It's 2021. I'm sitting in a studio apartment. The apartment overlooks bright gold marbled tourist shops & shiny tropical beaches. Clouds streak through the blue sky, like icing on birthday cake. The blistering sun plants patches of red, crusty sun burn on my skin. Ouch.
Last night I ate delicious Omakase, filled with fatty toro, vibrant oysters and crunchy tempura. The chef said, 99% of the people coming in are from San Francisco. Yes, I’m apart of the so called “tech elite” where WFH actually means “Work From Hawaii.”
It annoys me when other tech folks complain about how much 2020 sucked. Most tech business’ are thriving from the pandemic. You make six figures and get to work wherever you want. Calm the eff down.
On the other hand, 2020 was objectively worse than other years. The other part of me, nods in agreement. 2020 did suck. Millions of people lost their jobs. Small business' shut down. Over a million people in the world have died from covid-19.
I constantly remind myself how fortunate I am to be in my situation, especially before setting any goals for 2021.
Highlights
Surfing
I fell in love with surfing after my trip to Sri Lanka in February 2020. Going surfing, is one of the only times throughout the day where I’m completely disconnected. No phone. No computer. No notifications. It’s a spiritual experience. I’m completely present, carefully examining tiny bumps in the water, waiting for the one to fly me to shore.
Friends
Like many, I didn’t meet as many people in 2020. But one benefit, is I felt much more connected with the friends I do have. Zoom calls to stay in touch, calls I never would have set up if it weren’t for the pandemic. Long conversations about life, as we drive to hit a surf spot. “Work-cations” with friends in San Diego & Hawaii.
Career Skills Development
I grew the most in my career in 2020. Not necessarily from a financial perspective, but from a career skill development perspective. I helped develop a variance reduction CUPAC. I switched jobs during the worst of the pandemic and got seven offers. I can now attach the word “Senior” to my title (whatever that means). I’m in more of a “lead” role now, forcing me to grow as a leader as well.
2020 Goals Review
Use data science to generate $XX million of profit for the company
I would say I hit this goal at Doordash. Although, estimating my direct impact on company profit gets convoluted as the company gets larger.
Grade: A-
Level up as a Data Scientist
Although my intention was to level up at the same company, I technically hit this goal by switching jobs. On my current path, I’d start to inch towards a managerial role. I’ll need to carefully think about the path I want to continue on.
Grade: B+
Use writing as a method to level up data science skills by publishing 50,000 words and 20,000 views
I didn't get close to the amount I wanted to publish, which made me question whether I actually cared about this goal. I don’t think this was the right goal. Word count isn’t an effective metric for writing just like how lines of code isn’t a good measure for code quality. Better writing is simple writing. In retrospect, “useful artifacts published” is probably the better metric.
Grade: C-
Find a long-term, compatible relationship
I didn't go on nearly as many dates as I did in 2019. In fact, I only went on a handful as it wasn't a priority of mine while finding a new position. One thing I learned though, is that dating is something that requires momentum. It’s really hard for me to get started once I’ve stopped.
Grade: F
Move to New York City
Although I didn't technically move to NYC in 2020 due to the pandemic, by switching my job to Spotify, I would consider this goal accomplished.
Grade: A
Travel to 5 new cities/countries that I've never been to
I visited Sri Lanka in February 2020 which counts and took a surftrip through Southern California which I'll count as well. Upon reflection, this wasn't a well thought out goal, as I had no strong reason to accomplish this, plus, the pandemic hit in March 2020.
Grade: N/A
All in all I'd say I accomplished 3/6 larger goals I set in the beginning of 2020, which I would consider solid.
What I learned about myself in 2020
I do terribly when people tell me what to do. I excel, when I figure out what to do.
At DoorDash, I wasn't given the freedom to decide what to do. I was told what to do. Many excel being told what to do. I do better when I decide for myself what I need to get done and own the outcome.
I'm not going to be a superstar machine learning researcher.
I'm a big believer in "growth mindset." However, becoming a superstar in any field requires both hardwork, natural talent and innate interest. I thought a lot about this idea of specific knowledge. Specific knowledge is knowledge that’s unique to me and hard to replicate. To develop specific knowledge, I need to leverage my natural strengths, which are:
Interpersonal/People Skills
Communication (both written & oral)
Learn fast, consume information quickly
Teaching
Asking Good Questions
Thinking on my feet
Things that do not come as naturally:
While a superstar ML researcher might use my strengths of learning quickly & asking good questions, it doesn’t utilize my strengths in people skills.
