2021 Goals Review & Goals for 2022
It’s already the last day of 2021. At the beginning of the year, I was pretty stoked about my goals and how awesome it would be to achieve them. For each category of my 2021 goals, I’ll review my progress and outline my new goals for 2022.
Fitness goals
2021:
Destination 1: Run the 2021 Baltimore marathon in under 3 hours and 30 minutes.
Destination 2: achieve 12% body fat composition.
Journey: 2–3 short runs per week and 1 long run per week.
I didn’t attempt the Baltimore marathon this year because of how busy I was studying for the GBO qualifying exam in September then writing the NSF grant proposal in October, so I didn’t achieve Destination 1. As for Destination 2, at the beginning of the year I weighed 156 lbs and was approximately 20% body fat (based on previous measurements). Starting in March, I aggressively cut calories (intake was less than ~1500 Calories per day) while maintaining my running schedule. By July, I made tremendous progress: I weighed 124 lbs and was around 15% body fat. However, I must have crashed my metabolism because my weight was plateau-ing and I had very little energy: I felt exhausted after running only 5 miles, which I considered my short run distance only a few months prior. I decided to finish my cut and start bulking. I started eating again, and lifting about 3 days per week. Though my workouts were very inconsistent in September and October, I lifted 3–4 times per week consistently throughout November and much of December. Now, I’m back up to 140 lbs, some of that being fat and some of that being new muscle (hitting new PRs at the gym earlier this month was awesome).
2022:
Destination 1: Run the 2022 Baltimore marathon in under 4 hours.
Destination 2: achieve 12% body fat composition (visible abs).
Journey: (once I get my cast off) lifting at least 3x per week, and running at least 2x per week.
Unfortunately I broke my wrist while snowboarding a few days before Christmas, so I won’t be able to lift or run until I get it off. In the meantime, I’ll use an elliptical or stationary bike for cardio. I’m planning to start another cut in the Spring, though I’ll reduce my caloric intake more gradually this time so I don’t crash again. Though I didn’t reach my 2021 goals, I’m really proud of the progress I’ve made in this past year, and feel confident that I can make 2022 another great year for fitness.
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Writing goals:
2021:
Destination: improve writing skills.
Journey: write 2–4 medium posts per month.
I wrote only 6 medium posts this year (7 including this one), far short of the 24–48 that I set for myself. I think my writing skills have improved this year, though it’s difficult to ascertain by how much. I tend to write very slowly because I feel like every sentence needs to be perfect before I write it. Writing the NSF GRFP was very useful, as it helped me to overcome my blank-screen-itis and get in the habit of writing first, then editing after.
2022:
Destination: continue to improve writing skills.
Journey: write 1 Medium post per month, mostly medium-to-high-effort posts.
I’m making a more realistic goal of 1 Medium post per month. Throughout this year, my thinking on several things has changed quite a bit, and I have a few ideas for new blog posts where I’ll sketch that out.
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Wellbeing goals
2021:
Destination: Improve my focus and mental hygiene.
Journey: meditate daily.
I was pretty consistent with meditating daily through March or so, then it became pretty rare and sporadic. I think meditating did help improve my focus, but not keeping up with it is starting to take its toll (making a Twitter account certainly didn’t help, either).
2022 :
Destination: Improve my focus and mental hygiene.
Journey: use app timers enforce no more than 15 minutes per day each of social media apps (and no changing the timers to allow more usage for any reason), meditate daily with Hallow.
Reddit and Twitter have become powerful sources of distraction in my life (sometimes I’ll find I’ve been scrolling mindlessly for more than an hour), so will be addressing that with the app timers. If that fails, I may end up using a more extreme method like a phone lock box. As far as meditation goes, I grew tired of Sam Harris’s meditation app, but recently had the Catholic meditation app, Hallow, recommended to me. I will use it daily.
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New Goal Category for 2022: Russian Immersion
Destination: learn Russian
Journey: daily Anki reviews, and at least 15 minutes of immersion every day (then gradually scaling up to at least 45 minutes per day)
My roommate Deus Ex Vita introduced me to the Refold method of language learning, and I decided to start learning Russian in October. While I’ve been very consistent with my Anki reviews, my immersion has been pretty sporadic. Once I get to 100 immersion hours I’ll make a post about it.
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New Goal Category for 2022: Guitar practice
Destination: continue learning more chords and learn at least 6 songs really well
Journey: (once I’m out of my cast) 15–30 minutes of guitar practice every day
I started learning guitar in May this year and have really enjoyed it. Like my other goals, my practice hasn’t been very consistent the past couple months. I’m getting to a level where I can play some easy songs, and I started learning Wild Thing by The Troggs. I’m eager to get back to it once my cast is off.
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Final thoughts
While my original goals for the year went a bit sideways, I picked up some new habits and longer-term goals along the way that I’m excited about. Overall, 2021 was pretty great, and I’m excited for this upcoming year. Here’s to 2022!
