My Goals for 2016

New years resolutions aren't really for me, but this year is going to be different. My life has become stagnant, repetitive and focused too much on one thing. It's time for change and the beginning of a new year is a great opportunity to make those changes.

I've decided to make a list of targets (not resolutions) for the coming year. It's something that's been encourage at various times in my career using techniques such as OKRs and V2MOMs. They appear to work well, but only if you make the goals measurable - saying "I'm going to do more exercise" won't work as it's not measurable. Saying "I'll run 10 miles a week" is a measurable goal. Here are the 4 goals I'm going to achieve this year...

Write more about my personal experiences

I've had this site for a while, and apart from a short spell of writing during my free time at University, I've never really got in the flow of regularly posting content, and when I have, it's always generally been centered around my work. This forms my first goal for the year, to write consistently about various aspects of both work and life. I'll be aiming to average one post a week throughout the year (that's 52 for anyone struggling with the maths).

• Aim: Write consistently
• Target: 52 posts

Finish in a sprint triathlon

In October 2014 I took on my biggest sporting challenge (outside of football) by running the Ealing half marathon with a few close friends. It was a great day and a fantastic event, but it wasn't something I decided to carry forward. It became clear that long distance running wasn't for me, but a multi-disciplined event excites me. By the end of the year, I'll be aiming to enter and complete a sprint triathlon (750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run). Time to get back in the pool!

• Aim: Complete a sprint triathlon
• Target: Get a shiny finishers medal

Cook more frequently and don't cut corners

The previous goal brings with it a few new challenges, one of which is to look after my body, and eating better is a great way to do that. I've been making excuses for years about why I rarely cook properly... "I've not got the time", "It's hard cooking for one" and "I'll only cook something that requires 2 minutes of washing up". This needs to change. Cooking is something I'll be doing for the rest of my life, so it would be absurd to not improve my skills and learn to enjoy the process more.

• Aim: Cook more frequently, using fresh ingredients and taking less shortcuts
• Target: One new meal a fortnight. No jars/shortcuts you lazy bastard!!

Side projects with a meaning

A great deal of my spare time over the past 3 years has been dedicated to my career by working on open source projects and doing a great deal of out of hours work. Although this has done a great things for me, I'd like to start applying that focus and effort towards my side projects, but not just any side projects. Giving back to my family and friends is something I've wanted to do for a while and I believe that using my skills can be a good way to do that. It can be anything from a simple application to help with managing their finances at home, to automating a mundane task at their workplace. I've no idea what kind of applications will come from this, but you never know, one could become something big (one can hope)!

• Aim: Develop side projects for friends and family
• Target: 4 developed/finished projects