#goals

I've spent much of the last few days (weeks, really) putting off my year-review-and-planning process. This is one of those things I do where, when describing it to people, I realise that I treat my life like a job. Alex Vermeer's 8760 Hours system is the one I use, and while not perfect, it seems to align pretty well with the way I think about things. I went through the process for the first time at the end of last year and found it very useful, albeit somewhat effortful to get going with. Yesterday I reviewed 2017 across several key areas—values & purpose, contribution & impact, location & tangibles, money & finances, career & work, health & fitness, education & skill development, social life & relationships, emotions & wellbeing, character & identity, productivity & organisation and adventure & creativity, for those who are interested.

It was a fascinating exercise looking at the goals I set myself a year ago and seeing how many I'd completed, how many I'd not quite managed and how many just seem a bit silly. For some I had very strong intentions around some at the start of the year, forgot about them in the middle but then returned to them as though they were completely new towards the end.

Today I set my goals and priorities for 2018, and my success or lack thereof in each category last year has informed my focus for this year: "Health & Fitness" was a pretty much unqualified success—I achieved every single one of the goals I set for myself in that category, so I've made that top priority again this year in the hope that I'll be able to sustain my momentum there. "Values & Purpose", meanwhile, did not have a single fulfilled goal, so I've bumped that up to a higher priority so I spend more time pursuing goals in those areas this year. Some of the new goals are retreads of last year's goals, some are extensions of last year's goals, some are new and completely exciting things that are somewhat a function of having completed last year's goals.

Going through the process has helped me get my footing in a week where I've suddenly been deprived of the busyness and social whirl that's occupied so much of the last month or so, leaving me a bit bereft. Thinking about where I've been and where I'm going has cheered me up and focused my mind wonderfully, even as it's stopped me playing Night In The Woods for two days running. It also served to underline that, as I mentioned yesterday, 2017 was a very busy year! Hopefully I'll be able to do more in 2018.