I’m a big fan of setting small, achievable goals. I’m also one of those people that adds things to my to-do list that I’ve already done just to make myself feel good. Both of those things sound harmless until I remember that they actually stem directly from my monstrous, soul-crushing fear of failure. ☠️
Failure’s not so bad though, right? It’s like C.S. Lewis said: “One fails forward to success.” I have a few goals for this year, and I also have a little boy who’s on the cusp of learning to walk. So yeah, I might achieve my goals, or I might spend every waking moment pulling my toddler away from the dogs’ water or kissing bruises on his little head. (Honestly, I’m fine with both of those scenarios.)
With that said, here are some things I might fail beautifully at this year:
Blogging More
I love Twitter, but I also love my blog and I feel like I’ve been neglecting it. Also, Manton Reece’s upcoming Micro.blog service has gotten me all excited about self-hosting my thoughts again (check it out on Kickstarter!). Accomplishing this goal will require me to make a significant lifestyle change: I will no longer be able to be a Twitter timeline completionist. It’s just too time consuming! Thinking about declaring Twitter bankruptcy on a regular basis simultaneously pains me and frees me. I’m looking forward to trying it.
There’s a second part to this goal, and it’s this: I want to “be myself” more on the Internet. It’s not that I haven’t been genuine; it’s just that I’ve been a little withdrawn and I feel like my own blog posts have been lacking “voice.” Hopefully that makes sense!
Making Money
I’m becoming a competent iOS developer and that means it’s time to make some money from this gig. My goal is to make $1000 from the App Store this year. This means I’m going to have to work hard and ship some stuff. I’d love for one of those things to be Corgi Corral, however I’m not actually expecting to make any money from that. I just started working on a new project that’s of local interest, and I’m hoping it’ll help me get started toward my goal.
Reading Some Books
Here are some books I’d like to read this year:
- Swift Style by Erica Sadun
- Making Sense of Color Management by Craig Hockenberry
- Aqua and Bondi by Stephen Hackett
- A book on either animations in iOS or UI design
There are also a few non-techie books about parenting that I’d like to read (the kind that inspire you and make you feel better, not the kind that make you feel like the world’s worst parent!).
I’m sure I’ll think of some other things throughout the year, but this list is a good start. I also decided that I’m going to try to earn the New Year’s Apple Watch activity achievement. One day down, six to go! ?