Public Commitment 2018

It’s that time of year again. New Year’s Resolutions are coming and coming in hot. And I know that making resolutions isn’t always the best way to go. Habits are, in many ways, much better than goals. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t have ambitions, things to strive for, things I want to achieve.

So without further ado, my goals for 2018.

 

Theme – Year of Curiosity

This year I want to be more curious. Learn funny things about the world (e.g. how does a woodpecker not get a terrible headache?), learn more about the people around me (e.g. what do the guys in the office opposite me really do?), and learn more about our human experience (e.g. do we have free will? (leaning towards no)). In the journey with curiosity, I would also love to do more blogs and possibly also interviews. I have no idea about the structure yet, so that is to come.

 

Goal 1: Write a Sci-Fi novella

Over the last few years, I’ve become more and more interested in science fiction writing. From the great Isaac Asimov to the amazing Liu Cixin. The stories take me galaxies away and I love getting lost in the worlds they create. Many also ask hard scientific questions and ponder about their consequences. Today I have an idea for a novella (between 17,500 and 40,000 words) and I’ve already started working on the outline.

 

Goal 2: Assemble a personal board

Companies have a board of directors. So, why not have one for yourself? In this start-up world, I sometimes find it very difficult to share my experiences with someone else. But I know a few friends who I can confide in, have peer-to-peer mentorship calls with and get more out of this start-up life. I will soon be contacting them and if everything goes to plan I will update with more info about how I will structure my personal board.

 

Goal 3: Blog 1x per week

How many times I’ve started, stopped, started, this blog, I don’t know. But it’s still something very dear to my heart and I have a plan. Maybe less structure, maybe less promotion, but definitively one post every week. This will (again) include book reviews, but also some of my experiences in start-up land, curiosity-driven blogs, financial blogs, and more.

 

Goal 4: Track my finances with precision

This is something I’ve become quite adept with over the last few months. I have a working model in excel which I will share later on this blog. Next to that, I have a plan for saving money (ala financial independence), and I’m planning to write about that more too.

 

Goal 5: Cooking basics level 2

I like to cook for myself, and love to cook with my girlfriend. So this year I want to understand the basics a bit better. Why do we use garlic and unions in many recipes? Can I use citric juice strategically? What are my top 5 easy recipes? Also, more to come here on the blog.

 

Goal 6: Bi-weekly sport challenge

I’m pretty happy with where I am physically. In shape, able to run 10km in one go, able to do some squats. Nothing to worry about. So this year I want to add some fun and randomness to my fitness regime. I will think of a few different challenges (e.g. do a heavy set of the ‘big three’, run 10km as fast as you can, run as far as you can, do as many of X as you can). Also, more to come on these challenges.

 

Goal 7: Share about Effective Altruism

Reaching others about giving is still very difficult. It’s not the number one priority for many (or even all). This year my goal is to convince 5 people to take the giving pledge (donating a certain percentage each year to effective charities). I have a few ideas about how to reach more people and to measure the impact.

 

Goal 8: Make my house even more beautiful

Last year saw many improvements for my house and this year I want to continue the trend. With this, I also want to make some more things myself (versus buying it ready made). Any and all ideas are of course always welcome.

 

Goal 9: Do something crazy for love

I dearly love my girlfriend and we’re having a lot of fun together. So this year I want to, somewhere in the year, do something ‘irrational’. I already have a fun idea, but I want to (of course) surprise her with something this fun this year (think: balloon ride over the Nile).

 

Goal X: More slack in the system

Many a time I’ve felt overworked and too tired to do anything. Then, a few hours later my consciousness awakes from a Youtube binge. This is stopping this year. Youtube has been added to my blocked list (10 minutes per day on news sites, youtube, facebook, etc – total). Now if I have some free time I will use it to work on some of the goals above or to just with a book, to meditate, or just to go for a walk with Max.

 

Random list of more things:

  • Walking desk at home or office
  • Redecorate office to be beautiful
  • Explore consciousness
  • Integrate checklist lifestyle!
  • Prepper lifestyle