2023 Goals

Ahh it has come to that time of year to write some goals for the year that is already one month in – my 2023 goals.

Though I have been achieving already – 5kg lost, 3 cultural activities done, 2 good restaurants visited, 4 very good roast dinners and just one poor one, several friends caught up with, family visit, a job search initiated, my portfolio improved and the old one sacked off, another personal project light-released and actually getting my head back into working at M&S. I might even go into the office.

Who knows what I will have achieved by time I finish writing this!

Health

Lose 12kg. I want to have lost 12kg during 2023, which will put me down to 90kg. Granted I have similar goals every year, and every year I fail them. Maybe this year?!

Do 3 forms of exercise that are not walking. This could be cycling, dancing (even at a festival!), badminton – anything that gets me moving and isn’t walking or just doing a few push-ups in my bedroom.

Get some data on my health. I’m in my mid-40’s and let’s not pretend that I’ve looked after myself perfectly during the last 30 years. This goal is to get some data, and stop pretending everything is fine – ie blood pressure readings, diabetes count (I’m still obese and still consume too much sugar), etc.

Find out what sorting my teeth out will cost. I cannot find a hot Spanish wife whilst fat and with shit teeth. I cannot afford both this and a flat deposit this year, but I can at least work out what it will cost.

3 month detox. The usual. Well, detox until I go on holiday the end of March (last year was 14th March lol), and except my birthday.

One weekend off drinking every month. Speaks for itself, but I think it would very much be of benefit to my health.

Mini autumn detox. I was shattered and unmotivated by December, and often am. So my theory is to have 2-3 weeks off drinking at some point in the autumn, to have more energy for the December period.

Only eat cake/chocolate on 48 days. Eating cake and chocolate make me feel tired – but damn it feels nice in my mouth. I really need to cut it out, as much as possible, whilst not banning it per se.

House & Work

Buy a flat (or sack my job off and go travelling). Time to stop house-sharing. Time to stop pretending that I can wait a bit longer and afford my dream property. Time to be able to walk around in my pants whenever I want to in MY FUCKING FLAT. Or sack off my job and go travelling.

Be paid 25% more by the end of the year. If I do nothing, I will be receiving a pay cut in 2023 (due to out of hours support ending), and that is before inflation is taken into account. So either I need to find a new job, or I need to change my role into something more interesting – and be promoted on the back of it. Job market is very quiet at the moment, so this might be difficult.

Building

Finish rebuilding my portfolio. If I’m possibly going to look for a new job, then I need a good portfolio. I’m on the way – oh and I have to close the old “iwillbeawebdeveloper” site because obviously I am one. Well, I’m a software engineer now. We are all software engineers.

Finish rebuilding DJ Mix Of The Week. Gosh I’ve been rebuilding this blog since 2021, and if I knew then what I know now, I’d be rebuilding it differently! Oh well, but the main website is now migrated to the new platform – just the surrounding complexity, and some performance work to do.

Rebuild another blog. Time to practice my skills more, and to improve my existing blogs – possibly this one, as it really needs a refresh. It really doesn’t capture my colour.

Build two other sites for my portfolio. There’s a few things I’d like to build in React/TypeScript – such as a Twenty/20 score app, random holiday app, guess the roast dinner score app. Would be good for my portfolio.

Try 15 new JS/CSS things. I’ve written a list of things I need to learn, or at least have a play with – be it new JavaScript concepts, additional CSS properties, new frameworks, etc. My goal is to have a crack at 15 of them during the year.

Erm, not sure what this heading should be

Read 4 more books than I buy. This might sound easy, but I’ve already bought 2 books and normally I read 0 books in a year.

Reach Level 100 on Duolingo. I started the year at level 28, I really want to improve my Español, for some unknown reasons. Maybe I can impress the waitresses when I next visit, or something.

Have nothing on my to-do list one day. I love a to-do list, but I also love adding to it and it never gets that small. One day, I’d love to have nothing on there. Oh the bliss. Without deleting everything, of course.

Have 0 e-mails in my inbox one day (without deleting). I still have e-mails in my inbox from 2017 that I’m definitely going to read at some point. Honest. Maybe time to finally get through them.

Roasts & Blogs

Blog my thoughts more. This is to blog more about my thoughts, and what I’m up to. Maybe I’ll do some more politics – though maybe not.

Oldest 10 roasts. Last year I tried to get my to-do list under 50, which I achieved, but then I realised that I stopped adding interesting new ones. So this year my goal is just to do the oldest 10, which takes me to The Ladywell Tavern in Ladywell. Yeah never heard of that area of London either.

2 roasts dinners in other countries. About time to get Roast Dinners Around The World moving – the ultimate dream, once I’ve sorted my teeth out and found some funding for the TV series.

Culture

Do London stuff once a week on average. I enjoy London but there is no way I take full advantage of it. This goal is to do things in London once a week on average (that aren’t roast dinners or just going to the pub), be it long walks in new areas, good restaurants, theatre, etc.

12 different types of cultural activities. Tried this last year and did pretty well – basically a way to get me to challenge myself on what I enjoy. And why have I not been to a comedy event for years?

12 excellent (or think will be) restaurants. I have a long list of restaurants that I want to visit – so this is a goal to try to tick some off. One a month is fine, on average.

Holidays

3 different new countries. Usual one this, I’ve already decided to go to Norway, Dubai and Malta this year, the random country generator decided I should go to Colombia also. What I actually do is another matter…

Leave Europe once. Basically this means one of my holidays should be on another continent.

Visit two friends that don’t live in Reading/London. The problem with having too many good friends living all around the country/world is that I don’t get to see many of them. But it is possible.

Other

Upgrade tech. I say this every year and every year I just buy roast dinners and beer.

Less than £100 food waste. Quite the challenge this, but its my way of contributing and being green, especially given the amount of flying I want to do. Well, it isn’t my fault that aeroplanes are polluting. Call it my holiday offsetting.