2023 goals check-in
Posted on: 12 July 2023
I think mid-way annual goal check-ins are a great idea. They’re a moment to reflect and reevaluate your annual goals, and to tweak your targets for the rest of the year. Six months into the year, it’s not uncommon for some goals to reveal themselves to be a little too lofty. Or that a change of heart or direction has changed a goal’s trajectory or level of importance in your life. It’s not a moment for judgement; it’s a useful moment for any required course correction. So without further ado, I’m going to dig into mine.
Original post: https://samdking.co.uk/blog/2023-goals/
First off, a few stats from my site for the first half of the year to kick things off:
The vital stats, 1st January - 30th June
| Blog posts | 11 |
|---|---|
| Books read | 7 |
| Films watched | 14 |
| TV episodes watched | 88 |
| Podcasts listened to | 246 |
| Distance run (km) | 873 |
| Distance walked (km) | 693 |
| Distance other (km) | 225 |
I’ve been posting almost 2 blog posts a month which I’m really happy with. I slipped off that schedule in June, but I’m already back on course in July.
Reading began with some gusto at the start of the year but has, inevitably, wained. I feel like I’m starting to pick this up again, and I’m still on track to read more books than last year (10).
Films is something that I’ve not found time for recently, and I’m disappointed by that. I never regret time set aside for a film and I need to acknowledge this more. Still, I’m on track to watch more than last year (20).
TV started with some solid new series started with my other half. I love getting into a good series in the winter months. An improvement in the weather saw this seasonal activity reduce. The last few months of the football season also coincided with a complete drop-off of non-football viewing.
Podcasts has seen a big jump I had to increase the Y axis on the graph on my site due to exceeding any week total from 2022! I regularly hit 11 hours of listening in June. Not intentional, but it coincides with an increase in overall activity. On track to smash 2022’s listening total (344 episodes).
I’ve hit 25km+ in all but 3 weeks in the first half of the year, including 7 40km+ weeks (4 in the first half of 2022). An increase in running has been simultaneously a surprise but also somewhat expected. It wasn’t in my plan, but meeting up with a Strava friend and running regularly together has injected some friendly competition and impetus to run more.
An increase in walking distance has been fuelled by a loose unofficial target to hit 10k steps every day in 2023. I lost my streak during a bout of gastroenteritis in April, but save for those 5 days, I got back on the train and have hit my target every day since.
Revisiting my yearly goals
Garage gym renovation
The biggest disappointment so far this year. This has not yet got off the ground. We’ve made first steps to this being a reality in that we’ve done a clear-out. The next steps are to purchase some basic equipment and to just start the workout. Finances and lack of knowledge mean the equipment is unlikely to be optimal at first, but that’s OK. Getting started on building the habit is way more important here.
I’d be gutted with myself if I don’t get this off the ground in the latter half of 2023.
Lighting in office
Half done. After some (a lot) of research on streaming lights, I found a second hand Elgato Key Light Air, which has done wonders for my video conferencing setup. I’m really happy with the results and am glad I pulled the trigger on this purchase.
I still have a goal to kit out my home office with more general room lighting at some point, but this is no longer a priority for the year, so most likely won’t get done.
Start composting
Done. Bought a bin, found a location, bought a fork for turning. I now compost regularly.
Start a side business
Sadly this one hasn’t materialised. Like a lot of my ideas, I fail to get them off the ground to get any sort of traction and they tend to whither away. I’m still very much on the train of earning a modest side income to supplement my job, so I’m keeping this on the table for the remainder of 2023.
Prioritise sleep
This has been going well. I’ve blogged twice about this, with a third in the pipeline. This area of my life has shown improvement, but now is the time to double down and lock in the gains. I noticed towards the end of June that I’d started slipping back into old ways on numerous days. This needs to be nipped in the bud to try and cement this habit in the remainder of the year.
Fitness goals
My swim progress has been zilch. My plans for a once/month cadence hasn’t materialised. In all honesty, I’m not going to be motivated to do this on my own. So I either need to set a regular date in stone and be consistent about it, motivation be damned; or perhaps find an accountability partner to swim with. I’m not going to be too strict on myself with this though. If it doesn’t happen in 2023, it’s no biggie.
I am annoyed that bouldering has not seen any progress. I’m still just as motivated to make this happen, and a recent conversation with my old sparring partner may well kickstart this return. Watch this space. I’d love if I could make this a regular (fortnightly) fixture in my life again.
I have been cycling more. Mostly due to joining a second football group on Thursday nights in a neighbouring town. I do feel a little guilty I’ve added to my football commitments and neglected swimming and bouldering. But it has come with added benefit of a 12km round cycle ride there and back. Healthy, and green.
My running has increased, somewhat unintentionally. It’s still a vital escape for mentally, so I’m going with the flow for now. I achieved my much coveted sub-20 at the 5K distance in June, and am currently in training for a half marathon in the autumn where I hope to get as close as I can to completing in 1:30:00. I feel like I’m in a real state of momentum with my running at the moment and I don’t want to break that.
This site
This site has been neglected if I’m being honest. There have been a few tweaks here and there and I still update my feed weekly, but I’ve not found the time to hit the big 5 goals I set out at the start of the year.
A visual books page is high up on the list. I know how I want to do this, I just need to carve out the time. I blogged about rejuvenating my weekly feed by discussing the concept of Life Trends in a recent post. Sharing more opinions alongside my data is something I’ve not figured out yet, but it remains a priority. An improved fitness page is still in my upcoming plans for the year. And finally, a design spruce-up is still on the cards, but this is probably the lowest on the list.
I still find my site to be a great catalyst for inspirational ideas I can drive into it. But so far I’ve not found the time I committed last year to building features. Busyness at work has been a large contributor to that.
I would certainly like to end this year with a noticeably improved site than I started with. But I won’t beat myself up if I don’t get round to this. Having continually updated stats throughout the year and a fairly regular posting schedule keeps it feeling fresh (to me at least).
In conclusion
It’s not been a bad first half of the year. Still some key areas I’d like to hit and habits I’d like to build, but I’m pleased with the progress so far. No major auto-correction needed and for the most part, my 6-month-old goals still align with my outlook today.