Yes, we’re still in November, but it won’t be long till Auld Lang Syne is playing again. With that in mind, I thought it would be a good opportunity to start looking back at an eventful 2018. 

Background

Each quarter, I develop my goals by taking an outlook on the short-term (3 months), medium-term (12 months) and long-term (3-5 years) objectives. This is split between areas of work and career, family and personal development, finances, and health. Below is the PowerPoint template I created to keep my focus – utilising the SMART technique. If you’d like a copy of my template, please feel free to contact me.

ABC Dad Goals

2018 Review – Work and Career

Although I review the goals regularly, I thought it would be good to look back on the year. This would show how much, if at all, I have progressed. First off, I’ll look at my Work and Career development. My goals this time last year were:

Short Term:

 Identify online courses to assist with career development: I successfully completed a few online courses via Open University and Future Learn, some relating to property, networking and childhood education. 

 Review and update LinkedIn, CV and online job site profiles: My contract was due to expire in mid-2018, so I was able to update and prepare for new opportunities. It’s amazing what you can add to your ‘achievements’ at work when you take the time to review the accomplishments. Fortunately, my contract was extended for another six months. However, I have been able to connect with HR contacts for when the time comes to move on.

Medium Term:

 Read at least one book per month (business, property or entrepreneurial): I have never been a keen reader. Even at school, I would skim through the pages and in the pre-Internet days, tried to read through the summary guides on Shakespeare. So one of my goals was to read at least a book a month, broken down further to at least 10 pages per day. I’m not the quickest of readers. However, now I have started reading business, property and entrepreneurial books, I am hooked. Amazon Prime has become one of my closest friends. Some of the insights I have gained from these books have been useful, with an added benefit of making the train into work more enjoyable and educational.

Photo below shows the growing collection, which started in April 2017 with Rich Dad, Poor Dad – currently reading Mindset. For a full list or recommendations, please get in touch. I will try to provide a summary of key takeaways from a few of my favourite books over the coming months.

ABC Dad 2018 Review Books

Long Term:

 Generate a passive income: Without going into the specific details (as the goal is slightly longer than 5 years), the process has begun with the purchase of a buy-to-let property in Crewe late last year. Once conveyancing completed, it was rented out in April and now generates a passive income. So, will give myself a partial tick and will continue to build upon this with the aim of an additional property in 2019!

Next time…a review of 2018 – Family and Personal Development

What goals did you take action on during 2018? Did you achieve or miss them? Add your comments below.