I’ve just opened up my blogpost to write about my new year intentions and realised my last post was in January! It’s been nearly a year since I last posted. That is WILD. I didn’t prioritise my finances or this blog in any way last year and I’m about to change that as part of my plans for 2019.

These coins were once my lifeline – I needed them to get through my lowest week in 2016

How was 2019?

In summary, it was pretty good. Here are a few good things that I did in the last year:

• Spoke at a big conference! There were around 1500 attendees and at least 250 people attended my symposium.
• Got a new job and role – at a startup
• I moved back to London
• I moved into an apartment with my girlfriend i.e. no roommates
• I got two pets in my life
• I bought furniture including a bed and mattress, a couch and a TV (which may or may not count as furniture)
• I visited Krakow and Pasadena for the first time
• I went to Disneyland
• I finally understood why people like New York – and got to see Brooklyn and the Bronx for the first time
• I invoiced £12,650 as a freelancer
• I increased my base salary by £13k
• I got honorariums for 2 speaking gigs
• I got an Amex SPG card (this was huge because this was the first time I qualified for Amex since 2010)
• I got the 8% match on my pension

It wasn’t all good though. I did a few things I’m not as proud of

• I got into more debt – the upfront deposit and furniture for my new place as well as shipping things back to London were expensive.
• I got over 40 lbs heavier than I was in 2018
• I didn’t track my spending
• I bailed on attending so many things, often with very short notice

What have I got planned for 2020?

I’ve decided that my word for the year is craftsmanship. There was a lot of upheaval and big change in my life last year and I got sidelined by dealing with those. As a result, I neglected myself in many ways. I’d love to change that in 2020.

Work and career

I’m going to focus on my craft in work. I need to master the foundations of an element of my role that I previously had no knowledge of. I’m going to focus on the craft of teaching – through public speaking, writing and teaching. I’ve already got 6 workshops scheduled for next year and would like to get that up to a dozen at least. I’d also like to launch an aspect of my business that I was supposed to have focused on this year but didn’t. This will require that I hone my craft in a specific way.

Health and wellness

I used to play for a football league team in 2017/18 and left the 2018/19 season due to my move. Yet, I couldn’t get my fitness back up enough to make it into the team at all when I moved back in September. I’m too out of shape to play a 90 minute football game and I wheeze when I walk briskly, even for 5 minutes. I’m going to focus on my craft in play, get my skills good enough to get back into a league side.

Love and relationships

Relationships are my thing. I’m usually a reliable friend. I turn up for family. I enjoy planning fun and surprising romantic adventures. I let life and fatigue get in the way of being awesome at relationships last year. This year I’m going to focus on my craft in love. Give good gifts, stop being fickle, date my girlfriend, be a source of delight.

Finances

I need to get back on top of my finances. I’m currently unaware of exactly how much I owe and have no plan at the moment for how to pay it off. At the end of the year, I should know how much debt I’m in and have paid off a big chunk of it.

Here’s my 52 things I want to do in 2020

These are a mix of big, small, serious and playful things that should help me feel totally accomplished by the end of the year.

1. Read 26 books
2. Complete Freecodecamp’s responsive web design certification
3. Get some formal accessibility training
4. Mentor 1 or 2 juniors
5. Launch (new) business
6. Land a keynote speaking role for 2021
7. Write 6 professional blog posts / articles
8. Get 500 followers on Twitter
9. Volunteer/do some work for a charity/non-profit
10. Create a stylish capsule wardrobe with expensive base items like great black jeans, black t-shirts, pale blue shirt, an amazing tweed and/or black blazer
11. Complete the Spartan 5k race
12. Complete 12 park runs
13. Play in a basketball league
14. Play in a 5-a-side football league
15. Join a local football league team
16. Play in a badminton competition
17. Complete the beginner’s (12 session) programme at local boxing gym
18. Go to kick-about football matches or games at least 18 times in the year
19. Cycle to/from work 100 days of the year
20. Drink 2 litres of water a day for 21 consecutive days
21. Eat 5 vegetables a day for 21 consecutive days
22. Do carbohydrate addicts diet for 3 consecutive months at least
23. Get a full medical done
24. Go to the dentist a couple of times at least
25. Go roller blading at least once in the summer
26. Go on 12 bae dates – these are pre-planned, dress up dates
27. Create a date jar
28. Maintain a list of awesome restaurants and food in London
29. Go camping/on a low key holiday like “Lochfest“
30. Furnish the outside of the flat
31. Buy some plants for the flat
32. Host 1 wine and cheese evening with friends
33. Host 4 film nights
34. Host 2 game nights
35. Get twists done
36. Cut my hair regularly and deep condition at least once a month
37. Buy bae’s tootsie chair or something similar
38. Have sex in 3 foreign countries
39. Practice tantra regularly
40. Make £90,000 before tax
41. Hit a 40% savings rate i.e. savings + pension + debt payoff should be 40% or more of my take home pay
42. Tidy up my bank accounts – close the Barclays account at least
43. Track my spending such that I have 12 complete spreadsheets for the year and know exactly how much I spent
44. Write 24 blog posts for reforming spendthrift
45. Watch a Wimbledon and/or Roland Garros match live
46. Eat at Sketch
47. Visit Asia
48. Take a cookery class
49. Learn to play one Christmas song on guitar
50. Register for Spanish lessons
51. Visit home
52. Get my (UK) driving license

What about you? How was 2019? And do you have any goals for 2020?