Earlier this year I defined my objectives and then I checked in to see how I was doing. This is my third quarterly review to see if I’m on track or I keep procrastinating.

Reviews are tough and self-assessments even more difficult. In fact, the most challenging thing is to post this on my birthday… as I’m doing now! Let’s explore how I’m doing so far.

My 2020 Objectives & Progress

  1. Read one book a month
  2. Write one new blog article a week
  3. Work out 5 days a week
  4. Discover 6 new countries
  5. Donate and pick up a charity
  6. Environmental Awareness
  7. Improve my guitar skills
  8. Meditate 15 minutes a day for 30 days
  9. Sugar free for 30 days
  10. Vegan food for 30 days

Read One Book A Month

On Track. Even though I didn’t read exactly one book per month, I managed to catch up to make it to the following 11 books so far:

  1. Why We Sleep (Matthew Walker – 360 pages)
  2. Cross Stitch (Diana Gabaldon – 864 pages)
  3. Wine Folly (Puckette & Hammack – 240 pages)
  4. Dragonfly In Amber (Diana Gabaldon – 756 pages)
  5. Rich Dad Poor Dad (Robert Kiyosaki – 336 pages)
  6. Atomic Habits (James Clear – 320 pages)
  7. The Dip (Seth Godin – 90 pages)
  8. The 5 Love Languages (Gary Chapman – 209 pages)
  9. Make Time (Jake Knapp & John Zeratsky – 304 pages)
  10. Steal Like An Artist (Austin Kleon – 160 pages)
  11. Disrupt Yourself (Jay Samit – 304 pages)

Only 1 book left to complete the challenge! I’m currently reading The Path from Tony Robbins and Peter Mallouk.

Write One New Blog Article A Week

On Track. This is my post #42 of the year in 44 weeks, so I only missed 2 weeks which I think it’s not too bad. If I manage to hit #50 articles by 31st December 2020, then I’d be incredibly proud.

Work Out 5 Days A Week

On Track. As James Clear mentions in Atomic Habit: “If you want to master a habit, the key is to start with repetition, not perfection, just get your reps in”. This one I don’t even think. It’s been natural for many years. HIIT is my favourite as it requires only 20 or 30 minutes a day and I feel so happy and energised after that for the rest of the day. 

Discover 6 New Countries

Completed. We started the year with 8 countries as part of our wedding in Argentina and honeymoon in the Caribbean:  Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, St Thomas (USVI), St Maarten, St Kitts, Dominica and Barbados.

Obviously, we stopped travelling when the pandemic kicked in and travelled again in August for some friends’ wedding in Germany and then we continued to Estonia. Last month, we also went to Scotland.

Besides our home in England, we visited 10 countries this year. However, “new countries” were the Caribbean and Estonia, totalising 8 countries overall.

Donate And Pick Up A Charity

Completed. This year, I’ve financially supported the following organisations:

  1. WIRES (Bushfire Emergency – Australia)
  2. WWF (Bushfire Emergency – Australia)
  3. British Red Cross (Coronavirus Emergency – United Kingdom)
  4. Fondazione La Stampa (Coronavirus Emergency – Italy)
  5. Black Lives Matter (Global Network – US, UK & Canada)
  6. Feeding America (Network of 200 Food Banks – United States)

However, this is still not over as I have some more that I want to support before year end.

Environmental Awareness

Completed. This is the greatest challenge we ever faced. In fact, we might be the last generation that can do something about it. It’s not just the government who need to action, it’s also us. As a result, this is what I’m doing.

  1. Use my voice. Whenever I have the chance, I reach out to my network to share some easy wins.
  2. Be informed. I invested time, money and efforts on my Sustainability career. One example is my recent Harvard Business School course.
  3. Be political. I check what environmental proposition the candidate I’m voting is offering. Our local MPs and politicians are accountable too.
  4. Travel responsibly. We sold our petrol car. The reason was really that we were moving out but on the other hand, I’m not sure I’ll want to have another petrol one. When the time comes, we’ll put all the options on the table and electric will be the largest contributor. I know I cannot control the airplanes but this is also always in my mind. I love travelling abroad but there are places we can’t go without airplanes.
  5. Eat sustainably. As you know, I’m vegetarian, so I don’t eat any type of meat (no fish either!). This is more for ethical reasons for me, but it’s still good that helps the environment.
  6. Reduce waste. I’m also trying to waste less food and I don’t use any plastic bag.
  7. Watch what I buy. I only read books on Kindle and take the majority of my notes via iPad or iPhone. I don’t buy newspapers/magazines and definitely avoid printing. And I refuse to receive letters from firms, so when you have the choice to get emails instead, that’s my preferred setting.
  8. Find ways to donate. I was deeply touched earlier this year with the whole bushfire’s situation in Australia, so I supported WIRES and WWF organisations.

You might judge “Why X and not Y?” but I think it’s a question of battles. Those are my objectives given my current situation. At some point, I’ll do more. If we try to fight everything, we’ll get nothing done.  

Improve My Guitar Skills

At Risk. This is a shame as I spent very little time. I have the guitar as decoration in my studio. I feel disappointed about myself and hopefully I can make some progress in the last 2 months of the year.

Meditate 15 Minutes A Day For 30 Days

Completed. This started as a 30-day-challenge. I’ve done 307 days of meditation this year. Almost 15 minutes every day. Just missed 2 days but still on streak.

Sugar Free for 30 days

At Risk. Yes, everything has sugar. Perhaps I should have defined a range. Up to 10% or to avoid refined sugar.

I “survived” few weeks and then ended up eating some little treat. What a shame. I need to get serious and stop the “one day fine” excuse. Clearly, I want to have a balance and it’s OK to miss few days but then what’s the point of setting an unreal objective?

Vegan Food for 30 days

Completed. This was not complicated being vegetarian. It was just about skipping cheese and eggs for one month because I never eat: red meat, poultry, fish, butter, milk, mayonnaise, honey, etc. Even eggs, I hardly eat. Cheese is that one thing I struggle!

As you can see objectives are really important to have a framework and make the year more meaningful. I don’t think I’m crushing it but I do think I’ll complete at least 80% of my objectives. Cheers!