This has been an interesting year to say the least. A lot of stuff has happened, but my life seems to have fallen into a typical mid-series pattern. Here we are at the end of the year and things are pretty much status quo.
The good:
- Completely relaunched Info-Tech with a very streamlined, clean, and awesome visual refresh
- My team’s last minute entry came in 2nd place in the annual “Case Competition” at Info-Tech for a business plan and proof of concept
- My Innovation team won my first Innovation Day award for the PerformIT business plan and proof of concept
- I was awarded a seat on the “President’s Club” trip to Le Blanc in Cancun Mexico
- I travelled more in 2013 than any other year (New York, Vegas, Chicago, Cancun Mexico)
- Did four speaking engagements (New York and Chicago Exchange events, as well as NXNE and a local PMP group)
- Officially co-founded Socks Off Ventures
- The Socks Off Team launched the all new BalanceReDo
- Pitched BalanceDo to the Funding Roadshow in Toronto
- I learned a lot about marketing this year
- Taught myself a whole ton of new skills (server management, Ruby on Rails, CSS3)
- Did a lot more freelance in 2013 than I did in 2012
- I lost 30lbs from April to September
The bad:
- BalanceDo isn’t done, and in my opinion still has a long way to go, but the team seems to have lost a lot of momentum.
- I learned a lot about pitching (which means our pitches weren’t terribly successful).
- I’ve regained about 5lbs since the end of September
- Not in nearly as good shape as I should be due to some back issues
- Failed on my 52 posts in 52 days pledge (and haven’t posted since October 31st)
The “meh”:
- Pretty much in the same role at Info-Tech day-to-day despite my recognized contributions
- Work on All New Comics has stagnated
- I’ve become a bit too dependant on others
- I’m not doing as much “hands on” work as I used to
- Not drawing as much as I would like
- I should spend more time doing fun things with my kids
- Still working for “the man”
I’m going to do some things to fix some of these things, which is why for the first time in two years I’m going to bring back the old “New Year’s Revolution” post. It’s time to treat my own life the same way that I treat my work life. Put dates, times, and actionable plans around everything I want to accomplish this year. Make some “S.M.A.R.T.” goals and follow through on them.
2013 was a perfectly fine rebuilding year. A great middle season in the life of a sit-com. 2014 needs to be the year with a bunch of big plot twists and large scale shake ups.
It’s time for me to do something I tell my team to do every single day. “Let’s make some magic people.”