Each year I create a list of goals and resolutions, and I publish them here to keep me accountable. I’ve learned it doesn’t actually matter if other people read the posts, just *me knowing* that I’ve publicly stated my goals and will review them at the end of the year helps keep me accountable. You can read last year’s goals here and find out how I did here.
After the hard year of 2020, I wasn’t as ambitious with my 2021 goals, but I didn’t necessarily hit everything I wanted to do. The year was mostly just the monotony of working a full-time day job (not making content) and trying not to catch covid.
So…here’s how I did on my 2021 goals.
Apply for Croatian Citizenship
I applied in-person at the Croatian consulate in June 2021!
Save 50% of my take-home income
I did it! I actually saved 49.97% of my gross income, and ~61% of my post-tax income.
Don’t get COVID
We’ll see how long this lasts with Omicron up and at em.
Continue > 180 minutes of moderate to hard cardio each week
Yes! running, biking, home workouts, and skating!
Teach 6 workshops with low-income young adults through Pay It Furward
I actually taught 17 workshops!
Weekly livestreams
Keep sleeping an average of 7-8 hrs a night
My 2021 average was 8 hours, 2 minutes per night.
Increase exclusive perks for the Purrsonal Finance Society
I did this with more integrations and with Floof of the Week, but I have more ideas for 2022.
Keep health insurance all year
I did it! I did it!
Breakfast on the Bridges volunteering when safe again
I ran #BYOBONB all summer and we *finally* came back for our first in-person BONB in December.
26 OMD Episodes
My contract renewal had issues with my podcast network, and then I had technical issues with the podcast I didn’t resolve. So I made 22 radio episodes and did not release them on the podcast feed.
OMD Forums Ad Revenue
“Start generating ad revenue from OMD forums in a way that is consistent with the values of the community” – I really did try, but we had technical reasons why this didn’t work that will be known as the “Great 2021 OMD Adpocolypse” But I tried! I really did!
Publish a 2020 Annual Report by January 31st
It wasn’t the beautiful annual report of my dreams, but I did do this one.
Keep publishing monthly reports
I stopped doing them monthly and switched to quarterly. Back to monthly this year.
1 page of journaling per day in my Mark’s Edit Daily Journal
I switched to my hobonichi halfway through the year and it mostly wasn’t “journaling”.
Apply to graduate school
I actually got the application done, but decided to not apply because I decide
Move (Lease is up in July 2021!)
Ended up renewing our lease because the house project was not done, and I didn’t move abroad to graduate school.
12 youtube videos
Lol nope.
Get Patreon to $1000/month by August 2021
I maintained by patreons but I did not work on increasing them.
Twice a month newsletters to my email list
I sent three emails all year.
Net Zero Clothing Spending
Lol nope.
Keep Meal Prepping
It was going well until about June, and then I got sick of my meal prep foods and fell off the wagon.
Hire an editor!
I didn’t feel OMD had the income to support an editor at the pay amount I felt I should fairly pay, so I did not do this.
A good blog to read!
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You can try to do them in the following years. Thanks for sharing!
Deadlines and milestones become your trusty sidekicks, reminding you to stay focused and disciplined.
It’s understandable that these issues could lead to a backlog of content.
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I love how the difficulty in Poor Bunny ramps up naturally. You get a chance to warm up before the real chaos begins! It keeps things exciting and fair.
It’s great to see you sharing your journey and holding yourself accountable! Setting and reflecting on goals is such a powerful process. I can relate to feeling less ambitious after a tough year; sometimes it’s all about balancing recovery and motivation. By the way, have you ever considered using games like Run 3 as a fun way to boost your mood while still working on those goals? They can give a nice break from the monotony too! Looking forward to hearing about your 2021 reflections.
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2021 Goal Review: I did some stuff?
Vehicle upgrades bring a stylish edge to the gameplay.
In the coming year, I hope to do more interesting things.
Thanks for sharing.
