TL;DR:
❄️ Moved to Devon…
🌱
☀️
🍂
Yeah this structure doesn’t work for this year. 2023 was mental.
9 weddings, a huge amount of work, preparing for our wedding, and moving again in January 2024 has wrecked my usual year reporting structure!
I still kept doing Duolingo (1486 day streak!) and my Spanish is good enough that I notice some words in songs 🤦
I joined a 500km run challenge and ended up loving it and running 832km!
And I really got into reading!
I also stopped using everyhour.xyz. This was a tricky one. I have tracked every hour of every day from 2018. It has been so powerful for me to have the constant little reminder to consider what I am doing and if it aligns to my goals, if it is what I need at that time, and if I will enjoy it!
But this year, I have felt this is an ingrained consideration I have, and the act or knowledge that it will be recorded stopped motivating me. So I stopped.
My 2023 goals: How did I do?
1. Less random building ✅
Last year I made over 10 apps. This year I only focused on Vula and De Nada Nights — and DNN only survived as I find it therapeutic.
Putting the energy into Vula has been incredibly rewarding becuase of this discipline. I still get thoughts and ideas, but the few that have nothing to do with Vula go into the vault and are ignored.
2. Grow Vula 🟠
SaaS sales sucks. It takes ages. We have learnt so much, and taken a few jumps that would not be obvious without the work we have done this year, and I am now even more convinced of what we are doing, but Vula has not grown in the way I expected when I wrote this target and hence is 🟠
3. Continue with thankfuls ✅
Every night Emma and I have said what are we thankful for — for the whole year. Long may it continue.
4. Be able to lift Emma 🟠 and do triathlons ✅
Again the JEFIT app helps, but my discipline here has not been great. I did complete a triathlon in a great time, I ran 832km in 2023, picked up swimming more and feel much healthier.
But my diet has let me down — as I have increased muscle mass and body fat%. (Any meal prep suggestions would be greatly appreciated!)
5. A salary above £40k ❌
This is strongly related to the growth of Vula being under what we have wanted it to be.
Next year will be better.
6. Be well set up in the South West ✅
Yep. And happy here too. It hasn’t affected Vula at all, and personally I think it has aided Vula as I get so much more deep focus time.
2024 targets
- Ride or Die with Vula.
This time next year I expect Vula to be a team of 5–10 people, all working on closing the SME gap across Africa, by building AI agents that help business owners and business funders transact better. - The best shape of my life.
Perhaps the marriage should be the goal here but anyway, I am getting married and have a host of exercise goals I want to achieve to acheive for the vain goal of looking good for it!
A 100km run, dancing classes for our first dance, a muscle weight goal and potentially a triathlon or two. - Read and write more.
A surprising goal for a dyslexic, but this year it has been a joy to be reading and writing up books. I currently have 5 books waiting for me to read and one that needs to go back to the library soon. I want to continue and surpass the amount I have done this year (5 books written about + 4 read).
To be able to do this, I am going to sacrifice Instagram — something I enjoy but know is wasteful. - Change my schedule to fit more and enjoy more in a day
One thing another founder friend has taught me recently is that I still work to a 9–6ish schedule. Obviously, hours have increased, but he pointed out I would gain from moving my hours around to be more fitting of when my focus is best, rather than forcing myself into the ‘typical’ pattern.
To do this, I am going to experiment with a different structure of working hours. I guess I will report back next year on if this experiment worked for my productivity and enjoyment. - Get a dog.
Emma and I reviewed our year highlights again this year together. Most were us being active outside on hikes or at the sea. We have for a long time wanted a dog, and I truly believe it would be a fantastic addition to our life. - Continue De Nada Nights.
One thing that I have enjoyed immensely has been my side project De Nada Nights, where I pick a cultural celebration each month, learn about the culture, the music, the history, the food and the celebration and make a easy ‘no worries’ (‘de nada’) night plan with food, movies and music for Emma and I (and occasionally others).
I want to continue this.
