In my previous post, we looked at how 2022 went by. This is a follow-up post on what my plans/goals are for 2023.

Goals for 2023 Link to heading

I have three major goals for 2023:

  • 100 blog posts by end of year
    • The plan is to challenge myself with #100DaysToOffload, already on the second post now. 98 to go!
  • 3-4 days of exercise per week
    • I’ve been using USC in Berlin for a while now. I want to stay a bit more consistent and exercise at least 3/4 times per week. The plan is to go bouldering twice a week, gym once a week, and squash/badminton/table-tennis once a week.
  • Only 1 aerated drink per 2 weeks
    • I love coke (the SFW kind. Sugary Drinks.). I could have it with every meal. But we all know it’s not good for us (yes, even the zero versions). So I want to cut down on it. Maybe someday I will eliminate them from my diet, but for now 1 drink per 2weeks seems like an achievable goal. My favorite substitute is going to be fresh orange juice.

Stretch Goals Link to heading

  • 1 SAAS product
    • I really respect indie devs. I’ve been following the space for a while now. While someday I hope to make some $$$ out of this. For now, I just want to get into the habit of building. So setting some low expectation on this stretch goal. I just want to build a simple SAAS product (the entire stack). The idea doesn’t really matter, just build for the experience of building.

How to pick Goals Link to heading

Add metrics to your goals Link to heading

It’s really important to add metrics to your goals, metrics help you track, plan and also act as milestones. For e.g. a common goal most people have is I want to get fit this year. While this is an amazing goal, it is really vague. What does get fit really mean? Does it mean eating healthy? Does it mean regular exercise? Or does it mean always taking the stairs?

Vague goals are easy to sidetrack. For e.g. having a goal Write more blog posts this year means I can always decide to procrastinate and think “Maybe I will write one next week”. It just doesn’t drive accountability.

Add trackable metrics to your goals, “100 blog posts for the year” is goal you can track, it also allows you to break down your goal to having a milestone of ~2 blog posts/week.

Goals should be achievable Link to heading

Most people (read as myself) often get ambitious when setting goals. Instead of being realistic, they tend to be optimistic.

Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.

Rubbish! Being a bit pessimistic here, but this often ends with people giving up. When your goals are too hard, you just stop trying. Instead, take those big dreams and break them down. Start with smaller goals and consider your current situations. Small achievements add up and motivate you to reach your bigger goals.

Want to hit the gym every day? Start going twice a week. Do it for a year. Then add a day. Repeat! Dream big, start small!

Pick fewer goals Link to heading

There just isn’t enough time. Things will come up!, You will get busy!. Pick a few goals, and put all your effort into achieving them. This also will act as a first exercise of prioritization.

This is post 002 of #100DaysToOffload.