I applied for Croatian citizenship in June and saved almost 50% of my income. It’s pretty cool how these goals just fit into my daily life
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I really enjoyed reading this honest reflection on your 2021 goals. It’s refreshing to see someone acknowledge both their successes and the areas where things didn’t go as planned. Saving such a significant portion of your income while maintaining community involvement and prioritizing health is no small achievement. Public accountability can be a powerful motivator, and posts like this remind us that progress doesn’t have to be perfect to be meaningful. I’ve also been experimenting with AI visual storytelling tools to create more engaging recap content, and it’s interesting how technology can help document personal journeys in creative ways.
This answered all my questions. Very informative post!
This is exactly what I needed clear, actionable, and well written.
This guide is so complete and easy to understand. Great work!
You explained everything in a way that actually makes sense. Thank you!
Really well explained and easy to follow. I’m bookmarking this.
This made the whole topic so much clearer for me. Thanks a lot!
This was an eye opener. Thanks for sharing your expertise!
Annual goal reviews like this are genuinely valuable — the act of publishing publicly creates an accountability loop that private journaling rarely matches. I’ve started adding visual retrospective boards to my year-end reviews, and using AI Image Generator GPT Image 2 for the infographic elements made them far more engaging to revisit later.
Honest and thoughtful year-end reflection — the candid acknowledgment of goals that shifted versus ones that simply didn’t happen is more useful than polished success narratives. The framing of ‘did some stuff’ as genuinely sufficient for a year like 2021 is exactly the right context. Personal writing that tracks real process is always the most interesting to follow.
Really informative read on 2021 Goal Review: I did some stuff? – AnomaLily.ne — the detail here is appreciated. I’ve been exploring AI image tools for visual content work and Nano Banana Pro has become part of my regular workflow for generating polished visuals quickly.
Love honest retrospectives like this. I record audio reflections monthly and use Whisper AI to build a written log at year end. The combination works really well for reflection.
Love the public accountability approach here — knowing that you’ll review your goals at year-end really does create useful pressure. It’s a great way to stay honest with yourself about what you actually accomplished versus what you hoped to. I’ve been doing audio reflections of my own year-end reviews using Miso One for narration; it makes the whole process feel more deliberate.
The honest annual review format is something more bloggers should embrace — it’s so much more useful than the polished highlight reels. Your point about how some goals shifted mid-year because of circumstances rather than lack of effort really captures the reality of 2021 for a lot of people.
The accountability framework of publishing annual goals publicly is genuinely effective — knowing you’ll have to review your progress changes how you set goals in the first place. The honest reflection on what worked and what didn’t, rather than just celebrating wins, is refreshing and more useful for readers who want to adopt similar frameworks. The iterative refinement over years is what makes these retrospectives valuable.
Loved reading your honest 2021 goal review — it’s refreshing to see genuine self-reflection on what worked and what didn’t. Creating visual goal boards and progress trackers can make goal-setting more motivating, and I’ve found that tools like GetImgAI help generate creative visuals that make planning more engaging. Looking forward to your future posts!
This made the whole topic so much clearer for me. Thanks a lot!
Such a useful explanation saved me a lot of time. Thanks!
i appreciate the honest reflection on your 2021 goals. the b- verdict feels relatable, especially after a year of balancing work and personal projects. the specific details, like the savings percentage and the podcast challenges, make the review feel grounded. it’s a good reminder that progress isn’t always linear, and sharing these updates publicly does add a layer of accountability, even if subtly.
Honest goal reviews like this are genuinely valuable — the gap between what we plan in January and what life actually delivers teaches more than any productivity framework. Your reflection on adjusting expectations mid-year rather than treating original goals as fixed is the right instinct. I track creative output goals annually and started incorporating video projects into the mix — HappyHorse AI made short-form video production approachable enough to add to my list this year.
This kind of annual review is really valuable for accountability. I relate to the mixed bag of progress! On my end I’ve been incorporating more visual thinking into my goal-setting — tools like Image GPT have made it easier to mock up ideas before committing to them. Really enjoyed this post.
Love the honest reflection on 2021 goals — the way you frame ‘doing some stuff’ is relatable and refreshing. I’ve been taking a similar approach with creative projects, using tools like Nano Image to quickly prototype visual ideas without getting bogged down in the execution details.
Awesome write up clear points and no fluff. Loved it.