Reviewing 2019 goals
To kick-off 2019, I wrote an article in which I set some goals for 2019. I had planned to check in on those goals more frequently:
I am going to check back on these goals throughout the year and track my progress in a different article.
But alas, the best laid plans of mice and men!
Now that it is December of 2019 January of 2020, I wanted to take the chance to measure my progress towards those goals that I set.
Review
đź‘Ž Dive deeper into Python
I didn’t do anything more with Python this year. I even turned away from Python for simple scripting projects in favor of Bash or node.js. I’m still a fan, but I don’t see a big use case for Python in my current career path.
đź‘Ž Learn machine learning
ML sounds cool and exciting, but there weren’t a lot of opportunities to utilize it in my work as a front-end engineer.
đź‘Ž Demystify module bundlers
This is still a good idea, but I haven’t done it (yet).
🎉 Release two npm packages
I published two npm packages in January of 2019 alone. This is something I want to continue to do going forward.
🤷‍♂️ Investigate React tooling
I learned a lot this year about tooling in a JavaScript environment, but I think my goal was a little misguiding in thinking that a dotfiles repo would be the answer.
đź‘Ž Publish 24 articles
By my count, I published about a dozen articles in 2019. I would like to strive for this goal in 2020 too.
đź‘Ž A partner for Jr Devs
I moved to Pittsburgh in the summer of 2019, but Jr Devs had stalled before that. I never found the right fit within the Atlanta developer community, and a partner wasn’t going to change that.
🎉 Speaking on tech
While I did not present at another Meetup in 2019, I did give a talk about React and Accessibility at the Connect.Tech conference in Atlanta. I enjoyed the experience, but I think sharing at Meetups is a little more my speed.
đź‘Ž Dating my wife
We didn’t schedule any official dates in 2019, but I don’t think either of us missed it. I need to check with my wife again to see if this is something we want to try in 2020.
🎉 Being a good father
While we were living in Atlanta, I cared for our son on Saturdays while my wife worked. We would regularly go to the park or around town on errands while she was gone. Here in Pittsburgh, her schedule has changed and I don’t have that dedicated parenting time.
Once the winter is through, I want to sieze opportunities to take my son on new adventures in a new city.
🎉 Leading our household
In 2019 we continued to have regular family worship in the evenings and added another time over the breakfast table. It has been a huge encouragement to see my son begin to develop the skills necessary to worship God throughout his life: sitting, listening, singing, and praying (sort of). I no longer teach Sunday school but am open to that possibility here in Pittsburgh.
đź‘Ž Work out
I wasn’t even close. This is something to reassess in 2020.
đź‘Ž Play soccer
I was not able to attend pick-up soccer regularly in Atlanta and have yet to find a group in Pittsburgh. This is something that I would like to try again in 2020. Maybe twice a month, though.
Total score: 4/12 (33.33%)
At face value, that’s not a great completion rate. But it is all a learning opportunity.
You can see by going through the list the difference between goals that I thought were important vs. the ones that were actually important. I’m happy with the four successes and am looking forward to reaching towards the other goals in this new year.
Here’s to new attempts in a new year!