New Year’s Resolutions
According to the New York Times, 45% of people make New Year’s resolutions and although 54% of them fail, the percentage who succeed (46% , proof that I can subtract and understand the concept of percentages) is more than ten times higher than for those people who say they would like to change but don’t make specific, stated resolutions.
I am one of those people who always makes New Year’s resolutions, and I usually keep them, putting me in the top 46% (woo-hoo!) I believe there is value to setting public goals. Here are my resolutions for this year:
1. Read one technical book a month. I already have a list for the first seven months.
2. Get accepted in and complete an accelerator program.
3. Get three more games on the market. That won’t be as difficult as it sounds because our second game is just going through the last finishing touches and will be in at least six schools in January.
4. Work FULL-TIME on 7 Generation Games! I am pretty excited about this one. I have two classes I have agreed to teach in February and May, and one consulting client with whom I have a long-term contract, but other than that, it is a year of game development and building a company. I am so excited.
5. Analyze all of the data we collect on our games’ effectiveness. Again, this is an easy one because it is a requirement of our grant funding. We already have pretest data on over 300 users from age 9-13, and I expect to collect data on 200-300 more as well as post-test data within the next few months.
6. Get moderately proficient with photoshop. I’m not an artist and I mostly use graphic converter, but since I have photoshop as part of the Creative Suite license, I figured I may as well learn a few things.
7. Learn more about the Mac OS. That might sound funny since I have had a Mac ever since I got one in 1984 instead of a big diamond engagement ring. (I told my to-be husband that I really wanted one of those new Macintosh computers more than a fancy diamond.) However, there are no doubt details that I don’t know and have never taken the time to learn.
8. Finish the pilot project of the data mining study I have been working on.
That is enough for the year, I think.
My sister, my mom and The Perfect Jennifer always tells me that I need to have interests outside of work. I am not wholly convinced of that, since I am pretty happy the way I am. I don’t have any resolutions about visiting exotic places because I already have a lot on my plate for 2015. I keep saying I want to go back to Costa Rica and take some immersion program to improve my Spanish, but that will have to wait until 2016. So, here is my non-work resolution:
9. To go visit my family at least twice this year. I’m already planning to go hiking in some mountains with my sister for a day or two this summer, and I want to take The Spoiled One to visit my mom in Florida and check out colleges in the south.
So …. those are my New Year’s resolutions and I even threw in a non-work related one. (Joy, I hope that makes you happy, or joyful or something.) I looked through my blogs for the last few years and i think I have done okay on following through on resolutions and non-resolutions.
If you don’t have a blog but are still convinced of the whole efficacy of public accountability thing, please feel free to post your resolutions below. Or just do it because I’m nosy and wondering what other people’s resolutions are.
Switch careers, get much better at math and put my shoes on without sitting down. Bend. That is it for now 🙂
Those are some great resolutions.
Great idea! Here are my resolutions:
1. Complete and launch my online French learning course by February.
2. Get 100-200 students/beta testers to take the course.
3. Optimize and streamline the course content, games and quizzes, identify bottlenecks and polish until the average English speaker can make it through the course in under 50 hours and gain the ability to communicate in French.
4. Promote and get over 1,000 paid students by the end of the year. Graduate at least 10% of them.
5. Release my French grammar e-book.
6a. Once the course is working properly, localize to French (localize = translate+adapt) and release it as an English course for French speakers.
6b. Publish part of the content as a simple English grammar book and the translation as a French grammar book.
7. Get validation for the courses effectiveness with before & after tests, testimonials, etc.
8a. Complete the first version of my translation software suite and release to the public.
8b. Release one or two translation utilities for free (Transpics for one, possibly PrepTags as well)
9a. Reshoot my dog training DVD and make it into a series of Udemy courses.
9b. If the Udemy courses perform, shoot a few courses on web development (php/mysql/css/jquery/git)
10. Get my Judo BB from the Kodokan (I passed the kata exam and comp requirements already, but still need the grading ceremony and official certificate.)
11. Enter and win at least one competition in Judo and/or BJJ
12. Increase my strength by at least 50% (based on weight lifts – I am a beginner and already increased my numbers by 30%; another 50% should be doable)
13. Bring my weight below 100kg (220lbs – 4kg/9lb to go) and maintain it at that level or lower.
14. Practice Hane Goshi until I can perform it in Randori.
15. Visit one of my ex-training partners and submit him at least once. (long shot, the dude is a monster)
16. At least 3 training trips to Japan for at least 2 months total.
17. Learn Japanese up to a reasonable conversational level.
18. One trip to France to visit my folks
19. Finish writing my first movie script.
20. Resume study on a 3D modelling course for Blender and complete the darn thing.
21. Find a good photography course and do it.
22. Read at least 4 books on programming.
23. Write a simple log & graphing software (to keep track of the evolutions of things like income, hours, clients, etc. over time)
23. Get a date with a special someone. (My targets can’t be all easy, after all)
Well, that’s the basic outline of my plans for 2015. Happy new year!
How convenient – I know someone whose resolution is to improve her French. Please post when you have your courses available. She can be in that first 100.
That’s great. I’ll let you know as soon as I am up and running.
1. I resolve to hold you to resolution #9.
2. I resolve to continue trying, in earnest, to think about and act kindly towards those who annoy me the most because God put these people in my life to teach me (or them) something and I am not going to disappoint Her (God).
3. I resolve to be at peace with the fact that not all the people I love, love me back.
4. I resolve to drink only top shelf liquor in 2015 because life is too short for well drinks!