Working harder isn't the best solution.
Working harder is a solution, but not the best. Working smarter is more important than working hard. But the most important component, is deciding what to work hard on.
I love teaching.
Teaching is the ultimate positive sum activity. Through teaching, someone else gains valuable knowledge and the act of explaining something forces you to deepen your understanding.
Mornings are the best time for personal projects.
I have a lot of trouble working on personal projects after work. Sometimes, I get so into my work, I end up continuously working through the night, at the expense of my personal projects.
I can only focus on one goal at a time.
Too many concurrent goals make it difficult to progress. I can have many goals, but can only focus on one at a time. When I focus on one at a time, I actually make faster progress.
Things to do more of:
Go back to doing more "Challenges" and "Experiments."
Challenges and experiments are a core to my being. Month to Master was both a giant challenge and a series of experiments. Experiments give me the freedom to try & quit things. Structuring projects as "challenges" motivate and inspire discipline for the things I do want to commit to. I’ve gotten away from this:
A few challenges I have planned:
66 Days of Data: To continuously up-level my technical skills.
Some type of creation challenge, where I continuously create/build something + deliver.
A few experiment ideas:
Youtube Content Experiment: Do I actually like making Youtube videos?
Plant-based Diet Experiment: How does my health, energy level change if I go completely plant-based?
Product Manager Experiment: Do I like product work?
Benny Lewis, an Irish polyglot who teaches language learning says: Always have a challenge.
Cooking
I’m not a great cook, but if I’m someone that values health, then knowing how to cook my own meals is vital. Cooking my own meals gives me control over my ingredients which ultimately leads to a healthier lifestyle.
Find ways to teach & share knowledge
Teaching brings me a ton of energy which means I should do more of it. Teaching can be in many forms, 1:1 tutoring, writing blog posts, making youtube videos, writing tweets etc.
Chill
I have a habit of always needing to fill my free time with something productive. I try to fill most of my free time with some type of activity that would advance my goals. I don’t watch Netflix or any TV shows but this year. I’d still like to make progress on my goals, but just be a bit more chilled in the process.
Things to do less of
Delivery/Eating Out
My default habit is to just order something on DoorDash. In line with the intention to cook more, eating out will be something I’ll try to continue doing less of, especially as I aim to eat healthier.
2021 Priorities
To synthesize my 2021 goals, first, I’ll need to map out my list of priorities and then categorize them as a Growth or Maintenance bucket:
Career/Business (Growth)
Relationships (Growth)
Finances (Growth)
Health (Maintenance)
Fun (Maintenance)
Travel (Maintenance)
If my time becomes limited or I set too many goals, this is my priority. I see the relationship component shifting to #1 later this year, after I properly establish myself at my new position.
2021 Outcomes/Goals
This year, I'm going to shift how I approach my goals. As I list them out, it might seem like I'm taking on a lot, but I am not going to be taking them all on at the same time. I'll sequence & slot each goal into different months of the year and re-evaluate them every quarter.
Career/Business
Establishing myself at Spotify by delivering a high-quality product and developing deep expertise
I joined Spotify three months ago. Since I'm fairly new, it's essential that I establish my reputation by delivering high-quality, valuable work. I'm currently working on building an end-to-end demand forecasting system and will be leading a podcast strategic research project. So my initial goal, will be to deliver high quality work and make substantial impact. Through delivery of high impact work, this naturally would open up more doors within the company.
Tactically, this will be done through:
66 Days of Data — This project will force me to continue to up-level my data science skillset and build the habit of continuously learning.
Leadership Reading — On the side, read books focused on leadership, project management. These books might include:
Start Date: 1/11/2021
End Date: Whenever the project’s delivers
Build a roadmap for my career direction.
This will be my initial focus of 2021. The outcome I want to achieve here, is to have a clearly defined goal/direction I want to take my career. On the current path, I will progress towards becoming a Data Science Manager which is a solid direction. However, I think it's essential to deliberately decide the path I'm on, rather than take the default path. By setting the direction initially, I can take on work on side projects, talk to the right people, to move me in the direction I'd like to go.
Tactically, this will be done through:
Mapping out all the different directions I can go.
Scheduling calls with people 2 to 3 steps ahead of me.
Self-Reflection on the direction I want to go.
Run experiment testing my hypothesis
Start Date: 2/1/2021
End Date: 2/28/2021
Cultivate positive serendipity through creating then sharing something useful 1x per week.
