Well we made it, 2020 is coming to a close. I think I speak for all when I say this is a year we will never forget. Things happened in 2020 that I thought I would not see or that only happened in the movies. But that is the past and this post is about the future, so what do I plan to do in 2021?
Every year for as long as I can remember I have set a long and comprehensive list of goals for each year. Most of them having a theme and building from one to another. This year tho I have decided to keep it simple and have just 3 main goals for the year that are large, complex and will keep me focused for an entire year.
This year’s theme is:
Education & contribution
1: Sharing knowledge for the next generation of upcoming developers
It’s not lost on me that if it wasn’t for the internet and the culture of shared knowledge that exists in the technology industry I probably would not have achieved as much as I have over the years in my career.
But there comes a time when you need to not only take the education, but contribute to the effort for the next generation of upcoming developers. For 2021 I want to focus on sharing as much as I can of what I know and will inevitably learn in 2021. If the experienced and knowledgeable don’t share their knowledge the industry stops moving forward and creativity stops. It is a responsibility of those who learn from others to pass on that knowledge to the next in line.
I plan to pass on as much as I can in a single year through blogging about educational series and delivering comprehensive education to developers looking for anwsers in a clean, simple and thought out experience.
2: Finding ways to help on Open Source projects that excite me
Open source is something we all talk about doing or contributing towards but not many developers put it on their list as a goal for the year. I have a list of a few open source projects that really excite me and I will be watching the issues and contributing back to them when I can.
To go along with this trend I have also built some tools over the last year or so working on some projects that I think the community could benefit from me packaging and distributing them as tools to put into further projects.
3: Over a decade of playing music and I still wanna do it
Every year there is some sort of music goal on my list. This year is no different so this year I want to continue to learn and develop my musical skill, knowledge and education.
This year I am planning to keep playing guitar and educating myself more on music theory. Having been a drummer of over 13 years I have a strong rhythmic education however there is so much more to music and musicality. So I will be focusing on playing string and key instruments this year to help tune my ears and expand my musical education.
Well that sounds like a pretty full 2021 to me. 2020 may have been interesting and I have no doubt 2021 will be pretty eventful year, but I believe that it will be a year of achieving and moving forward. Not everyday will go perfectly and not every goal will be perfectly complete but having a plan is the first step to moving forward and pushing to new levels.
Cheers,
Vaugen Wake
Whats your 2021 plan? I would love to hear about it in the comments.
