2011 Recap
12/31/2011 12:11 p.m. | Personal
My new favorite tradition at the end of the year is to do a recap and set goals and guesses. I recapped 2010 (2009, 2008) and made some predictions and goals for 2011 last January. Now it's time to look back on 2011.
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I made more than I spent
Not a whole lot more, but definitely more. I didn't stop spending all together, but I started to get smarter with how I spent money. I still spent quite a bit on Apple products and more on food than I probably need. I cut out superfluous spending and kept less money in my pocket so that it wasn't spent. The year in the market was not great, but those losses haven't been realized yet.
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I continued to travel
I took a trip to DC for a conference and to San Francisco for two conferences to work with April at the new Silicon Valley Schipul office. I stayed at a house on Airbnb and had a great time. The time away from everything here was much needed, and the perspective that I got shaped the rest of my year.
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I continued to grow at work
More training, more work, and more responsibility. We change fast at Schipul, and changed quite a bit this year. We went Big, and we are still here to tell the tale. We started the year launching a new Schipul.com and continued to innovate. We launched more sites than ever, created new software, and used better tools (Macs!) than ever before.
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My Happiness Project fell apart fast
Meg and I had both read the book at the end of 2010 and each made plans for 2011. My plan was organized and thoughtful, and by March I had all but abandoned it. It was just too much change in the face of so many other things changing around me.
It really took my attempt at happiness to completely fall apart before I began to be happy. I was frustrated and confused with several things early in the year, and my trip to California could not have come at a better time. Work was overwhelming and was affecting my life in many ways. Getting out of the office and away from it all gave me the perspective to see everything around me that I was somehow missing. Spending some fun time with April and Jason in a new city was great, and I can't wait to go back out west.
Since that trip in early April, things have continued to move fast, and I have moved much better with them. I moved up at work and continued to drive forward and some of my favorite coworkers went on to new things. Summer turned into Fall and Winter faster than I realized, with each day strengthening my excitement about the next.
My goals for health were not really accomplished much, but I have at least maintained my level of health. My guess about more success at work came true in the best ways. Meg and I have done a bit more cooking, and are still trying to work out the best way to not fall into the easy habit of always eating out. TV was also less a part of my life in 2011. New shows have not replaced the old ones, and I can see that trend continuing.
My outlook at the beginning of 2011 was positive, and I have finished the year with even more positivity. I don't think I will plan for much in the coming year, as it seems I'm better off reacting to the change that is destined to take place without my influence.