2019 Accomplishments and 2020 Goals
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A friend recently went off on how he hates these kinds of blog posts but I can’t help myself from sharing. Yes it’s very egotistical, but you could say that about the majority of a personal blog. I also like posting since my blog posts have a way of lasting a lot longer than some random document on my computer and it is fun to read these things years after the fact. (eg: my 2018 post, my 2017 post)
With all that said, a look back and a look ahead…
2019 Recap
My previous goals:
- Diversify and increase my income.
- Add more clients so less dependent on single large client.
- Add passive income through a new product/service.
- Shoot for a 10% income increase.
I did pretty well here. I expanded my client roster and made income from four unique clients and was even able to bill for Elixir work. I made a slight amount more than 2018 but this also included a month of no client work in December. If that month had some billable work I might have made my 10% goal. I did not add any passive income via new projects but I have been working hard on Club House Hosting and hope it will start paying clients in the Spring (beta clients even sooner).
- Be better at shipping/executing.
- 2017 & 2018 was a lot of learning new tech, demo projects.
- 2019 needs to be about shipping real value.
Did not ship as much as I wanted to. Still keeping up with a pile of new tech to learn. 2020 should see a lot of open threads start to close and showcase via shipping projects.
- Do a better job of tracking my time.
- 20-30 client hours/week
- 20-30 project hours/week
- 50 total “work” hours/week
I did a good job tracking, up till December. December is a wash according to my time records. There was no active client work and I did not track my personal projects (though meaning time was spent).
More so, the goal is less about tracking and more about making my hours more productive. Having tasks to fill those 20-40 minute blocks where I can’t start deep work but I should still find something to do.
- Better code documentation.
I am very happy with my work on this. I was much better about both inline code documentation as well as for descriptive guides and such.
- Utilize work byproducts as education / blog opportunities.
This is a big fat F. I think about it a lot but don’t have much to show for it.
Other 2019 Things of Note
I rebooted the Elixir Meetup Group in May and we’ve been having monthly meetings ever since. We have a small but active group chatting with each other on Slack and some even keeping up with a weekly book club. Really proud of group and hope to expand it in 2020.
I lost a long time (2+ year) client. The project I had been hired for was closing and the budget forced on them just didn’t have allocations for me. I was lucky enough to balance this with some new contract work with a new client but none-the-less, it hurts to loose that stable income.
With a lack of client work at the end of year I was able to rebuild this site. I like the way it’s come out and hopefully the more detailed For Hire and Projects sections will help me land some new projects.
It’s only a baby step but I’m doing much better with my soda intake. I used to drink soda constantly while working on the computer and now I no longer drink any at home. I will get a soda at a restaurant or on occasion when I’m out but more than not I’m drinking water instead.
2020 Goals
- Take better care of myself
- New general practitioner doctor.
- More checkups.
- More exercise.
- Launch Club House Hosting
- Setup some sample groups during an open beta.
- Do formal public release in Spring before MicroConf in April.
- Keep motivated and accountable via Mastermind groups.
- Work on keeping consultancy work healthy
- More marketing of my skills to potentials clients.
- More industry writing.
- Start automated deposits into retirement accounts.
- Attend more social events outside the tech zone
- Already started this by rebooting the IndyHall poker game.
- Want to find opportunities outside the bar scene.
Regardless if you post or share, it’s very much worth it to take stock and write down your goals. Good luck with them in the new year!