Personal Goals for 2020

I’m a very late getting around to this, because I’ve simply been too busy to write anything for this blog let alone make significant progress on personal objectives. However, in parts, the approach worked well last year. So, I’m going to do again, but I’m going to be slightly less prescriptive in some of my goals, as it’s more about achieving self-actualisation than a laundry list of stuff to do. So, things like home improvement and maintenance (which I often have little choice but do) and long-shot vanity projects are out. Instead I’m looking for progression in the things I’m already working towards.

One. Get a podcast out there. Not necessarily one of the scripts I have been developing for the last few years, which needs substantial effort and collaboration to realise, but maybe something simpler. I have an idea which should be much easier to get off the ground, and if it works might be a catalyst for what I really want to do.

Two. Improve physical strength and fitness. I’m now running 5k at least once a week, I’m slow, but twelve months ago I struggled with 100m. Now I want to build on that. I’ve purchased a weight set I can use at home (getting to a gym regularly is pretty much impossible), so I want to build up my core strength. In the medium term I’d like to get my 5k time down from around forty minutes, to closer to thirty minutes. That’s a big ask, as it means losing two minutes per kilometre off my pace. I’m going to start by mixing my runs with faster but shorter distances to build pace. Longer-term I’d like to get my distance up to 10k.    

Three. Stabilise my weight at 100kg. I’m currently weighing in between 103 and 104kg. That’s around 12kg lighter than twelve months ago, but 100kg is the weight the consultant told me I needed to get down to when I started out on my CKD journey about eight years ago.

Four. Improve my technical knowledge. I don’t want to make this one specific to a particular programming language such as DAX or Python, instead I want to continue upskilling. Last year I made significant progress learning DAX, and I recently achieved my Azure Fundamentals certification, but I want to kick on from here. For most of my career in Business Intelligence I’ve relied on my natural strengths as an analyst and coupled it with an ability pick up and be competent on the basics technically, but in recent years I’ve been pushed away from my comfort zone into the development side of BI, and that has meant going beyond just basic competence on the technical skills.