I’m almost a month late this year, but it’s once again time to reflect back on another year of accomplishments and establish my 2016 goals.

While I didn’t do nearly as much traveling in 2015, it was still an adventurous year that included a trip to Hogwarts and a marriage engagement when Tym and I finally moved into our first house in December! (Yes, the house hunt is finally over.)

2015 Goals Reflection

In reviewing my 2015 goals, I’d say I exceeded most of my expectations from last year.

• I have laser eyes now – I had Lasik eye surgery last March.
• I participated in three half marathons. Though I didn’t race in any duathlons, that will definitely be a focus for 2016.
• I haven’t yet earned my Salesforce Advanced Developer certification, but that’s primarily because Salesforce spent several months revamping the process and the exams were unavailable. I completed the final assignment and essay in November, and now I’m just waiting to receive the results.
• I read another 10 books throughout the year, the same number as in 2014. I also wrote nearly 30,000 words of fiction. This was under my goal of 60,000 words, but I’m giving myself a bit of a break here since work and house buying both took up more of my summer and fall than anticipated.
• I did not learn as much as I would have liked. This will also be a bigger focus in 2016.
• I continued volunteering at the local food bank through most of 2015.
• Not only did I research buying a house — I bought a house!

2016: The Harry Potter and the Cursed Child & Wedding Adventure

As always, many of my goals are staying similar to last year. But I have a few additional goals as well. With a trip planned in August to London to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and a wedding to plan for the fall, 2016 is shaping up to be another busy year.

My main goals…

1) Average 7 hours of sleep per night. This was an unwritten resolution for me in 2015. I’d like to make it more official and to continue the trend. Having a Microsoft Band has made me realize how little sleep I had been getting. My sleep has greatly improved over the past year, but it could still be better.

2) Continue learning. A repeat goal. I started watching a CrashCourse series last year (World History), but I haven’t finished. I’d also like to complete CrashCourse Psychology. And there are several SciShow episodes that have been in my “Watch Later” queue for years.

3) Keep focusing on half marathons, but also spend more time biking and swimming. As I mentioned previously, I raced in three half marathons last year but no duathlons. I’ve also done well at going to the gym regularly, but my bike did not get much use last year at all. I want to start swimming at the gym and to bike around the city more often. If possible, I would ideally start commuting to work this way (by biking… not by swimming).

4) Increase time spent reading & writing – read a book a month. I’ve been averaging 10 books a year. This year, I want to aim for one a month. Now that I have a longer commute to work, reading on the bus has been a great way to jumpstart my mornings.

Additionally, I’m going to aim for another 60,000 words of writing this year. If I’m being honest with myself, this will probably be the first goal that gets cut from the list.

5) Continue volunteering. I wasn’t originally going to put this on the list, but I need to pick this up again since volunteering at the food bank fell off my radar while I was dealing with the move and the Christmas holidays.

My list is shorter this year and definitely attainable. What are your goals this year?

Hoping for yet another great year,

— Robert