As I sit here in my bed in Nha Trang City nearing the eve of the 2020 New Year, I find myself thinking about those resolutions I should make for the coming year. I've been hot and cold on resolutions through the decades, but I find myself seeing the benefits more as I start nearing the end of my life cycle. Every year, I see the advice on how to set reasonable resolutions, and I think I will give it a try in the true sense of the S-M-A-R-T principles. For those who don't know, SMART is the principle for which we establish our performance criteria in the federal service. It is a mnemonic that stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely. If you have ever attempted to write performance objectives using SMART, you know that it is easier in theory than it is in practice. So, here goes:
Resolution 1: Read* one book every month of 2020. That isn't to say that I can't read more than one, but it is to say that my intent is to finish one book in every month of 2020. * read includes listening to an audio book in its entirety.
This is an interesting resolution, because I am pretty sure that I read and listened to close to or even more than 12 books last year. The problem is that I didn't keep track of them. I will try to keep track of them on this BLOG, listing the book and some insight, to include my synopsis of the book and a rating. I really got into audio books in the last year, and I believe I get as much out of listening to audio books as I do reading books (especially digital books), I actually prefer paper books as I often refer back to specific sections when reading, which is really hard to do with audio and digital books.
Resolution 2: Take and complete at least one online programming course on a Massive Online Open Course site (i.e., EdX or Coursera).
I have taken and completed a couple of technical courses on Lynda.com, but they are shorter and easier to finish. While I have enrolled in several programming courses on MOOC sites, I have yet to finish one. I believe I will take, and finish a programming course in Python, though I will allow myself to take a different course if I change my mind. I will continue to take Lynda.com courses, though.
Resolution 3: Work out at least four days for an hour more on each of those days each week during 2020.
These workouts can be split into smaller session in the day, but in order to count, I have to complete an hour for the entire day to count for the week. I thought about making a resolution to lose weight, but I think it is easier to make a workout resolution that will hopefully lead to a reduction in weigth, and overall health improvement.
So, that's it. Three resolutions that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely. Wish me luck!
