1. Develop myself into a more rounded person: spiritually, socially, and in general, as a human being.
Intended to be for getting involved with community, social events, etc. I attended and hosted several "impromptu gatherings" with coworkers, and got in better touch with an old friend from high school. Didn't do so hot on the spiritual side, but I did try to activate my civic side by attending a few neighborhood association meetings and a "crime walk" in the old neighborhood. Definitely want to get involved in my new community this year.
2. Excel at work: be a model worker, be innovative, create and add value, and be a leader.
I did fairly well at work this year - leading the successful release of a new product (post about the beginning stages) - and consistently received a 5 out of 5 (i.e. "distinguished performance") rating in our half-year reviews. I conducted training for several groups throughout the company, wrote requisitions and proposals, rearchitected various solutions, created interfaces, made data more accessible to people, the list goes on...
3. Do well in school: prepare for class, learn, study, and be a leader in and out of class.
Not sure if I was "prepared" per se all the time, but I did manage to complete 6 out of 6 classes with an A - and worked my butt off in the summer with class 3 nights a week for a while (hence the like, 3 blog posts in the summer). I did most of my readings ahead of time, learned quite a bit from some of my classes, and even helped lead some successful group projects. One of my other ideas of success in school is asking pointed questions of the professor - the kind that make the professor say "that's a great question," or, "hm, I never thought of that." I did manage to get a few of those in here and there.
4. Play by the rules: do things the right way instead of the easy way.
Not sure if I can quantify this at all, but I did try to do things the "right" way - mostly administrative stuff like taking care of my car, registration, etc. It was not without some failures along the way, like getting a ticket for not having an emissions inspection done - the notices never reached me even though I had set up a mail forwarding with the post office. As soon as I knew the issue, I did my time at the DMV (3 hours) and emissions inspection place, getting the inspection done, the flag lifted, and a change of address card.
5. Maintain a healthy lifestyle - including diet and exercise.
I'd grade myself around a B- on this - I'm still at the same weight (or a bit less) than I was after my big weight loss, but it's not quite as toned/muscular anymore (damn!). I didn't hit the marathon goal, as planned, nor was I a stickler about what I ate. I just seem to have found an equilibrium where I don't really gain or lose weight, and can still enjoy going out, the occasional bag of chips, etc.
6. Position myself well, financially.
I posted earlier about hitting one of my 2009 goals - getting my emergency fund to $12,000. So that was huge. In addition, I've started up several other accounts - car maintenance (currently near $1000), electronics insurance (near $150), Europe trip (near $600). I've automated quite a few things with my finances, reduced a lot of frivolous spending (although food spending is still a little high), and have generally lived with a "scarce" checking account. It might introduce a little unnecessary stress of "oh-crap-do-I-have-enough," but it definitely kept me aware of my finances all year long.
7. Don't tolerate selfishness or inconsideration from anyone, unless for reasons concerning my own well-being.
Another hard-to-quantify one. Um...I think I did this? I think I just tried to avoid people and situations that would qualify for this, so at least I never had to "not tolerate" it verbally. Maybe I was just too busy with class and other things. Can't think of any good examples, but I know I was definitely less frustrated over this in 2009 than in 2008.
8. Attract positive influences into my life.
Also hard to quantify, but I don't think I really did this (unfortunately). Something to work on for next year, perhaps?
Overall Grade: B. Could have been better, could have been a whole lot worse. I'm reasonably satisfied with what I accomplished, although I would have loved to have more time for me, instead of work and school taking most of it.
How did your 2009 resolutions go?
0 comments:
Post a Comment