Inspired by interesting creators and personalities online, 2022 was the first year of my life in which I made a rough plan for the year ahead. As 2022 has come to a close, when I look back, even though I didn’t all the things I aimed for, I’m still happy that I had some direction over the course of the year. As I did in 2022, the main areas of this 2023 planning will be revolving around the topics of health, wealth, and career. Unlike 2022, where I tried many things and hoped for the best, this year I’m embracing with a lot of clarity. Thus 2023 is a year of execution where I stick to my principles and routine. I’ve also decided to take fewer things on my plate to make this plan more sustainable. One issue I faced last year was that I revisited the planning only a handful of times during the course of the year. This year I’m attempting bullet journaling and I’m hoping that it will keep me aware of the goals I’ve set for the year.

Instead of doing a separate blog post about last year’s review, I thought of including the same in this year’s plan. To sum up the 3 main highlights of 2022 were:

• Switching my career to a field that I’m interested in at the intersection of data, sustainability, and writing.
• Getting engaged to my girlfriend and one step close to getting married.
• Becoming a super randonneur by completing 200,300, 400, and 600-kilometer cycle rides in a calendar year.

Goals for 2022

• To be fit and healthy by end of 2023.
• Create a consistent recurring passive income by end of 2023.
• Continue learning to code and create a portfolio by the end of the year.

Objectives

To achieve the goals mentioned in the previous section, the following objectives have been laid out. Some of these objectives are interconnected and contribute to more than one of the goals.

Weight

The goal for 2022 is to end the year at a healthy weight of 65 which puts me in the normal range on the BMI scale. Last year also I had a similar goal and reached 67 kgs by August, but failed miserably as the year came to a close. A lot of it has to do with less exercise during the last quarter of the year when I shifted to New Delhi and had an erratic schedule and diet.

Sleep

My goal for this year is to have an average of 7 hours of sleep throughout the year. I had a similar goal last year and more or less achieved it for the first half of the year. Second half I struggled miserably and it is quite evident that I didn’t hit the target. Also, I’m yet to find a sustainable way to track sleep that gives me better insight without using a wearable. I’m looking at ways to track it using my phone usage or by manual entries.

Cycling

The goal for 2023 is to ride 4000 km in Delhi and complete a few 200 km rides in and around Delhi. I’ve kept the goal quite realistic as I’m in a new city where winters and summers are extreme.

Also, the lack of community so far and the air pollution have bothered me a lot in Delhi. Last year the goal was to ride 6000 km and even with no serious cycling in the last quarter of the year due to relocation, I ended the year with 5,642 which was quite close to the goal I had set. Another goal was to complete 200 and 300 BRMs which are self-supported time-based cycling events. But to my surprise, last year I did 200, 300, 400, and 600 km rides to become a super randonneur, something I never anticipated. I really pushed my limits for this and was super happy about the same.

Running

My goal for 2023 is to run a total of 600 km and complete a half marathon. Last year there was no tangible goal in terms of kilometers but there was a 10km goal that I achieved in March. This year I’m setting my standards high with hopes of consistent running and my first-ever half marathon.

Swimming

The goal for 2023 is to at least swim once a week and clock at least 30 km of swimming distances by the end of the year. The goal for last year was to achieve a fitness to swim 800kms continuously, but that never happened and I could achieve a fitness to swim only 250 meters max. My swimming also took a toll due to the winters in Delhi and the access to pools. I will have to start from square one to achieve this goal.

Meditation

In 2023 the goal is to remaster the art of meditation and end the year with at least 220 mindful days with at least 10 minutes of meditation. The goal is to immediately start meditation first thing in the morning when I wake up such that I don’t postpone it further. I had 110 mindful days in 2022 on the Waking Up app. which was even lower than in 2021. If time persists, I would love to do a silent retreat for a few days or something like Vipassana in 2023.

Fasting

The goal for 2023 is to fast for a total of 4000 hours which was calculated by assuming five 16-hour fasts in a week. Last year the target was 4500 but I failed to track it and logged only 2100 hours of fasting. I even set up an NFC sticker-based easy tap system to log in to my fasting on the Zero app but failed to cultivate a habit for the same. The goal for this year is to be more consistent in terms of logging and I’m tracking the same on my journal as well.

