Way back on January 1st, 2005, I wrote about some things I wanted to do in 2005. They say that you need to measure progress (or at least take stock of it), so here I go.

In 2005, I wanted to:

• Read more. My goal was 26 books in 2005, and I hit 27, thanks to a 10 book reading binge that I went on while traveling. It was a worthwhile goal to set last year, as the books I read in 2005 entertained me, and both broadened and deepened my knowledge on many subjects. Given that I don't plan on traveling for five weeks this summer, I think 26 books is an aggressive, but reachable number again this year.
• Build stuff. I planned on building some extensions to Firefox and Movable Type. The result? Other than re-architecting this blog, I built exactly zilch. Now that I've got an office in our new place in LA, I hope that I will be able to focus long enough to build some cool stuff this year.
• Compartmentalize consumption. All year, I struggled with balancing having a life and keeping up with the RSS feeds I subscribed to. In mid-December, I got sick of it, and mercilessly hacked my subscription list down to a very manageable 46 feeds. I only open Feed Demon when I plan on reading feeds, and shut her down when I want to focus on another task. It took all year to figure out this routine, but if something's not covered in my feeds or on Memeorandum, it's probably not important to me.
• Seek perspective. My trip to Africa and Europe this summer was wonderful. Exposure to amazingly different ways of life certainly provided perspective on how fortunate I have been to have the opportunities I've had and the way I've lived my life. It was a good thing that I had 15+ hours on my flight from Zurich to LA to ruminate, because it was only on the second-last day of my trip that my mind felt unburdened enough to consciously think about life, the universe, and everything. In addition to travel, I was forced to seek perspective in order to make the biggest decision I made this year, to leave ESPN for FOX and move to LA. This year, I'm looking forward to the perspective that comes with experiencing new and diverse things here in LA.
• Write more. I think my posts have more depth and focus than those in the first three years of this blog. I'm happy with the direction my writing is going, but I know I can both a) write more, and b) write better.
• Go offline. This was a toughie (see compartmentalize consumption, above). Fortunately, the travel thing forced me off the grid for some time. Currently living in a place with constant summer makes it easier to motivate to go offline and Do Stuff, but I need to get better at this in 2k6.

In 2006, I want to do a couple more things:

• Get into more unfamiliar situations.  As Geneve learned through her sales job, and then taught me, there’s nothing like being uncertain about what to do in a situation that makes you think on your feet.  I want to reduce the time it takes for me to adapt to and thrive in new situations. 
• Meet more people.  Between ETech, Web 2.0, and a slew of customer experience conferences I went to, I connected with a ton of smart and interesting people.  I want to continue to do this in 2006.
• Organize more events.  In university, I was a guy who organized things.  NHL 2000 leagues, ultimate tournaments, road trips, etc.  I enjoy organizing events, and want to do more—it’s fun to help people have a good time and meet new folks.  I’m starting with a hockey game with work folks, and BarCamp LA (more on the latter very soon).
• Learn a new language.  Spanish, Swiss German, and German are currently high on the list.  When January 2007 rolls around, I want to know all the bad words AND be able to get by with only moderate gesticulations if I were plopped down in a city where they speaka-my-new-language.

2005 was a very good year for me.  I hope it was for you, too, and that 2006 is even better for us all!

Related Posts

• 2005 Plan
• The Year in Cities, 2006
• Good Experience Live 2006 Was Brilliant
• 2005: The Year in Cities