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 2018’s goals here and find out how I did here.
So…how did I do in 2019?
Make 45 episodes of Oh My Dollar!
I did it! I think in 2020 we’re moving to every-other-week from weekly, but we completed this. We also introduced video versions of the podcast!
Come out (financially) ahead this year
I was exactly on budget for 2019, coming in just under $18,000 for expenses and putting $1,400 in retirement accounts.
Continue monthly financial reports
I did financial reports on the blog every month!
Halve total clothing spending from 2018 levels
I spent $304.65 on clothing in 2019, after spending $1,121.99 in 2018, so I’m going to call this a wild success.
Travel to 5 new-to-me countries
I went to Scotland, Singapore, Japan, Australia and Isle of Man this year, all of which were new to me.
Spend at least 5 weeks out of the United States
I spent 11.5 weeks outside the US this year, so I am going to call this quite a success.
Get into a work out groove again that makes me feel good
Well, I definitely did that. I went back to figure skating after a 15 year break from the sport. I got in seriously good shape again (I also broke my wrist like 2 months in) and also found a way to work out that I love (but it is very expensive.)
Plan downtime into my schedule
I think that bringing figure skating back into my life, while a bit more goal oriented than “couch time”, really helped with this because it was time for just for myself. It’s also quite mediative.
Keep flossing every day
I probably missed a few days in there, but generally a great average. Still no cavities!
Collaborate with people I admire
I set my sights on 9 collaborations this year, and I hit maybe 7, depending on how you define them (is going on someone else’s podcast a collab? what about writing a guest post?) But some key collabs fell through and I didn’t make the big asks I was hoping to.
Find the fun, creative part of making websites again
I had a LOT of fun at indie web summit this year, as always, and actually enjoyed putting together a shopify website at the end of the year (when I moved from woocommerce). But still…it was just a website. I just made it. I didn’t make any gorgeous web projects this year.
A 52 Week Self Portrait Project
So… I did this on flickr for approximately 10 minutes, but then I did creative self-portraits for about half (45 days) of the #100dayproject, but I just got swamped and couldn’t prioritize this. But all together I did more than 52 total (if not 52 weeks) of creative self portraiture.
Make a video on youtube every single week.
hahahhahahahahahah. Well, I filmed A LOT. I made a video every single week, published every Monday during Q1 of 2019. Then I went to Japan for 3 weeks, fell off the youtube weekly wagon, and never got quite back to a weekly posting schedule, despite filming a TON of content.
I made 17 videos in 2019, which is better than the 0 of the year before, but not quite 52. To more achievable goals in 2020! The funniest part was that I said this was my #1 goal for the year. oops. It isn’t the first time I’ve failed to make youtube videos consistently – this has been an issue since 2011.
Overall Verdict: B-
Hey, I did most of the things I set out to do – and more that weren’t on the list (publish second edition of my book, live in London for a month, hit 1,000,000 downloads of Oh My Dollar!, start figure skating again) .
The big fail was youtube videos, which have been a consistent issue. But I did publish more youtube videos this year than any other year in the past.
The random physics system is one of the main reasons people love Ragdoll Hit. Players don’t have full control over their attacks; instead, they have to adjust to how their figure moves like a ragdoll.
It is refreshing that she openly admits the YouTube goal was a complete miss, especially after calling it her top priority. The figure skating comeback and the low clothing spending do make the year feel like a win overall, though.
Publishing the goals up front, then reviewing them even if almost nobody else reads the post, is a really solid accountability trick — the public record is mostly for you. Coming in just under the planned expense number and cutting clothing spend so sharply is a clear win, and I like that you still called out the big goal you didn’t hit. Completing the podcast year and adding video versions counts as real follow-through, not just a checkbox.
Publishing the year’s goals just to keep yourself accountable, even if almost nobody else reads them, is a habit I respect more after seeing the honest 2019 review. Coming in just under 18,000 dollars in expenses and still putting 1,400 into retirement is a concrete result, not a vague ‘we tried.’ I also liked that the podcast weekly cadence actually got finished, with a move to every other week already planned for 2020.
Cutting clothing spending from about eleven hundred dollars to around three hundred in one year is a huge drop, so calling it a wild success is fair. I like your point that just knowing you will review the goals publicly keeps you accountable, even if nobody else reads it. Did you track spending in a spreadsheet or an app to land so close to budget?