2019 Goals: Finish More Things

Let me give you a lens into my madness.

I spent three weeks with my family this holiday break. Every time I go home, I revert. I turn into a high school student. I sequester myself in my bedroom and play video games. This year it was easier. I used my two month old to distract my parents while I regressed.

I replayed Baldur’s Gate. For those of you not familiar with Baldur’s Gate, it is a ground breaking, immersive role-playing game. The game (almost) perfectly captures what it feels like to play a tabletop role-playing game. It’s one of the first games where what you do in the game matters — your actions affect the world and the story. Baldur’s Gate is fun and beautiful and, also, 40–100 hrs long.

I invested the time. I made it to the last boss, and then I froze. I thought: “Oh crap, I can’t finish this game. I haven’t collected all the collectibles! What if I don’t get the best ending? What if I don’t find the best items?” I was at the finish line, and I quit. I do this all the time. This isn’t an isolated incident. It’s a pattern that extends beyond video games. I freeze at the end.

I need to reprogram myself. This year, finishing more things is the overarching theme. Done is better than perfect, which brings me to my first goal.

• Maintain a bullet journal for 6 months. I make to-do lists, and like most people who make to-do lists, I constantly lose track of tasks. While it’s ok to lose tasks, I want to see what might happen if I lost fewer tasks. Would I finish more things? I need structure, and a bullet journal is basically a structured to-do list management system. In theory, it should help surface important tasks that I might have forgotten.

Here is a bullet journal created by a human with more time and artistic talent than me. Mine will look less twee as my goal is to spend more time finishing things I start and less time color-coding my bowel movements. [from instagram: thngocbich]

Physical

• Practice an active hobby ~1/week for 6mo. I used to dance or rock-climb or learn circus tricks. Over the last two years, after hurting my wrist, I haven’t had a regular active hobby. This year, I’m open to re-engaging with old hobbies or learning a new one. A class setting is probably the best way to keep me honest, but if I find a way to practice on my own that’s great too.
• 15% body fat. A repeat from last year. I think that I can do this if I focus.
• Meat: max 1 meal a day for 3 months. Bacon and brisket, while delicious, make me feel horrible when I eat them four meals in a row. And it’s not like I don’t like vegetarian food. I grew up Hindu. I might have to learn to cook home-style food.
• Track what I eat at work for 3 months. Unlike Google, Apple isn’t a junkfood paradise, but we do have snacks. I’m a stress eater, and I turn to those snacks when I’m feeling overwhelmed. Mini-snickers, especially the almond kind, are my weakness. Tracking what I eat doesn’t have to be super detailed. I just want to write down what I ate so I can reflect on it later.

Personal

• See family 4x. Having a kid may render me unable to (read: unwilling to) fly a ton. But I do like my family and want to continue seeing them. I figure I can take two flights with the kid, and my family can fly to Seattle and spend time with the kid (read: babysit).
• Schedule 2 hours of hobby/project time each week. I need time to practice my hobbies: write code, read, draw, meditate, etc. But weekends are generally packed. There are often three events on one day. I like my friends, but I’m not gonna get anything done if I don’t set aside a couple of hours a week.

Creative

• Take a writing class. Last year I wanted to write more. I set two goals: write a blog post a month and write and perform a stand-up act. I didn’t write any blog posts, but I did perform a stand-up act. The difference was structure. I took a standup class. The class forced me to write and perform. I think a structured writing class will do the same this year.
• Read 26 books (8 non-fiction): I’ve read 26 books a year for the last few years. Last year I only read 3 non-fiction books. I’d like to spend more time reading non-fiction books this year.

Work

• Write one blog post about management and writing. I would like to write more. And I want to be a good manager. Reflecting on my experience is a good way to reinforce what I learn.
• Write code to build something using a new ________. Last year I set a goal to build and deploy a style transfer web app. That didn’t happen. I got lazy and I didn’t feel like doing any other programming project because I felt like I had to do this style transfer thing. This year, I’m gonna make this goal a bit more flexible. It can be anything. I can create an iOS app or try to train a video game playing deep learning system or learn a new, esoteric programming language.