Grading my resolutions for 2017
As promised on Tuesday, here is my self graded report for 2017. All resolutions and steps are listed together with a semi-monthly grade…
As promised on Tuesday, here is my self graded report for 2017. All resolutions and steps are listed together with a semi-monthly grade. Overall, I must admit that I am happy with my performance this year. This was the first year that I tried this and it worked out really well. I highly recommend everyone to try it for 2018.
The way I’ve presented it here is the overall goal is bolded and the steps that I’ve taken and graded myself on are underneath. Each column represents two months. I’ve started the year by giving myself a grade between A-F but in April switched to a numbered system. It seemed more intuitive.
Also, you’ll see a dash in some places. Those could mean one of two things. Either it’s a goal that I’ve decided is not worth pursuing anymore or it’s a goal that I came up with mid year and did not have data points from earlier.
Minimize the number of items that I own
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║ Each item has a purpose ║ A ║ B ║ 7 ║ 8 ║ 8 ║ - ║
║ Stay item neutral ║ A+ ║ A ║ 10 ║ 10 ║ 10 ║ 9 ║
╚═════════════════════════╩════╩═══╩════╩════╩════╩═══╝Bottom line: Last quantile started off rough as we were accumulating a lot of stuff but we ended the last week of the year by donating a lot to Goodwill. I’m pretty sure we were mostly item neutral.
Use your time wisely
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║ No television watching ║ C ║ A ║ 10 ║ 10 ║ 10 ║ 10 ║
║ Substitute with better activities ║ D ║ C ║ 6 ║ 7 ║ 8 ║ 8 ║
╚═══════════════════════════════════╩═══╩═══╩════╩════╩════╩════╝Bottom line: No television watching was a piece of cake. I haven’t watched it in a few years now. I’m probably going to remove that as a goal since it’s a given. Substituting for better activities was a lot more challenging though. Twitter is a hard habit to quit.
Don’t booze like an idiot
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║ Have only one drink an hour ║ B- ║ D ║ 5 ║ 8 ║ 6 ║ 8 ║
║ Use a timer at parties ║ B- ║ D ║ 2 ║ - ║ 6 ║ - ║
╚═════════════════════════════╩════╩═══╩═══╩═══╩═══╩═══╝Bottom line: This was surprisingly hard. I am still struggling with how to address my alcohol consumption choices. Especially considering how health conscious I’m suppose to be. Alcohol and parties seem to go well together. Using a timer between drinks didn’t seem to work for me.
Book vacations six months in advance
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║ Schedule vacations in your calendar ║ A ║ B ║ 10 ║ 10 ║ 10 ║ 10 ║
║ Schedule booking in your calendar ║ A ║ B ║ 8 ║ 8 ║ - ║ - ║
╚═════════════════════════════════════╩═══╩═══╩════╩════╩════╩════╝Bottom line: This resolution probably seems odd to a lot of people but the idea is straight from Happy Money.
Happy Money: The Science of Happier Spending
Two professors combine their fascinating and cutting-edge research in behavioral science to explain how money can buy…amzn.to
I will probably elaborate on this idea sometime in the future but the gist of it is this:
You gain much more pleasure by spending money now for a happy event in the future then experiencing a happy event now and paying for it in the future. Although we tend to do the exact opposite.
Read at least 16 books this year
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║ Read every night ║ A- ║ B ║ 9 ║ 9 ║ 7 ║ - ║
║ Read books when bored ║ B- ║ C ║ 8 ║ 8 ║ 8 ║ 9 ║
║ Keep track of books on Goodreads ║ A ║ A ║ 10 ║ 10 ║ 10 ║ 10 ║
║ Skip boring books or chapters ║ A+ ║ A ║ 10 ║ 10 ║ 9 ║ 9 ║
╚══════════════════════════════════╩════╩═══╩════╩════╩════╩════╝Bottom line: I ended up reading way more then 16 books this year but to be fair, a good portion of them were kind of boring 😴. Also, some were really short. But a win is a win and according to Goodreads, I read 25 books this year.
Use habit bull
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║ Fill out habit bull every night ║ B- ║ - ║ - ║ - ║ - ║ - ║
║ Do not backfill more then a single day ║ A ║ - ║ - ║ - ║ - ║ - ║
╚════════════════════════════════════════╩════╩═══╩═══╩═══╩═══╩═══╝Bottom line: For those unfamiliar, it is an app that helps you build habits. It’s a great concept but wasn’t quite adding enough value for me. However, I recommend that you check it out and see if it’s something that could help you.
Stay active
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║ Take the stairs ║ B- ║ B ║ 9 ║ 3 ║ - ║ - ║
║ Use far away bathroom ║ D- ║ D ║ 2 ║ 2 ║ - ║ - ║
║ Get rid of the chair ║ B ║ D ║ 4 ║ 3 ║ 5 ║ 4 ║
║ Use kettle bell ║ C ║ D ║ 8 ║ 3 ║ - ║ - ║
╚═══════════════════════╩════╩═══╩═══╩═══╩═══╩═══╝Bottom line: I was reasonably active overall this year but it wasn’t captured well in the goals that I set for myself. I will have to reconsider them for 2018.
Ok so this is it for 2017. What do you think? I think I did reasonably well. I’m most proud that I stuck to most goals and actively tried to improve on them. Next is the goals for 2018. I’d love to hear about some goals and steps that you set up for yourself (and the results).