Personal OKRs for 2020
Like 2019 and 2018, rather than define a set of resolutions, I’m using the OKR framework and publishing my goals as a commitment mechanism. (Posting was a bit delayed this year due to uncertainty on the work front.)
As always, these are meant to be priorities, not a comprehensive list. By the way, I really like Strides for tracking these kinds of goals on iOS.
The last two years were very focused on personal growth given my work situation. As I start a new job soon, this year will be much more about carrying that growth forward and sustaining the important stuff efficiently.
End of year update: I scored these below. I’m going to take a break on publishing personal OKRs for 2021, since most of the interesting stuff is on the professional side and the personal goals would look very similar.
Healthy mind: create more headspace & focus
- Redirect 80% of “dead time” phone usage (time & instances) from Twitter et al. to reading, meditation, or nothing
😐 Did pretty well at this for a month, then upon starting the new job ended up without any real dead time. When I did have time, it felt like the priority was in fact to have a mindless few minutes. - Build an integrated meditation habit: try 10m+ 3x/week (while running?) and for 1m+ another 5x/week [30d experiment]
🌲 Did this experiment, didn’t feel I got much out of it.
Healthy body: stay active through job transition
- Exercise 5x/week
😐 3.8. I’ll take it this year. - Find a ≤40m gym workout I enjoy
- Ended up a moot point, no gyms to go to with Covid.
Happy family: make space for the meaningful stuff
- Find time to “just play” with each kid each week
👹 Failed to even measure this. - Write letters to my kids
🌲 Success
Impactful work: start next phase
- (Starting a new job in February. Most goals will be confidential.)
- This was where all the energy went - Develop a daily on paper prioritization/focus practice [30d experiment]
🌲 Did this experiment, didn’t feel it impacted my day at all, and juggling paper with digital was a pain.
Sustainable hobbies: less clutter, more reward
- Bring 1h of piano music to performance-lite level (not perfect, but good enough to record & share)
👹 This turned out to be way more work than I expected. I put dozens of hours into some pieces only to realize I was so much farther off than I realized. Every bit of progress was met with a new appreciation for how far I was from where I wanted to be. I ended up getting 3 pieces – 11 minutes – above the “not embarassed” bar: a Bach French Suite movement, Tchakovsky’s October, and Chopin’s Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2. - Finish photo & video library work from 2019 and retire NAS
👹 Didn’t get to it - Prevent the garage from devolving into a mess
😐 Not great, could’ve been worse - Add 10 new recipes to the repertoire
👹 One