My long term goal is to “build my own thing” whatever that means. It’s too vague. Therefore, I need to clarify what this means. However, I can’t clarify this by just thinking about it, I need to make stuff. I picked the word create because this can include code, writing, video, tweets, newsletters or podcasts. As Naval says, "Code and media are permission-less leverage." At minimum, a tweet should suffice here.
A side benefit is this forces me to learn things in the context of usage, which should rapidly improve my learning at the same time. Even if I decide to build something larger, this forces me to find & synthesize learnings. The long term goal, is to use this to plant a seed for the type of business I want to build and to open up unknown opportunities.
Tactically, this will be done through:
Coming up with a creation challenge
Mapping out a list of ideas + timelines
Executing on them.
Start Date: 3/1/2021
End Date: 12/31/2021
Grow Twitter followers to 1000.
This goal is less of a priority. My strategy, will be to just learn and create in public, using Twitter as a form of accountability. My bet, is that by sharing useful information, this will gradually increase my follower count. I'll invest in a little bit of Twitter strategy by purchasing Daniel Vassallo's course, however, I don't plan to invest a ton into "twitter strategy." 1000 is a reasonable number to aim for.
Tactically, this will be done through:
Start Date: Ongoing
End Date: Ongoing
Finances
Review & learn the fundamentals of investing & set myself up for success financially
As I level up in my career, I start to build more and more capital. At this point, I do have sufficient capital to start playing around with investments more. The goal is to better educate myself on evaluating & making investment decisions.
Tactically, this will be done by:
Start Date: 4/1/2021
End Date: 5/1/2021
Relationships
Go on at least 10 dates with the same person.
Romantic relationships was an area I under-indexed in 2020. I’ll be making this a priority in 2021. Learning from before, using # of dates is a poor metric. It promotes shallow relationships and optimizes for as many dates possible. Instead, my goal is to go on at least 10 dates with the same person, to promote a deeper relationship.
Tactically, this will be done by:
Start Date: Ongoing
End Date: Ongoing
Build a strong, social circle in New York City by hosting at least 4 second-degree dinners.
Second Degree dinner means you have to bring a friend that nobody else who's going knows. I already have friends living in NYC. However, my social base isn't nearly as strong as it is in California, therefore, I'll definitely need to put effort into expanding this network. This would also give me an excuse to learn how to make a few more dishes.
Tactically, this will be done by:
Start Date: 5/1/2021
End Date: 9/1/2021
Call my family at least 1x every two weeks.
I don't have a good habit of calling my family. This is important, especially because I'm moving to NYC and they're getting older.
Tactically, this will be done by:
Health
Eat plant-based for two out of three meals per day.
I've run a plant-based diet experiment in the past. I slept better, felt clear headed and more energized. I love meat and want to enjoy eating out with friends as well. Therefore, I'll limit this to two meals out of three in the day.
Tactically, this will be done by:
Learning how to make multiple, 15 minute delicious salad recipes
Only buying ingredients for these salads
Meditate everyday.
I've been meditating for about 6 years now. However, because I'm working Eastern timezone hours on the west coast, I often start work early (7am). As a result, I end up skipping my morning meditation. I'd like to get this back on track.
Tactically, this will be done by:
Fun
Learn Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
I've always been fascinated with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I always resonated with the warrior-scholar archetype. Train both the body and the mind. BJJ looks like the ultimate activity that embodies that warrior spirit. To do this, I'll be signing up for a BJJ gym in NYC, after I move there and when all the covid shenanigans die down.
Tactically, this will be done by:
Learn how to freestyle sing play guitar at the same time
I can already freestyle rap fairly well. I can already play the guitar. I'm neither a good nor a completely garbage singer. The goal is to be able to play a song on a guitar and freestyle sing notes on top of guitar chords. To do this, I will write up an accelerated learning and hire a teacher.
Tactically, this will be done by:
Writing out an accelerated learning plan
Finding a teacher and signing up for lessons.
Misogi
A Misogi (in the western sense), is where you take on a challenge where you have a less than 50% chance of success. The idea, is to challenge constantly challenge what you believe was possible. This can be in the form of a physical challenge (like run 100 miles) or mental challenge (read 100 books etc). Every year, I require myself to partake in a Misogi.
TBD
Sequencing
Here's how I'm sequencing all these goals. My basic principles for sequencing are:
I have a single top priority. If push comes to shove, I would have to drop everything else for the top priority.
At maximum, I can have 4 different projects. My thinking, is that our working memories can only hold up to 4 objects. However, I can only make progress on one goal at a time. Every other project must be a recurring habit.
