q3 went for me.

Health: Keep up my daily exercise routine and ensure that I work-out atleast 5 days a week. Eat healthy meals every day- monthly once cheat day would be allowed. I would also go to bed at a pre-defined time and wake up everyday at the same time.

Q3 Update: This quarter, I have been able to put all the laziness in the bag and have been exercising every single day. I would like focus on my eating habits along with the exercise in this last quarter. I have been able to sleep, fairly around the same time and wake up at the same time. It is just that, I think I should be working on sleeping for longer hours in this last quarter as I do not get in the whole 8 hours.

Sharpening My Culinary Skills: I have decided to not just cook regular homely meals but push myself to prepare more gourmet dishes. I have made some in 2017 as well but would like to take things to another level. I have decided to cook 10 gourmet savoury dishes and 10 gourmet sweet dishes in the year. I will be scheduling this in my monthly planner. It will take an effort to get the recipes and ingredients together. It is a little ambitious but I will do my best.

Q3 Update: This quarter, I finally kicked off the grand gourmet journey. I know I still have a bit of journey here but I am glad I started it as now I am bursting with ideas. I hope, by the end of the year, I will be able to achieve it.

Blogging: I have decided to blog once a week in 2018. I do not want to blog sporadically but keep to a schedule. I have been inspired by Mr. Vinod Ekbote who has been blogging for the last 10 years and has been posting every Friday on his blog without fail- click here to check out the blog. I just think I need to set time aside for it and do it every week. I have a diary that is full of things that I would like to put up on my blog but due to several reasons have not been able to do so. However, I am determined to do it in 2018.

Q3 Update: After a break that I took from blogging mid-year, I am now back to blogging consistently. I have not been able to clear my backlog but now I have a bagful of ideas for content so I hope to get in all the 52 blogs by end of this year.

Watercolour Art: I am enjoying learning watercolour art from various online resources. I would make at least 10 proper watercolour paintings in 2018. It just must be scheduled in my monthly planner.

Q3 Update: I had mentioned in my mid-year that I have not focussed a lot. I have some ideas but that would be executed only in the last month of the year. So, still on hold. 

Launching my Youtube Channel: This has been on my mind for some time. I have still some way to go. I am not sure if it will be possible in 2018. I have to shoot some high quality videos and do some high quality editing. This is a good-to-do goal for 2018 and not must-do as I do not want to rush into it and put up some shoddy videos out in public.

Q3 Update: During my mid-year review, I had written- "I am not working towards it too much. I do not feel prepared yet for this. I have created some private video content but there is still a long way to go. I might not actively pursue this goal this year. If it happens, well and good but I will not beat myself up if it does not work out." I am not going to pursue this, this year and also maybe next. So, in my end of the year update, this goal would be removed.

Writing: in my journal everyday and at least one page a day. The goal I had in 2017 was to finish writing on all pages of the journal, which in the hindsight, did not make much sense. The goal for 2018 will not only ensure that I keep to my habit of writing, but also as a bonus, would help me finish writing on all the pages. I hope I will not get demotivated like 2017 and give up.

Q3 Update: I have written consistently in the first half of the year but in the 3rd quarter, I just lost way. I must have written a couple of times and that is about it. Anyway, in Q3, I plan to write regularly again.

Reading: I have lowered the number of books to read in 2018 to 10. As you can see, there is a lot on my plate and I do not want to make the activity that I love so much to be one that induces stress. I would also like to read some good literature, and not just fun-light reading books. I think reading before bed works for me great and I think a good 15-30 minutes before bed would be great.

Q3 Update: I am reading everyday and regularly so I am quite confident about achieving this goal by Q3. I have already read over 60% of the books.

Travelling: It is my goal to travel to 5 different places in 2018. I better get started on my vacation planning soon.
Q3 Update: I have achieved this goal for this year but I would like to visit more places, if possible before end of this year. Can't wait.....

Mid Year Review of Goals

In the beginning of the year, I set aside some goals (click here). I also reviewed my performance in the first quarter (click here)It was time I reviewed my performance on these just to see where I am in the middle of the year:

Health: Keep up my daily exercise routine and ensure that I work-out atleast 5 days a week. Eat healthy meals every day- monthly once cheat day would be allowed. I would also go to bed at a pre-defined time and wake up everyday at the same time.

