My Goals and Systems for 2021

Image by Lisa Fotios

Oh, look, another blog post about me. I know, I know, most of the posts lately have been about me and not much else. Don't worry that's changing this month.

Like I mentioned in my last blog post I'm committing to two blog posts a week. Sadly, this counts as the second post this week while I iron some things out for work.

"You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems." - James Clear

That's a powerful statement. So powerful in fact that I had it printed and framed so I could be reminded of that every day.

What are my Goals?

Unlike previous years I'm going to keep things simple

Focus on my health

• Diet
• Exercise
• Mental Health
• Daily Routines

Focus on my career change

I'm moving from being just a developer to also being a developer advocate, and an educator

• Writing
• Public Speaking
• Recording content

That's only two areas of my life and look at how many things are involved. No wonder I only averaged a 70% success rate in previous years with my gigantic lists.

What are my Systems?

Health

Luckily I already have some systems in place for these. Unlike previous years I didn’t wait until New Years' to get started. Back in October of 2020, I enlisted the help of a nutrition specialist and mental health professional to get my life in order. That’s also when I started minimizing my home which has been fantastic for my mental and physical wellbeing.

Just a quick side-note, I track almost everything in MyFitnessPal.

Diet

Without getting into specifics of the diet, I currently plan my meals two weeks in advance. That way I can figure out the ingredients needed and set up an Instacart delivery for the weekend. I usually spend Sunday prepping as much as I can and cooking for at least half the week.

I try to stick to the same 20 or 30 recipes so I have variety but don't have to think too much about what I'm going to make that week.

Exercise

Exercise is built into my day now, whether I like it or not. I wake up at 5:30 A.M., do my planned exercises for at least 20-minutes, then head out on a morning walk. I walk three times a day; morning, afternoon, and evening. My walks are more of a time to think about the day or whatever’s on my mind.

Eventually, in the late Spring, I’ll start hiking again.

Mental Health

Get a therapist. Why? Because we all have crap we're dealing with and it helps to talk to someone who understands how to frame things and help us understand them. I see my therapist virtually every two weeks and it's one of the best investments I've ever made. If you're in I.T. you're probably stressed, don't bottle it up.

Daily Routines

I made this a section onto itself because I have daily routines that tie into everything I do, so it’s easier to think of it as a standalone category.
After I get back from my walks I usually sit down with something to drink, that changes depending on the time of day, and write in my journal.

Yeah, yeah, I can hear you now. “Oh, they keep a diary, how precious.” Well, maybe not you, but that's paraphrased from a few people.

I find that physically writing in a journal, away from computers or smart devices, helps me think more fluidly. When I’m free of distractions ideas and thoughts seem to spring from nowhere and I capture them effortlessly. I’ve tried to do the same with note-taking apps but it’s just not the same.

I’m still figuring out these daily routines so we’ll see what I come up with in the next quarterly review.

Career

Honestly, I don’t know what systems I’ll put in place around these new career changes. At the moment all I can do is use time blocking to study what others have done and practice my style.

I tried to keep things short this time. I plan on focusing more intently on fewer things this year to have a higher chance of both success and excellence in what I choose to do. I hope you do the same.

How are your goals coming along? Tell me all about it in the comments or send me a tweet. I want to hear from you.

Stay safe and hydrate.