2019 Priorities and Goals

2019 Priorities and Goals

Priority No. 1: Mental and Spiritual Health

- Meditate at least 3x a week

- Set aside 10 minutes a week to think about death (of oneself and of loved ones)

Priority No. 2: Physical Health

- Get at least 7 hours of sleep per day

- Low-carb lunches on weekdays 

- No food after 10 p.m.

- Drink a glass of water first thing every morning

- Complete high intensity training at least 3x a week

- Practise yoga at least 2x a week

- Go for a full body check-up

- Go for a dental check-up

Priority No. 3: Relationships with others

- Be genuinely interested in others

Priority No. 4: Finances

- Increase liquid assets by at least $50k by year-end

  

Priority No. 5: Employment

- Reflect on 1 positive aspect of employment every work day

Review of 2018

Another year has passed. The days are slow but the year went quickly. Another year closer to death. Time to review how 2018 went before setting my direction for 2019. 


Priority No. 1: Mental and Spiritual Health

- Meditate at least 3x a week

Achieved. (Grade: A)

- Think about death once a week

Partially achieved. (Grade: B)

Definitely increasingly aware of my mortality but remain challenged and comforted by the words of Seneca: "Life is long, if you know how to use it." Mindful living is an imperative. 

Priority No. 2: Physical Health

- Get at least 7 hours of sleep per day

Generally Achieved. (Grade: A-)

Got 7 hours of sleep per day on average. 

- Low-carb lunches on weekdays 

Generally achieved. (Grade: A-)

No-carbs lunch is the default on weekdays but there were some cheat days here and there. In any case, I have been mindful of my weekday lunch consumption and am generally pleased. 

- Drink a glass of water every morning

Partially achieved (Grade: B)

Averaged about 3 times a week, instead of every morning. 

- Train at least 3x a week

Spectacular! (Grade: A+)

Got really fit and strong this year! 

- Practise yoga at least 2x a week

Achieved. (Grade: A)

Priority No. 3: Relationships

- Spend as much quality time with loved ones

Achieved. (Grade: A)

Priority No. 4: Finances

- Increase liquid assets by at least $60k by year-end

Partially achieved. (Grade: B)

Due to market downturn, I am short by about $5k.

- Invest at least $30k by year-end

Achieved. (Grade: A)

  

Priority No. 5: Job

- Stay employed

Achieved but attitude towards work is still deplorably poor. (Grade: C)

May have to leave my current job in 2019. Getting thrown off the gravy train may perhaps be a kick in the butt that I need... and/or an opportune time for a sabbatical.  



Thanks for reading. Will be setting my direction for 2019 shortly!

My Age 30 Sabbatical Fantasy - Will I do it?

I've been working full time ever since I graduated. It's been close to 5 years and I want a break from the generally uninspiring routine.  I've worked in 4 organisations so far... and am dreaming of quitting soon.. for not another organisation, but a sabbatical this time. 

It is my fantasy to take a sabbatical (most likely voluntary unemployment) from full-time work at age 30 and experience early retirement life for myself. The time off from full time work is ideally at least 6 months to a year. Why age 30? No real reason except that it sounds like a cool life milestone. 

To date, I have about 10x annual living expenses in liquid networth.

What's stopping me though? Generally: 

- fear of murdering my resume (seen as more of a serial job hopper and a corporate flake)

- fear of not being able to land another high-paying and cushy job 

- fear of enjoying early retirement life too much that I'm not able to acclimatized back to corporate life

I suppose the above fears are warranted but they stem from the scarcity mentality and also a fixed mindset, which I'm trying to uninstall from my mental operating system. 

Anyway, there's still some time to go. We shall see... 

First-Quarter Update of 2018

Been busy enjoying life so this update comes late. Let's see how aligned my life has been this year... 


Priority No. 1: Mental and Spiritual Health

- Meditate at least 3x a week

Going great. 

- Think about death once a week

Not so great. Still thinking about death on an ad-hoc basis. Need to really set aside "thinking of death" time, as morbid as it sounds.

