It’s time to plan for next year, time to lay down the goals and kill some bad habits and form good new ones.

Aims for 2009

• Complete “secret project 1” before August.
• Plan the wedding, don’t leave it all to D.
• Finish the house.
• Become very well known in the Windows Media Center community
• Complete at least one public speaking engagement.
• Develop an additional income.
• Complete “secret project 2” this year.
• Travel to at least 3 countries.
• Find a charity to work with, give them time or money or both
• Get fit, back to 12 st.
• No Debts only the mortgage.
• Pass more Beta Exams.

Bad habits to break

• Stop doing the thing I do that D doesn’t like (will be hard)
• Watch less non-targeted TV (random TV that I just happen to be watching)
• Surf whilst watching the TV less, concentrate on D more.

Good habits to make

• Contact friends more
• Listen to more music
• See my parents more
• Cook more

I’m sorry for this slightly off topic post, one of the things I use my blog for is looking at what I’ve done over the year.  At the start of 2008 I did what I normally do and setup my mission for 2008, here it is…I wonder how much of it I actually achieved?  I know I did the most fantastic things ever, I got engaged!

My Personal Mission for 2008

I want to be the very best I can at all of the following roles:

• Boyfriend – I will love with all of me, make time and listen, and try not to forget things.  I think I’ve pretty much achieved this one.  But I need to ask.
• Son – I will visit more often and be there when they need me.  Ditto
• Friend – I’ll make more time for my friends, and try to make new friends.  I’ll try to be more sociable. I’ve failed at this one, I could and should have done better.
• Employee – I will give everything I can to my job, when I’m there I will BE there and when I’m not I won’t.   I’ve mainly done this to some extent, I’ve achieved a project that I think is really valuable and I’m working on others.
• Leader – I will show others the way, and always try to be helpful and to step above and over obstacles. This is what my day job is mainly about, I want to extend that further in the day job and more so in my outside life.
• Individual – I will value myself, and put my needs fist much more than I do. I’m starting to get better at being more self focused, I find it very hard when others are of more need.

In 2008 I wanted to achieve the following Goals:

• Change companies FAIL (almost but not quite)
• ********* This was actually propose to my girlfriend. FTW!
• Finish the work on the house fail (but only a little fail we underestimated the work and the property market has changed…and it’s fun to do.
• Become well known in at least one user community I’m on the way in the digitallifestyle.com – I’ve posted over 60 times and my posts get 200 hits in 24 hours on average.  Hopefully we can get the meetings going next year to compound this one.
• Visit 5 countries Czech Republic, Brussels, Spain, America, Canada – Success
• End the year with no debt  pretty much, just the overdraft and student loan left
• Help a charity FAIL, I need to find one to work with
• Blog regularly SUCCESS, here on my geekout and also on The Digital Lifestyle
• Start to upgrade my MCSE I’ve completed and passed two Beta exams this year.
• Be the same weight at 29 as at 23…12 Stone.  FAIL

I will undertake a challenge a month and blog about the undertaking.  In January I want to get fit. FAIL

I will undertake to abstain from one thing per month every month in 2008, in January it will be bread.  This is to make me more creative. FAIL (abstaining from abstaining doesn’t count!)

All in all it’s been a pretty fantastic year, I achieved most of the specific goals, and got pretty close on the ones I missed.