A year ago today, I declared the following intentions for the decade. I wanted them to be broader than SMART goals, something that I could have as guideposts. I have no idea what my life might look like in 2030, but if I’ve consistently worked towards these intentions, I think that I will be happy and healthy and satisfied with where I am.
- Maintain relationships.
- Take care of my body.
- Have a career that I am proud of.
- Read more books.
- Save and invest to build wealth.
Here’s what progress I made on each of these intentions in 2020.
Maintain relationships – I spent more time and energy maintianing relationships with long-distance friends this year, and didn’t spend as much time as I would like maintaining relationships with my local friends.
Take care of my body – I did pretty well here, from an exercise perspective. I got some type of exercise fairly consistently throughout 2020. I ran more in the beginning of the year, walked throughout the beginning of the pandemic, and started weightlifting in the late summer and fall. I’ve started doing a specific weightlifting program, and I’ve found that to be very motivating.
In terms of nutrition, I feel like I’m in a decent place – I haven’t tried to eat in any particular way this year or follow a particular diet, but I’ve been eating more vegetables and cooking more for myself. I think this is the most sustainable long-term plan for me – I don’t do well with the restriction of following a specific diet, but I can do pretty well with eating mostly vegetables and meat, and occasionally having ice cream. One thing that I struggled with this year was eating meals consistently. With my routine disrupted, it was sometimes challenging to cook and eat meals consistently.
Have a career that I’m proud of – I am doing well here – I got a promotion from Dean of Operations to Director of Operations in October, and I’m growing into the new role. It’s a shift from being responsible for a portion of the school operations to being responsible for the success of everything, and coaching the Dean of Operations and the Front Desk Receptionist. I feel like I’m learning a lot and improving here.
Read more books – I read 32 books this year. COVID-19 and being home more gave me the chance to read more books, which was an unexpected win. I’ve been blogging about every book I read this year, and I still have a few more 2020 books to blog about.
Save and invest to build wealth – I hit a net worth goal that I’ve been working towards for a while this year, and I’m really proud of that. Overall, the pandemic has caused me to spend significantly less money in certain areas (dining out, plane tickets) and significantly more money in other areas (utilities, groceries, home renovations.) At the beginning of the pandemic, I panicked and paused all my investments for about two months – it felt like the world was ending and I wanted to bulk up my emergency fund rather than put money in the market. I missed out on a potential gain by buying when the market was at it’s lowest, but I gained some peace of mind by having more cash in the bank.
For 2021, I’m still following the same intentions, but setting smaller goals in each area.
Maintain Relationships
- Call/Zoom/Meet up with a friend once/week.
- Call/Zoom my family once/week.
- Write someone a note (on paper, and mail it with a stamp) once/month.
- Add friend and family birthdays to my calendar and reach out to wish them a happy birthday.
Take Care of My Body
- Workout 4x/week.
- Cook 1 meal/day.
- #waterfirst – drink water before anything else in the morning.
Have a Career That I’m Proud Of
- Hit 95% attendance daily.
- Work with the team to plan a successful, socially distanced Black History Gala.
- Successfully execute state testing.
- Work with the team to plan a successful, socially distanced 8th Grade Graduation.
Read More Books
- Read and blog about 37 books this year.
Save and Invest to Build Wealth
- Reach $x in liquid assets.
- Invest $x/month.