January 9, 2010

Recap

Tags: General

Almost a year ago I wrote some goals for the new year. Now it is time for an assessment.

  • Goal: Improve Ruby skills. Result: Partial success. I’m not at what I would consider a professional standard, but not far off it. I gemify’ed my BBC weather library, but have since abandoned it as keeping up with the BBC’s constant API changes was frustrating. I use Queusaurus even if no one else does. I started another project, but it didn’t get far enough to publicise.
  • Goal: Learn Scala. Result: Have done some, but not much.
  • Goal: Learn Blender. Result: Near Success. I feel confident enough about this one. I haven’t completed an ancient scene, but I’m sure I could.
  • Goal: Decrease net ownership of physical goods. Result: Success. Doing this slowly but surely - I own fewer things now than when I wrote that goal, but not by much.
  • Goal: 48 blog posts in a year. Result: 44 posts. I’m fairly happy with that. Holidays and looking for a new work contract slowed me down a bit.
  • Goal: Run 5km in 25 minutes. Result: Not even close. The less said the better.
  • On the stretch goals, all are still a long distance away.

I think the main problem with achieving those goals was my tendency to try doing too much. At one point (and continuing for a couple of months) I had 6 programming projects on the go at once. Nothing progressed at any pace over the last half of the year and that is what caused the most slippage. Something to be aware of for the coming year.