My Review of 2013
For me, the end of the calendar year is the perfect time to pause, take stock and look back at the last 12 months. The year end offers a natural conclusion and lets you evaluate what went well, what didn’t and what you learnt during that period.
You may recall that around this time last year I set myself five SMART objectives, that if i’m being completely honest, I knew would be a challenge to accomplish. I published my objectives on SWT as I thought making them public would be an effective way for me to stay motivated and keep on track. This post looks back at how I got on.
Before we start, I must say that I’ll always remember 2013 for being a wonderful, monumental and life-changing year. I got engaged. I also joined Indeed and won a national award. These were great moments of spontaneity that you can’t really plan for or measure. But without doubt it’s moments like these which make life fun and exciting. During the year I also learnt a great deal, met lots of fantastic people and visited some inspiring places.
Although, its been a terrific 12 months, you never quite know how any year is going to turn out – so lets see how close I got to accomplishing each of my objectives. I always like to quantify activity, so I’ve put a brief summary and a percentage towards completion next to each.
Learn more about the insurance industry
KPI: pass the Professional Certificate in Insurance (APA)
Unfortunately, I only got round to passing two of the three insurance industry exams, so I didn’t become APA qualified. Given that I’ve now left the insurance industry it seems unlikely that i’ll be sitting the third exam any time soon. Close, but not close enough.
66%
Gain a deeper understanding of Google Analytics
KPI: pass the Google Analytics Individual Qualification
I’m delighted to say that I passed the Google Analytics Individual Qualification exam back in March. This was the first objective that I achieved and it was quite a challenge. In 2014 I plan to take things further and study for the Google AdWords Individual Qualification.
100%
Obtain my driving licence
KPI: pass my driving test
I’ve completely failed on this one. Between my engagement, wedding planning, revising for exams, training for a marathon and changing jobs, I’ve not managed to get this off the ground at all. Must do better. Learning to drive will be top of my list in 2014.
0%
Get healthier
KPI: complete the Dublin Marathon
In October I managed to complete the Dublin Marathon in 5 hours and 15 minutes – without stopping (here’s the evidence). This was my second marathon and I felt a huge sense of achievement crossing the finish line. I’ll be getting married next year when the Dublin Marathon takes place, but I’d love to run a few more.
100%
See more of the world
KPI: visit two new countries
I’ve been lucky enough to visit two new countries this year: Czech Republic and Iceland (where I am at the moment). I also had the chance to visit Austin, Bergamo, Milan, Paris, Portland and Seattle. All in all, it’s been a wonderful year for travel and I hope to see a few new places in 2014.
100%
Based on my calculation, I achieved 72% of what I had set out to accomplish in 2013 – which I’m very pleased with. I’d like to thank everyone who had made it such a great year and hope that I continue to have such good fortune in 2014 and beyond.
