2013 New Year Resolutions

Welcome back, Wish you happy new year. 

2012 was a flat year as it didn't offer too many surprises or tough challenges. It was filled with joy at work, Good health, Short trips, new initiaves etc. Like in agile projects, did 30 minute retrospective of 2012, and jotted few action items for 2013, things I should do to keep myself busy:

1. Establish and maintain the network (professional & friends)

      -lunch/movie with (ex-) colleagues   -attend get-together functions/cultural activities

      -subscribe to group mail ids and tech forums

2. Staying Fit and Healthy 

      -45 minute excercise except on weekend, limit on junk food. 

      -8 hours sleep and 10 minute meditation

3. Manage your budget

      -Attend Finance for Non-Financial Managers course
      -Cut down unneccessary expenditures   
      -Avoid traffic fine or late payment charges, maximize ECS payment

4. Make a trip 

     -Singapore or US      -learn car driving and visit 5 new places.

5. Sharpen the saw (study min 3hrs per week)

     -Master tech skills like Spring (Core,Web Flow,MVC), JQuery and SQL

     -Insurance domain knowledge (Auto & Property)

     -learn the art of writing fat-free emails and fluentzy in english

     -Books to read: You can win by Shiv Khera
     -Publish the tech book if legal team approves it.

6. Get Organized

    -organize your computer                -check & respond to emails, stop procrastinating 

    -Plan your work, work your plan     -Happy Family - eat dinner together every night

7. Try watching lesser TV or entertainment programs

     -Watch BBC or regional news channel everyday (15min)

     -Read e-newspaper in office hours :-)

8. Eco friendly habits in your lifestyle
     -no paper bills or unneccessary print outs and ATM receipts.
     -Reduce, Reuse, Recycle (Wasted food/Energy, donate books/clothes, notes on printed paper)

9. Share Your Knowledge/Experience

     -conduct one or two technical training sessions

     -write minimum six blogs in a year
     -be a good mentor to junior staff

A nice quote on new year resolution - "Stop waiting for the right time. It will never come. You've got to act NOW. Don't let another year go by."