Priority No. 2: Physical Health

- Get at least 7 hours of sleep per day

Going great. 

- Low-carb lunches on weekdays 

Going great. 

- Drink a glass of water every morning

Not so great. I forget about this most mornings. Need to find a way to habitualise this. 

- Train at least 3x a week

Going spectacular!

- Practise yoga at least 2x a week

Going great. 

Priority No. 3: Relationships

- Spend as much quality time with loved ones 

Going great. 

Priority No. 4: Finances

- Increase liquid assets by at least $60k by year-end

Going great. On track. 

- Invest at least $30k by year-end

Going great. On track. 

  

Priority No. 5: Job

- Stay employed

Still riding the gravy train. 

2018 Priorities and Goals

Priority No. 1: Mental and Spiritual Health

- Meditate at least 3x a week

- Think about death once a week 

Priority No. 2: Physical Health

- Get at least 7 hours of sleep per day

- Low-carb lunches on weekdays 

- Drink a glass of water every morning

- Train at least 3x a week

- Practise yoga at least 2x a week

Priority No. 3: Relationships

- Spend as much quality time with loved ones 

Priority No. 4: Finances

- Increase liquid assets by at least $60k by year-end

- Invest at least $30k by year-end

  

Priority No. 5: Job

- Stay employed

Review of 2017

As per subject title...

Priorities	Systems / Goals	Evaluation
No. 1: Mental and Spiritual Health	Meditate daily	Meditated about 2-3 times a week on average this year. Happy about this.
	Practise yoga daily	Practised yoga about 3 times per week for the first 3 quarters of this year. Frequency decreased to about 1-2 times per week in the last quarter due to increased training commitment.
	Find meaning in life	Still thinking about this. Finding meaning in life is an ongoing process, I believe. My thinking now is that life is inherently meaningless, but we can surely add meaning to it. Our time is finite so we should utilise our living moments wisely. “Life is a daring adventure, or nothing at all!”. I’ve done very “adventurous” activities in my youth and I did not regret doing them. I’ve been less adventourous ever since I started working. I’m determined to not let work get in the way of life.
No. 2: Physical Health	Get enough sleep (at least 7 hours a day)	Averaged about 7 hours of sleep per day. Ideally, it would be 8 hours.
	Eat healthily	Really proud of my generally low-carb diet this year! There’s room for improvement with respect to my sweet tooth though.
	Be active everyday	Picked up a new sport this year and have been training 3-4 times (1.5-2 hours each session) per week. My speed, strength and reflexes have improved tremendously and I’m feeling fitter and toner than ever!!! This is my top achievement this year!!!
	Go for a suitable full-body health screening	Did some basic health tests and also an ECG recently. Based on my family doctor’s advice, I will start going for full-body health screening once every 2 years from age 30 onwards.
No. 3: Relationships	Spend quality time with loved ones	Happy with my relationships with loved ones. Nothing I want to change in this regard J
No. 4: Career	Stay employed for most parts of the year	Employed for 11 months. Took 1 month off in between job-change.
	Find a higher-paying job with equally little stress and decent work-life balance	I secured a new job at a new organisation. “Lower” career status but higher pay and closer to home. Letting go of careerism is not an easy journey… but I’m getting there slowly but surely. Increasingly, I do not desire recognition, promotion or any career bells and whistles. I have determined this year that my job is a job, not a career. I arrive and leave on time, and do my job during office hours. It seems to me that work-life balance is all in the mind and one’s attitude towards work.
No. 5: Finances	Invest at least S$30k in equities by year-end	Achieved.
	Increase liquid networth by S$60k by year-end	I increased my liquid networth by S$56k this year, S$4k short of my target.
No. 6: Authenticity	Be more authentic (online and when interacting with others in real life)	I have been more authentic this year and feel really great about this. Reached out to a few like-minded bloggers online (shout-out to ERSG!). I have also distanced myself from "complainy-pants" friends this year. It really does wonders.
Other significant milestones and events this year: - Got engaged to loving partner of many years - Surpassed the basic retirement sum in my CPF OA and SA