2015 was an awesome year. I accomplished so much, both personally and professionally, and laid the foundation for the next 3-5 years. To help carry that momentum into and through the next year, I’m setting some goals, writing them down here, and tracking my progress as often as I remember. Hold me accountable, OK?

Personal

1. Give my wife the vacation she deserves

   I want to bring my wife on a long-awaited vacation to Hawaii or Cuba. I’ve worked too hard, for too long, and she’s taken up my slack. She deserves 2 weeks on a beach.

2. Run a half-marathon

   I’ve run 3 times a week since August, and I’ve gone from being winded after a block, to running a 24-minute 5k. I’ve got plans started to go from 5k to 10k, and then from 10k to half-marathon. I’ve got until late October to get the plans finished.

3. Lose the weight I’ve gained over the holidays

   I started 2015 at 260 lbs. I had lost 80 lbs. and was at 180 lbs. before Thanksgiving. Then Christmas cookies happened and I gained back 15 of those pounds. I want to be back down to a stable 180 as quickly as possible.

4. Read to my daughters 5 nights a week

   This should be an easy goal to accomplish. They deserve my time, and I want to give it to them.

5. Read or listen to 25 fiction books

   My time spent reading and/or listening to books slipped toward the end of 2015. I want to make it a priority again.

6. Finish my basement bathroom

   I suck at this stuff, so the goal really should be “make enough money to hire the work done”.

7. Shop responsibly

   This is going to be the year of, “Josh gives as much money as he can to companies that care about their employees, the environment, and social justice.” Sorry, Walmart.

8. Be far less angry

   This goal is hard to quantify, and hard to verify, but it’s the year of a presidential election, and I could let my anger get out of control. But I resolve to laugh at Donald Trump rather than pull my already-receding hair out.

Professional

1. Get back into speaking at conferences

   2013 was a year that I spoke at 20 conferences. 2014 had me speaking at 10. 2015 saw a very pedestrian 4 speaking engagements. This year, I’d like to (mostly) split the difference and speak at 10 conferences and meetups again.

2. Write 26 blog posts

   I say this every year, and I fail every year. But like all starry-eyed dreamers, I’m 10000% sure this year is the year. *eye roll*

3. Learn Angular 2

   2014 was the year of Angular 1.x and 2015 was focused on React. 2016 brings a new version of my favorite front-end MVC framework, which includes my most desired feature… server-side prerendering. Woo.

4. Build two products for startups

   Kidblog first scratched this itch, and now, 5 startups later, there’s nothing I love more. I don’t expect that to change in 2016.