2015 was filled with with some solid travel and life accomplishments (see: Part 1). Looking forward to 2016, life is more settled than its typically been given that we’ll be in our current home & location for at least the next 3+ years. Most of the work on the house has been done, the dog (semi) trained. Long story short, no reason not to knock out goals in all four aspects of 2016.

Life:

  • Volunteer 10 Hours Per Month: Deadline EOM, every month.
  • Double Down on Dog Training: George is awesome, clearly. But he can be can a handful when not exercised, and could still be much better at listening/not eating our house when I travel. Deadline: 1 new skill per month (January: Put your own f’ing toys away dog)
  • Cut Mortgage in HalfThe biggest benefit of living in Reading PA is that property is crazy cheap and mortgage balances have 5 digits rather than 6 or 7. The downside is that building real long term equity won’t happen unless we’re very intentional about it. Deadline: 50% paid off by EOY.
  • Finish Last 10% of Remodel:  You know, all that stuff that is a pain in the ass and very easy to ignore like trim, moulding. etc. Deadline: 5/1.
  • Break Ground on Lake House: 2015 was a pretty big fail here so in 2016 the goal is finalize building plans and to break ground in the spring. Deadline 6/1.
  • Read 12 Non-Fiction Books: Any Suggestions? Deadline EOY.

Travel:

  • 15 Days Overseas: 30+ days seems unlikely given that my wife gets about 5 off but between a trip or two with her and a solo trip or two 15 seems doable. Deadline 10 days booked by 5/1. (side note: Anyone want to dog sit?)
  • Visit Hawaii: America’s 50th state is also my 50th. I’ve been saying I’m going to visit for 3 years.  2016 is the year. Deadline: Trip booked by 3/1. (side note: want to dog sit?)
  • Surf 5 Days: I’ve been a consistent once a year surfer for 5 or so years. I enjoy it as much as anything I do athletically, despite being terrible. Combined with either of the two above 5 days should be doable. Deadline EOY. (Note: filed under travel since the surf scene here in reading is yet to blossom.)
  • Canal Trip: In 2015, a group of us took the Erie Canal from Lake Ontario down to home sweet hector via the Erie and Oswego canals. It was a kick ass way to see the state, and there’s no reason it shouldn’t be done every year with so much of the canal system still unexplored. Deadline 9/15.
  • 1 Overnight Moto-Trip: I’ve spend time plenty of time scanning the adventure porn mecca that is ADVRider. PA has miles of dirt to explore that would be time much better spent. Deadline: 8/1

 Fitness: 

  • 3x Adventure Races: At least one of which should be 48 Hour+. We’re already signed up for the Rev3 Shenandoah Epic, so two more should be doable. Deadline 11/1.
  • Bike Around Seneca Lake: A hold over from 2015. No reason not to get this done. Deadline 6/15
  • Mountain Bike 20+ Times: Reading may not have a sick surf break, but it does have miles and miles of killer mountain bike trails. No reason not to get out more consistently. Deadline EOY
  • 5 Million Steps: A while back I bought myself a fancy adventure watch, which can also track daily activity levels. While I’m generally pretty active, I’ve already noticed that my general activity levels are schizophrenic with <5000 some days and 15,000+ the next.  5 Million steps works out to about 13,698 steps 0r 7 or so miles per day. Seems doable right?. Deadline: EOY

Biznass:

  • Create Detailed 18 Month Plan: One that outlines exactly why, how and when we’ll grow (or shrink???) Deadline: January 30. 
  • Hire 2x Top Tier Team Members: LooseGrip has been fairly successful at attracting great team members and contractors in spite having a super passive (read: non-existent)hiring strategy. 2016 is that year that needs to change. Deadline: 1 hire by 3/1.
  • Find 1 “local” client: Currently all of our clients are a good drive or flight away. The Reading area may not be a hotbed for tech, but there are plenty of companies large enough to need help at a national level. Deadline: 10/1.
  • Optimize Work Days, Times, Locales: Even though I have the ability to work wherever, whenever. I find myself sticking to a fairly conventional 7:30 – 4ish M-F workday even though my productivity reaches near zero after 2pm. I’m hoping to document and build a more intentional work day based on what works best for output. Deadline 3/1
  • Reorganize Biz Logistics: While moving constantly over the last 5 or so years, LooseGrip has remained a Virginia corporation with A DC area bank and PO box. This leads to the occasional 4 hour round trip to deposit a check (which may not be considered as a well optimized workday) Deadline 1/30. 

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About my #AnnualReview: For the last 5 or so years, I’ve tried to look back at the year before and see how it stacks up, while also setting goals for the year to come. I find the exercise invaluable as a mechanism to be inspired to do more cool stuff. The Life, Fitness, Business, Travel categories work best for me, but if you’d like to do your own I recommend checking out my buddy Chris’s template to get started.

NeilCallanan Uncategorized ,

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