One can choose to go back toward safety or forward toward growth. Growth must be chosen again and again; fear must be overcome again and again.
– Abraham Maslow
Planning ahead is not trivial, and it’s easy to get the goals wrong, but the exercise of reflecting and setting goals is valuable in itself. There are many ways to do this, and I’ve previously written about the process I follow. Doing this in public helps to keep me accountable.
My primary focus for 2024 was to establish healthy routines to strengthen my resilience, improve my well-being, and further my career. It turned out to be a turbulent year and I had to adjust my plan and deprioritize a few goals, but looking back, I’m happy with the overall progress.
Review: Goals 2024 🔗
- [ GROWTH ] Publish 1 blog post per month on average.
Completion: 42%
I kept the routine of writing regularly during Q1 but then dropped it as work consumed an increasing amount of my time. I’ll carry over this goal into 2025 and make another attempt, but lower my target to 6 posts during the year.
- [ GROWTH ] Read 3 self-help books on self-esteem, social anxiety, and perfectionism.
Completion: 33%
I only read one of the books, the one on self-esteem, and it was helpful. In fact, it helped me work on some limiting behaviors and now I feel it’s not a prioritized area anymore. Perhaps I’ll return to the other books in the future, but for now I’ll drop the goal on behalf of other priorities.
- [ WORK ] Have one work-free day per weekend and proper lunch breaks.
Completion: 40%
I didn’t track this so the completion rate is an assessment (note to self to ensure the goals are measurable). The objective was to include more self-care and breaks during normal work. For most of the year I didn’t manage due to a variety of reasons, but I’ve worked more actively by adjusting my routines and recently it’s become better. I’ll drop it as a goal since I don’t track it but I might rephrase.
- [ WORK ] Explore the manager role again.
Completion: 100%
Due to some changes at work I got the opportunity to transition back to the managerial track in the beginning of the year. It’s been both daunting and exciting, but I’m grateful for all the support I’ve received and everything I’ve learned. I’m enjoying the track and set to stay on it for the foreseeable future.
- [ HEALTH ] Drink a maximum of 5 drinks per week on average.
Completion: 80%
I maintained much healthier baseline for drinking, and I feel much better and more productive. My relationship to alcohol has changed profoundly, so I consider this goal completed. I’ll keep tracking my drinking but I’ll transition the goal to business as usual.
- [ RELATIONSHIPS ] Do a minimum of 2 out-of-routine experiences per month on average with my partner.
Completion: 90%
It feels good to have taken a more active stance to evolve our relationship by trying new wines and restaurants, going to sports event and concerts, and traveling more. After having worked on this deliberately this has become a standard and business as usual.
- [ PLAY ] Play the trumpet for 30 minutes weekly.
Completion: 43%
I kept the routine for most parts of the first half of the year but then it slowly became less and less. This was an example of making something that should be fun and joyful feel like a burden after setting goals around the routine. I’ll drop it as a goal but hopefully pick up the trumpet from time to time nevertheless.
- [ WEALTH ] Save at least 45% of my net salary per month.
Completion: 100%
I’ve found a good and low-effort set up where I use a budget to manage my cash flow, which I’ve centralized in my Revolut account. My savings are automated using Lysa.
While I’ll keep saving I won’t keep it as an explicit goal for 2025 since this automated set up makes it business as usual.
Plan: Goals 2025 🔗
2024 was an intense year professionally, with a lot of growth. However, that growth demanded time and energy, and to some extent the growth came at the expense of play, relationships and health. Therefore, for 2025, I’d like to focus on those areas and non-work-related growth.
- [ HEALTH ] Boost performance: Run a half marathon in under 1h45m by the end of May 2025.
2025 is the year when I run with more focus. Previous half-marathons my goal was always to finish but now I want to aim higher.
Side note: I recently got on the WHOOP train and I’m loving it. It’s too early to have a solid baseline, but I might set new health goals based on those metrics later.
- [ GROWTH ] Learn in public: Publish 6 blog posts by the end of 2025.
Carryover from last year. I enjoy writing, it helps me think, learn, and combat perfectionism, so I will take a new stab at this.
[ GROWTH ] Accelerate integration:
Pass German C1 by the end of 2025.
Listen to 52 History of the Germans episodes by the end of 2025.
I’ve been in Germany for a long time now but my integration has stagnated. I work in an international context and don’t speak German with my partner, so I need to take deliberate action to speed this up. The critical step is to learn German once and for all.
[ RELATIONSHIPS | PLAY ] Reconnect with people and play:
Travel with friends and/or family to at least 1 new place in Germany by the end of Q2/2025.
Complete a workcation tour in Sweden visiting old friends by the end of Q3/2025.
Travel with friends and/or family to at least 2 new countries by the end of 2025.
I want to invest more in my relationships and what better way than to do that through travel?
Execute: Action plan 🔗
Without actions goals are wishes. Working backwards from the goals I figure out a plan of action that I manage the tasks in Notion (see screenshot below) and I’ve scheduled a monthly review to assess my progress and course correct if necessary.
Let’s go 2025! 🚀
