As I started thinking about what to focus on in 2020 – and what to write in this blog post – I realized that not much has changed in my life since the last time I set my goals in 2019.
Similarly, if you were to read my 2019 goals and then compare them to the goals outlined in this post, you’d realize little has changed about who I strive to be. If anything I’ve just honed the same list of goals I posted last year.
To be straightforward about myself and the direction I’m going in life, I imagine that I’m starting to converge on a set of goal areas that will begin to stick with me year after year. Realistically, I’m not going to dramatically shift course and become a rockstar. Not for now at least.
Here are my focus areas for 2020 and my thoughts on them.
Running allows me to free my mind and focus all of my energy on moving forward. It allows me to stop worrying about work, relationships, life and to get outside. It is the cornerstone of my physical and mental health. I strive to continue running consistently, pushing myself while also knowing when to rest.
I read more often in 2019 than I did in 2018, but not by much. I want to read consistently to explore new worlds and slow down the pace by which I live. I want to explore new authors and ideas, broadening my horizons about the world. I don’t care about speed or book size to be honest. But I do value consistency in the habit.
I’ve progressed in my career over the past few years. This has caused me to be more engaged at work, leaving me less energy when I get home. I’ve seen others around me at work who have put their career advancement ahead of their personal relationships and the outcome is not something I’d like to replicate. No matter what I do, I want to focus on caring for, and spending time with, the people around me.
Drinking caffeine makes me productive, but also makes it hard for me to sleep at night; drinking alcohol relaxes me, but at the cost of feeling tired the next day. They’re a great pair, one a higher high and one a lower low. However, I just can’t shake the feeling that I prefer to be at a consistent level of energy throughout the day. It makes my life more consistently enjoyable.
(This isn’t to say I won’t drink the occasional cup of coffee or the occasional glass of wine. I am not that extreme.)
I find that owning things attaches me to the idea of what those things represent. Owning less means more focus. By freeing myself of those attachments I have more room to breathe and exist in the areas of life that are important to me. I strive to not buy things I don’t need and to not affect the environment more than I need to.
–
And that’s it. Those are my areas of focus for 2020. No metrics, no OKRs, no KPIs – just things I care about continuing to care about.
Happy 2020!