My 2018 (and on to 2019)

In my review of Streaks from last year, I mentioned how I was going to try to use it to to implement some lifestyle changes in 20181.

I made some goals and turned them into of concrete tasks that I wanted to do every day (or for some tasks, just on most days).

Those tasks were

  • Work on a side project at least four days every week.
  • Write for 20 minutes at least four days every week.
  • Read at least one chapter of a book every day.
  • Read at least one chapter from the Bible every day
  • Fill my Apple Watch Activity rings every day.
  • Do a workout (even a small one) every day.
  • Drink at least 68oz of water every day.
  • Weigh myself every day.

I started off the year hitting everything for the first couple of months, but life tends to get in the way. A couple of months in, I decided that if I was not going to be able to do everything every time; I needed to give priority to certain tasks if I could only do one.

So in 2018 year, my non-negotiable tasks became my Bible reading and my Activity Rings.

For the Bible reading, I did a Bible-in-a-year plan in YouVersion. I did not do this every day, but I also never skipped ahead. If I got a couple of days behind, I always did extra to get caught back up later. This is the first time I have ever read the entire Bible, so I am really glad that I did it. That being said, I am looking forward to getting back to doing more topical Bible studies for a little while.

For the Activity Rings, there were no skip days. I hit my three rings every day in 2018. I started the year with a 450 Calorie goal for my Move ring, but it was up to 1000 Calories by the end of October.

Hitting the Activity Rings was a lot of fun, but I am glad that it is coming to an end. There were times when I was sick but was still doing laps around the house to hit my rings when my body would have probably been better off resting (but I wanted to hit my rings).

The real cost of trying to hit the rings every day was the time lost to do other things. I tried to get up early every day to get my workout in, but if I missed it then I had to do it that evening. Any night I was working out in the evening was a night that I was not able to work on my side apps.

For both of these tasks, doing them everyday served their purpose; I am now in the habit of working out and reading my Bible everyday. So going forward, I know that even if I miss a day, I will still be in the habit of doing both regularly (which is the whole point).

On to 2019

Like last year, I want to pick two areas to really focus on this year. Also like last year, this will come from taking a large-scale goal and breaking it into something that I can do everyday (or a set amount of times per week).

This year, the goals are to learn more about photography and to ship my side project app.

Photography

I have wanted to get more into photography for over a decade now. I always thought it would be something that I would do when I got a real camera. This year, I am changing my strategy. I do not have that real camera yet, but I want to learn as much about manual photography and photo editing using the equipment that I already have.

So I moved Halide and Darkroom to the front page of my iPhone (and moved Darkroom to the front page of my iPad). I am trying to make RAW shooting in Halide the default instead of using the standard Camera app. I also got a Glif and a tripod that can fit into my briefcase that I can use to try to get some more creative shots. And finally, I am going to do is go through The Sweet Setup’s Mobile Photography Course.

For this task to be successful, I need to boil it down to a single daily task. For this, that task will be to post a photo on my blog every day. I tried this last year and made it about 2 months before stopping. I am hoping to make it through the entire year in 2019.

Hopefully by focusing on this goal I will understand more about actually using the nice camera that I want to buy by the time I get it.

Side Project App

The photography goal is just a fun one, but releasing my next app is my big goal for the year. I have been working on this app one and off for a couple of years now. Twice I have set it aside to work on something else for StickerBook and the (discontinued) Workshelf. I am now determined not to start working on anything else until this app is finished and released.

I have wanted a good Apple Watch app for weight/strength training since the first time I got an Apple Watch and so far nothing has been quite what I was looking for. So 2019 is the year that will change.

My task for completing this goal is actually the same as it was last year: work on it at least 4 days a week. Because of my workout goal last year, I did not not get it done. If I did not work out in the morning, then I could not code in the evening.

Since I don’t have to workout every day this year, I will have a lot more time to work on the app. And if it comes down to being able to either work out or code, code will be the default choice this year. There is a bit of irony that I am going to sacrifice workout time to work on an app that will help me workout more, but oh well.

Continuation of 2018

On top of adding (or re-emphasizing) new goals, I want to make sure that I continue the things that I started in 2018. This means that I want to keep doing a daily Bible study. I want to keep working out regularly (even if it is not every day). I want to keep reading every day.

I am happy with the way my goals turned out in 2018. I think the goals that I have set out for myself for 2019 are harder than they were last year, so I hope that I can be be happy with how 2019 went a year from now.

  1. Some may calls these New Years resolutions. I am choosing not to. ↩

→ January 1, 2019 at 9:15 pm

Next Page →