Ready, Set, Go! My Goals for a Productive and Fulfilling 2023

As the new year approaches, it's natural to think about our goals and aspirations for the coming year.

In this blog post, I've outlined a selection of personal goals that I hope to achieve in 2023. These goals are organized into categories, including Programming & Management, Personal Development and Personal Interests. By breaking down my goals into smaller, more obtainable pieces of work, I hope to stay focused and make progress towards things that will positively impact my life. Whether it's solving programming questions, diving deeper into Go, or writing more blog posts, I'm excited to take on the challenges of the new year and see where they lead me.

Making the Cut

Like every year, there are many things that I want to accomplish. However, I have limited time and energy, so it's important for me to focus on goals that will have the most impact on my life. To help me do this, I ask myself two questions:

1. What impact will achieving this goal have on my life? Will it make me happier or help me learn something new?
2. Can I break this goal down into smaller, more achievable pieces of work? Do I need to complete the entire goal at once, or can I make progress through smaller steps?

By answering these questions and categorizing my goals, I can stay focused and make progress towards things that are meaningful to me.

Programming & Managing

Solve 100+ Questions from CSES Problem Set

Impact

Overall it will make me a better coder and help me gain a deeper understanding of topics I want to know better like dynamic programming, data structures that support range queries and the list goes on and on.

Easier time during Advent of Code 2023.

To be honest, I just enjoy solving these questions...

Breakdown

I can start solving specific sections at first, for example, start by solving all the questions from the dynamic programming section

Dive deeper into Go

I started learning go while doing Advent of Code.

I enjoyed the language and I'll dive deeper into its main features. I also have a couple of side projects and blog posts in mind.

Impact

1. Add another valuable tool to my programming toolkit
2. Stay current with a language that is widely used in the tech industry
3. Enhance my understanding of Go's main features and capabilities
4. Use Go to build useful and fun side projects

Breakdown

1. Solve programming questions
2. Create a simple HTTP server using Go built-in libraries
3. Create a GRPC service
4. Implement parallel algorithms
5. Final project should be something useful and fun.

(1) and (4) can be done in whatever order I choose.

Interpreters & Compilers

I was always intrigued by interpreters and compilers BUT I have never written one or the other.

I'm planning to change that by following these two awesome books, Writing An Interpreter In Go and Writing A Compiler In Go.

As you can see this goal and the "Dive deeper into Go" really complement each other and in fact, one of the main reasons I started the "Learning go series" was to have an easier time following the above books

Impact

I guess I just want to do it, but there are some rational thoughts behind this decision as well:

1. Better understanding of how things work
2. Through learning these processes I will become a better programmer
3. It will complement some side projects that I had in mind for a year or more

I believe that achieving this goal will help me grow as a programmer and increase my professional value.

Breakdown

1. Finish the interpreter's book
2. Write a JSON parser based on the concepts learned
3. Write an interpreter for an RTL programming language
4. Finish the compilers book [Risk]

Reading the compilers book is not a must for me and can wait for 2024. In case ill have a really good time I will probably try and read that one during the year as well.

Project & Team Management

As a lead for a team of developers working in a complex domain, I want to deepen my understanding of how to create optimal settings for team growth and project management and most apply that knowledge

Impact

This goal is important to me because I believe that effective teams and project management is critical to the success of any project or organization. By learning more about these topics, I can contribute to the success of my team, organization and obviously myself.

Breakdown

1. Compile a list of books about team & project management
2. Choose at least 1 from each category
3. Write about them in my blog :)

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Personal Development

Write 50+ Blog Posts

Why? Well, I want to improve that skill and you know what they say, practice makes perf...progress!

Impact

1. Better writing skills
2. Gain a deeper understanding of the topic I'm writing about
3. Social presence and better "branding" for myself

Breakdown

Not much to break here, but let's try anyway.

I can start by creating a series of posts about interesting topics from the CSES Problem set, for example:

1. Dynamic programming
2. Graph algorithms
3. Range queries

These types of blog posts are pretty easy to write, assuming you understand the question.

There is also an added value in diving deeper into a solution/problem/approach.

Besides solving coding questions, I would also like to write about various topics like team management, project management, books I liked, and some random thoughts.

Public Speaking

Why? It scares the living shit out of me and I hate that it does.

Impact

1. Self-confidence
2. Better public speaking skills
3. Gain a deeper understanding of the topic I'm talking about
4. Social presence and better "branding" for myself

Breakdown

Start with presentations inside the company and move on to conferences.
Ideally, I will speak between 8 to 12 times throughout the year.

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Personal Interests

Read 30+ Books

Well, I just love reading.
This list is not limited to any particular type of book.
You can follow me on Goodreads to check out my progress.

Impact

1. Pure joy! There aren't many things that make me smile like a good fantasy book
2. Learning

Breakdown

Read, read and read some more.

Morning Routine

Well...I sort of have a morning routine at the moment but I'm really bad at staying consistent, usually, I stick with it for a week or two then I allow myself to chill and end up waking up at 9 am without doing anything.
How does an ideal morning routine look in my books?

1. Wake up at 6:00 am or before
2. Brush my teeth, drink a glass of water and get myself a big cup of coffee
3. 6:15 am, 25 minutes of workout and stretches
4. 6:45 am, write whatever in my journal
5. 7:10 am, go over the upcoming day
6. Take a shower and head to the office

Impact

1. Joy and fulfillment
2. Better organization of thoughts and preparation for the coming day
3. Health

Breakdown

Start with the hard part, waking up at 6:00 am or before and stick with it for at least two months, then make (3) mandatory and gradually add (4) and (5).

Hopefully, by April or May, this routine will feel effortless.

Run Forrest Run!

I love running but due to a back injury, I was not able to run for the last 4 months or so.
Things are finally starting to look better and I'm ready to get back on the horse (my two legs).

Impact

Running, for me at least, is hard at the begging when you are not in proper shape but after 2-3 weeks when it's not pure suffering it becomes so much fun and helps me clear my head.

1. Joy
2. Physical and mental health

Breakdown

Running 3 times a week.
Participate in a couple of races.

Tour du Mont Blanc

I wanted to go on this trip for a while now and I think 2023 will be the year I'll finally make it happen.
Ideally, set on this adventure with my wife & father, making this a really meaningful experience for me.

Impact

1. Joy
2. Physical and mental health
3. Quality time with my family

Breakdown

Just to do it!

Passive Income

Impact

1. Piece of mind
2. Feeling of accomplishment
3. Money money money

Breakdown

1. Create a list of potential channels for income like selling templates online, an online store that sells some products, writing, etc...
2. Asses each option's potential
3. Choose and follow through with 2 of the highest potential options

Organizing my Finance

If I'm being honest with myself, my finance is a mess!
I need to create a clear picture regarding my current assets and investments, assess if I'm maximizing my money potential, and act accordingly.

Impact

1. Piece of mind
2. Organization
3. Money money money

Breakdown

1. Create a list of my assets and investments
2. Compare them to other types of investments in a 5 years window
3. If needed make changes to my portfolio and buy or sell assets
4. Start working towards future investments

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So, there you have it: my goals for 2023! I'm excited to see where this new year takes me, and I hope that by setting some clear and achievable goals, I can make the most of it. I'm ready to take on whatever challenges come my way, and I can't wait to see what I'll achieve by the end of the year. Here's to a fantastic 2023!

Got any 2023 goals yourself? Share them with everyone in the comments section!

You can check out some of my other posts on my personal blog.