Mid year Update: I have worked hard towards this goal this year compared to any of the previous years. I must admit, sometimes I fall of the wagon for weeks but then I find myself bouncing back. I have to just control my portion sizes to be healthy.

Sharpening My Culinary Skills: I have decided to not just cook regular homely meals but push myself to prepare more gourmet dishes. I have made some in 2017 as well but would like to take things to another level. I have decided to cook 10 gourmet savoury dishes and 10 gourmet sweet dishes in the year. I will be scheduling this in my monthly planner. It will take an effort to get the recipes and ingredients together. It is a little ambitious but I will do my best.

Mid year Update: While I have gathered enough recipes to kick start this goal, I just have not been able to. However, I found myself subjected to a new kind of a challenge quite unexpectedly. In a span of 1 hour in the morning, I had to prepare an elaborate breakfast and a 3-4 course lunch for 3 whole months. I was amazed to find myself in the thick of planning and also rapid execution. Planning and speedy execution is a new dimension to my culinary ability now and I must say, I impressed myself. I still believe, in the 2nd half of the year, I should be able to work toward my original goal.

Blogging: I have decided to blog once a week in 2018. I do not want to blog sporadically but keep to a schedule. I have been inspired by Mr. Vinod Ekbote who has been blogging for the last 10 years and has been posting every Friday on his blog without fail- click here to check out the blog. I just think I need to set time aside for it and do it every week. I have a diary that is full of things that I would like to put up on my blog but due to several reasons have not been able to do so. However, I am determined to do it in 2018.

Mid year Update: I had been quite consistent until May. May onwards, I went through a downward spiral. While I wrote a lot, I could not find the time to edit and publish, being caught up at work in office and home. However, in the month of August, I am catching up quickly and hope to clear up the backlog by mid- September.

Watercolour Art: I am enjoying learning watercolour art from various online resources. I would make at least 10 proper watercolour paintings in 2018. It just must be scheduled in my monthly planner.

Mid year Update: I must admit, I have not focussed on this goal at all. However, I have some ideas up my sleeve, so I hope to achieve what I set up for myself.

Launching my Youtube Channel: This has been on my mind for some time. I have still some way to go. I am not sure if it will be possible in 2018. I have to shoot some high quality videos and do some high quality editing. This is a good-to-do goal for 2018 and not must-do as I do not want to rush into it and put up some shoddy videos out in public.

Mid year Update: I am not working towards it too much. I do not feel prepared yet for this. I have created some private video content but there is still a long way to go. I might not actively pursue this goal this year. If it happens, well and good but I will not beat myself up if it does not work out.

Writing: in my journal everyday and at least one page a day. The goal I had in 2017 was to finish writing on all pages of the journal, which in the hindsight, did not make much sense. The goal for 2018 will not only ensure that I keep to my habit of writing, but also as a bonus, would help me finish writing on all the pages. I hope I will not get demotivated like 2017 and give up.

Mid year Update: I have been doing this quite regularly but to be honest, I really do not have much or anything to write on certain days. However, I am doing way better than 2017. I would say I have written on 90% of the days. In the last couple of months though, I have not been writing regularly. I actually forgot all about this goal. This review has found to be beneficial again. I will actively write again.

Reading: I have lowered the number of books to read in 2018 to 10. As you can see, there is a lot on my plate and I do not want to make the activity that I love so much to be one that induces stress. I would also like to read some good literature, and not just fun-light reading books. I think reading before bed works for me great and I think a good 15-30 minutes before bed would be great.

Mid year Update: I am happy to have made good progress after a slow start, I have completed reading 6 out of the ten and I am reading everyday- I am confident of achieving this goal too.

Travelling: It is my goal to travel to 5 different places in 2018. I better get started on my vacation planning soon.

Mid year Update: I am happy to say that I have already been to 5 (or more) different places this year already and I would blog about them soon, and, I would love some more travel. I hope before the end of the year, I can visit some more places.