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I only hit 50% on my 2010 goals and I’m looking to improve on that in 2011. So here we go, let’s do this.

• I’m a new Dad so I want to make sure that I keep my #1 goal from last year. I want to be around for Nolan so the main goal for me is to continue to work less. I know its a repeat goal, but I think its pretty important to keep the work / life balance in check. Goal #1: Continue to work less.
• While being a new Dad has a bunch of challenges, one of the biggest ones has been the lack of sleep. The little boss has been getting a lot better about sleeping through the night so my reliance on caffeine should be a lot less. Hopefully, I can replace some various carbonated beverages with water.
  Goal #2: Drink more water..
• My side business is still mainly a hobby for me. And while I will make it my sole source of income in the future, for the time being I can keep it as it is. One change I want to make this year is to ship code. I’ve had a bunch of ideas for iPhone apps, just haven’t found the time to get things out the door. Goal #3: Ship Code
• One thing that is nice about a blog is that you can update it whenever you want. You can also ignore it for weeks on end. One thing that I would like to change this year is to write more. I want to learn things just to learn about them again whether they are technical things, new code ideas, or just something that I find interesting completely unrelated to computers. Strong writers are strong communicators. Strong communication is key for both your personal life as well as your career. Goal #4: Write a new blog article every week.
• My last goal is probably very similar to a lot of New Year’s resolutions that are made but rarely accomplished. Its not that I’ve gotten fat. Not by a long stretch. But I have a sliding +/- for my weight. As long as I’m plus or minus 5 from X, I feel pretty good about where I am at. And I’m in that range, just been living a little bit on the higher side of my scale. So, in order to lower that, I’m going to commit to running more distance races this year. That should keep me in a certain fitness level that will allow me to stay in my range. Goal #5: Run in 3 5k races

So there you have them. My goals for 2011. I’m feeling pretty good about everything that I have on there. I think that I can do it all. Its just a matter of putting my mind to it, balancing out my time and putting in the hard work.

Well, its 2011 so that means its time to review my goals for 2010 and set some new ones. This post will be focused solely on reviewing 2010.

• Goal #1: work less – SUCCESS! I think that 2010 proved that I could be more productive at the office without putting in a lot of nights and weekends. My boss recently gave me the permission to say No! which has been huge for my productivity. I’m hoping that this current work environment continues through 2011. The future is exciting!
• Goal #2: 2 in 12. – FAIL! This was my running goal and while I did run more this year, I didn’t hit my goal. The best that I did when I was running quite a bit this summer was 1.5 in 9. 1 in 6 happened a few times but I couldn’t make it to 2 miles in 12. I was more commonly a 8 miler man honestly and it was only when I really really REALLY pushed myself did I hit those numbers. And to be honest, it was stupid when I did push myself like that. I always paid the price and couldn’t run for crap the next couple of times out. Nolan coming along kind of killed my endurance as I didn’t exercise nearly enough. But I’m turning that around.
• Goal #3: the 5 hour work week.- FAIL! I didn’t put in 5 hours a week, but I did do quite a bit better on the side business. More hours before Nolan but he’s falling into a nice pattern which is making it easier to dedicate that one hour back again.
• Goal #4: Inbox Zero! – FAIL yeah, not even close on this one.
• Goal #5: read one book a month. – SUCCESS! While it doesn’t seem like it, I read quite a bit this year. Maybe not every book all the way through, but a good majority of just about every baby resource I could get my hands on. A lot of them were fairly short and not near enough fiction books. But still, I call this one a success.
• Goal #6: Stop checking email first thing in the morning. – SUCCESS! I think it goes with #1 but I have definitely stopped checking things first thing in the morning. Maybe not as much now that Nolan is around and I need to pass the time while he sits up and falls asleep (typically) after his morning bottle.

Conclusion

It wasn’t a steller year, but still fairly successful as far as my goals went. While I fell short in quite a few areas, I did better than I expected while failing. I’ll live with 50% and look to improve this year. Onto 2011!

I’ve already stated my main 5 goals for 2010. But this morning I realized that I have developed a very bad habit since getting my iPhone a few years back. This is kind of related to goal #1 of work less. But I think it needs to be separated out on its one.

My iPhone serves several functions for me in the morning. Its my alarm, weather station and unfortunately, its my email client. Yup, one of the first things I do in the morning is check my email. Am I getting called by our 24/7 NOC? If there was something wrong, they would call! So why in the world am I checking first thing in the morning. I don’t need to know that right away. There are more important things to do like eat breakfast, take the dog for a walk, etc. Unless I have an early morning meeting (not recommended for programmers and admins), email just doesn’t need to be in the mix until I get into the office. At the very least it can wait until I have some Cherrios in my belly.

So goal #6: Stop checking email first thing in the morning.