My Goals for 2022
Today I released a new Youtube Video all about my goals for 2022 including why I set them, what they are, milestones I will measure progress against, and any potential challenges in achieving them.
However, in this article I will give you a high level overview of what my goals are too, in case you prefer to read!
Why are you setting goals?
In 2021, I read the excellent book Atomic Habits by James Clear and in it, he made a point that really resonated with me, systems over goals. It matters less what the goal is and more about the systems you have in place to achieve things. Because let's face it, Olympic athletes for example, all share the same goal which is winning a gold medal so what makes the difference? Well the answer is the systems. Plus with a goal, you are postponing enjoyment until you hit that goal.
So you might be thinking, if that resonated with me, why have I set goals? Well the answer is simple: a compass. I use goals to help guide me towards the person I want to be, the kind of life I want to live. Working towards these goals helps me put in place systems to move me towards that future self.
Goal 1 - Writing a book
One of my proudest achievements of 2021 was signing a contract with Apress to publish a book titled "Beginning MongoDB Atlas and .NET". 2022 is the year I write the book and hopefully by the end of the year, it will be published.
Apress themselves are giving me deadlines to follow so that helps set some milestones for each chapter. For me, I want to have each chapter drafted 1-2 weeks ahead of schedule at least, so I have time to get my wonderful colleague Megan, who proofreads for us, to give it a once over and improve the quality before anyone else sees it.
I also want to build a system whereby I know I can set an interval of some kind, whether its an hour a day or a few hours each week, that I am dedicated to a specific task. For now it will be the book but in future it might be something else, who knows!
In terms of challenges, the main ones will be getting ill (not that I get ill often 🤞🏻) and being unable to write, meaning I lose time, or my ADHD meaning I can't focus long enough to keep to this schedule.
Goal 2 - Weekly Videos
For a while now, I have wanted to get into Youtube content creation. But the perfectionist in me has always worried about not being able to edit videos fast enough to my standards and be entertaining/informative. But last year I heard about the Parable of the Pottery Class and the moral of that story is quantity over quality. You will get better faster with regular practice compared to obsessing over perfecting one thing. So my aim is to try and release a video once a week for as long as the ideas are still flowing.
Milestones for this will include releasing a video every week in January and February (keeping a closer eye on momentum at the start is definitely valuable), still achieving this in June at the half way point of the year, and whether I am still enjoying producing videos. Although it's a lot of work, a lot of the videos I want to make are all based around content others have done that I find interesting (like setting goals for the year) so I enjoy making these videos because it's something I would want to see and I know there is the potential for others to enjoy it too.
Challenges will be similar to Goal 1, being unable to create content or keep up momentum. I am hoping the process of creating videos weekly will help me identify what makes it harder to stick to it and what works well and work with those going forward to all things in life.
I currently use a Video Project Tracker in Notion to help me keep track of ideas and then turn those into videos via research, scripting, filming, editing and publishing. This is based off someone else's template so some stuff is less relevant so hopefully by the end of 2022, creating videos every week will have helped me shape the system into what works for me and my < 100 subscribers channel.
Goal 3 - Monthly Challenges
I can't say too much about this one as its a bit of a surprise but my plan for 2022 is to do something every day for a month, changing what the challenge is each month.
The aim is to theme the challenges on things that have been known to help people manage ADHD symptoms, to see if I can find things that work for me. Each month I will set a relevant goal for that month and then see if I can achieve it, but also how I have felt doing it. The videos for that will come out monthly but will be made up of content I have created through the month, logging my progress.
If the challenge leads to an improved life somehow then I will stick with it beyond the month, otherwise I won't. The one I can reveal will be Freezing February, where I plan to take cold showers (defined as anything below 32 degrees Celsius) everyday throughout the month.
This is supposed to release some hormones that can help with focus, as well as other health benefits. The goal is to try and reach 5 minutes in a cold shower, which isn't far off how long my current hot showers take. But the main thing will be seeing if I do find myself extra focused and with better executive function for some time afterwards!
The biggest challenge of course will be sticking to them. Committing to something every day for a month can be super hard, especially if it will be difficult/push me out my comfort zone. But you don't know if you can do it unless you try!
Summary
So there you have it, my 3 big goals for 2022. I am trying to not get too ambitious and stick to the 3 goals since they all involve quite a lot of work in some ways and I have to fit it all around my work and other life events including resting.
