Another year gone and a new one just starting. Time to take a look back at the the goals that I set for myself, which ones I’ve achieved and which I haven’t.
I did fairly well with the goals that I set back in October. The experiment design for my thesis is not documented and the WPF book is not finished, but the rest is all done and the exam was easily passed. So not too bad there. Better than I managed in the first half of the year.
And now for next year…
The biggest thing is that I’m going to take a near-complete break from the SQL community for at least the first half of the year so that I can focus on my thesis. No writing articles, no contributing to books, no giving or writing presentations. I’ll still blog, though likely only once a month on SQL-related stuff, though there may well be some AI stuff appearing from time to time. I’ll still be around on the SSC forums, though not as much as I currently am. I’ll also still be involved in the local usergroup. I can’t abandon that.
So, with that out of the way, the goals for the next six months:
- Read one SQL book
- Read at least two AI books
- Get the experiment for my thesis designed and coded.
- Write at least two chapters of the thesis
- Get back into computer graphics and get two images done
To add to that, strange as it may seem, I’m going to ensure that I take time to read, relax and exercise away from the computer. This year I’ve spend too much time ‘busy’. I have a stack of books almost a metre high that I’ve bought but not opened. I have a similar stack of movies and games (though not quite as high) and I had a nasty bout of burnout Oct/Nov and I really don’t want that again.
Good luck with the goals you have set. I can relate with the stack of books scenario. One of my goals so far this year is to read a minimum of one chapter a day from a SQL book. I have been consistent so far, sometimes getting to two chapters a day. I’ve only been a Jr. DBA for 8 months now, so I am setting small goals for myself.