Diet

The goal for 2023 is to have 65% or more days with less than 200 calorie consumption. There were no tangible goals in 2022 in terms of diet and I failed quite a bit. Another goal also this year is to have a well-balanced protein-rich diet on training days at least.

Alcohol

It’s very hard to have a tangible goal for this but I’ve set a monetary goal of a maximum of 15,000 INR (~$180) spent on alcohol this year. As with diet, there was no tangible goal last year the goal was to just drink as much less as possible. Even though I sort of achieved it for a major part of the year, the goal fell apart when I moved to Delhi and had those long weekends. The goal for this year is to have no compromise on weekends or sleep due to alcohol and preserve as much precious time as possible.

Programming

In terms of programming, I felt like I had too much on my plate and my focus was all over the place. The goal for 2023 is to master Python and brush my skills further by completing all exercises on Exercism and a full-stack Python Bootcamp. I also want to gain more AI/ML skill sets this year as I see my career moving in that direction. Since I work in the field of energy and power system modeling, I also want to learn PyPSA, TIMES, and other modeling tools to enhance my skillsets. If time permits, learning processing is also part of the plan. Another project that is currently in work is the migration of my current WordPress blog into a static one using Hugo.

Art

2022 was a complete failure in terms of art. The goal was to complete 3 art projects but I couldn’t even complete one. 2022 saw a decline in the number of photographs I’ve taken and I really want to work on that. In 2023, I want to click more photos, go on photo walks, and complete at least 2 photography projects by the year’s end. When I mean complete, I want it to be compiled and published on my portfolio website.

Newsletter

The goal for 2023 is to hit a target of 4000 subscribers by the end of the year and explore ways to go paid by the end of the year with a solid plan for 2024. In 2022, my goal was hitting 2000 subscribers, and to my surprise even without being consistent, I hit my target in October itself. If I hadn’t been lazy, I would’ve ended the year with 2500 subscribers conservatively. I wanted an ambitious goal for this year and thus the target of gaining close to 1700 subscribers this year. I’ve found that cross-promotion works best for increasing your subscriber base. So if you’re a newsletter writer, happy to collaborate with you!

Blogging

I ended 2022 with just 9 articles and didn’t even achieve half of the target of 30 articles I had set for the year. In 2023, I want to be more practical and publish more meaningful content and I aim to publish 20 blog posts by the end of the year.

Reading

Reading also took quite a toll in 2022 where I read only 22 books against the target of 45. Even though setting a number in terms of reading is absurd, it sets the tone for the year and I aim to read 30 books by the end of the year.

Side Hustles

The goal for last year was to earn a minimum of 50000 INR (~ $670) per month from the side hustles by the end of the year. As the year came to a close, my maximum earning month was one in which the newsletter generated close to 25000 INR (~ $330) in revenue. Rather than a monthly goal, the goal for 2023 is to generate a total passive income of 3,60,000 INR (~ $4300) by the end of 2022. This I feel is quite realistic and I hope to achieve it by the year’s end.

Emergency Fund

One goal I had for 2022 was to create a buffer for myself in case of any emergency such that I can survive for 6 months. Even though I was able to achieve it, I had to spend it due to some home renovations, travel, and relocation. I want to be very strict on this and I aim to set up an emergency fund of at least 3 months by end of 2023.

Investment Portfolio Risk Management

Last year the goal was to reduce the exposure of crypto in my portfolio by 20% and invest more in debt/index and retirement funds. I achieved this goal successfully and my crypto allocation is standing at 18% of my total allocation. This year the goal is to reduce my crypto exposure to less than 10% and have at least 20% of assets as cash for liquidity.

Other Objectives

Apart from these main objectives, some other plans I have for this year are:

• To get married by end of 2023.
• Create a sustainable training plan for my long-term goal of participating in a triathlon.
• Move to Europe/America/Dubai and create opportunities or gain skillsets to achieve this in terms of career.
• Travel very less nationally/internationally and save as much money as possible.
• Publish at least one peer-reviewed paper in a journal or conference.
• Reduce my screen time and addiction to my smartphone, which feels like an eternal quest.

Final Thoughts

As said in the introduction, I had too much on my plate in 2022 and felt out of focus most of the times. This year I want to avoid that and move on with more clarity. Contrary to the beginning of 2022, I’m in a much better head space in terms of career and life direction. It’s all about consistent execution this year and I hope to write a much more positive and happy report in 2024.

Happy New Year!

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