Reflecting on 2020 was eye-opening for me. While I never had a shortage of goals I wanted to accomplish, I struggled with organizing those goals into focused efforts. So this year I committed to a different approach, and created a 3-step process to keep myself on track for 2021.
- Set a focus for the year.
- Plan goals based on that focus.
- Establish milestones to stay on track.
🌀 2021 Focus
I chose 3 areas of programming that I want to focus on and master.
- JavaScript
- Python
- Deep Dives: Data Structures & Algorithms
🎯 Goals
With my priorities in mind, I established 5 measurable goals to keep me on track.
- Publish 25 blog posts. Write about topics related to my Focus areas.
- Complete 3 Udemy courses: Learning Algorithms in JavaScript, Python for Data Structures, The Complete Javascript Course 2020.
- Finish my last 2 Computer Science classes.
- Attend 2 tech conferences: Grace Hopper Celebration, PyCon.
- Complete my 2021 Reading List.
🏔️ Milestones
I divided my 2021 calendar into blocks—I chose two-month terms because that worked best with my university's schedule. I created milestones by dividing my goals into smaller tasks, then I assigned each milestone to a specific term.
Tip: Keep your workload in mind as you assign milestones. For example, my CS classes have an intense workload, so I know I won't have time to work on any other goals during Term 2.
Summary
I set a focus for 2021 to help me prioritize my time and structure my goals. I also created milestones to keep me motivated and I'm excited to see how this approach works IRL.
Have you set your goals yet? What will you be working on this year?
Let's make 2021 a good one! 🥂
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