Reflecting on 2021 Goals and Planning for 2022

Below are my goals for last year and the actuals versus projected. I started with health because it’s an essential part of life and the one I’m primarily working on.

Meal planning. Most weeks, these are what I prep. It usually takes 2–3 hours on a Sunday afternoon/evening.

• Salad — organic romaine, grape tomatoes, sweet peppers, carrots, red onions, boiled eggs, croutons — used with Simply Dressed dressings because all ingredients are simple.
• Cut and boil chopped potatoes — to go into omelets, as a side of home fries/hashbrowns, or to throw into the mixer for mashed potatoes. I could also mix it with mayo, eggs, and onion for potato salad.
• Shrimp w/lemon pepper — Goes on the salad. I like to reheat them before mixing or on top of french bread with tomatoes and mozzarella for an appetizer. They also can go into several dishes to add protein.
• Pico de Gallo — It can go into eggs for migas tacos with tortilla chips, mix w/Mexican cheese for a vegetarian quesadilla, or mixed with avocado for guac — I love it for its simplicity and versatility. It also makes an excellent topping for tacos.
• Fried Rice — This is for the times I don’t want to cook. Frozen peas, carrots, onions, eggs, and whatever else I throw in it. Most of the time, it’s either mushrooms or salad shrimp. Reheat is 10 minutes top.
• Pasta — Usually ziti, with mushroom and spinach and low-sodium marinara sauce (watching my salt intake. I want to try making fresh marinara this year because I’m focusing on whole foods and clean eating). It pairs well with garlic bread and my always-ready salad.

I usually have to do a mid-week mini-prep because I typically run out when I’m not feeling particularly creative. For 2022, I’m trying out more new recipes.

7k step goal:

• For 2020–1,300 steps on average.
• For 2021–3,661 average — Nearly tripled, so I’m proud of the results.
• I’m still holding onto the goal of 7,000 but will consider it a success if I average 5,000 or better for 2022.

Meal tracking: Yeah, I’m not good at that. I need to get better at consistency because I eat every day. Tracking *should* be an easy add-on. It’s an ongoing life-long war and will also be on the 2022 list.

Result: I lost 23 lbs. I’m pretty sure I could have lost more if I was more into meal tracking.

Career

• Aligning with my core team — I worked on ways to build better alignment with my team. I learned a bunch from them on what works and what doesn’t from what they’ve tried and added value where I could. Continued to learn how to build trust, work cooperatively, and have conversations about working #bettertogether, because different perspectives and roles require ongoing discussions to learn each other better. I’ve supported superstars and soon-to-be superstars (and I’d like to think I had a hand in that, too). They have the work ethic and the experience to succeed. I also have plenty I’ve learned throughout my career, and together we work to build something more significant than what each of us could do alone. We’ve done pretty well and can also do better. You know how it is in sales.
• Network — I delved into this full force when my manager told me what I needed to do to get promoted. I have pages of notes of great information for when I become a leader. Everyone was so gracious with their time. I’m so #grateful for the generosity exhibited by leadership within the company. I will continue increasing my network and networking meeting attendance and build my board of mentors in 2022 from a broader scope.
• Grow strategies — I’m a strategy nerd, so I delved into data and tried to find customers with more urgent needs to discuss the innovations happening in IT with hardware and cloud strategy since Dell unleashed Apex. Some worked, some didn’t. It’s all learning.
• Pitches — Always be getting better. That’s all I have to say about that.

Results: I got promoted in a highly competitive environment since promotions were frozen for a while during the pandemic. Since then, I became a mentor, participated in an org-wide best practices sales program, and became a mentee. I want to highlight that some of my mentors were male allies, which often are the least to volunteer to mentor women or minorities in reports I’ve read. I appreciate knowing my coworkers and leaders are taking diversity seriously.

Lifestyle: This is really to focus more on self-care. When I take better care of myself, I can show up better and am happier. The goal is one or 2x a month to reach the overall plan.

Local Travel — I used the Pogo Pass to do most of these cheap or free. I probably left a few places off. I also like to see what’s on the blog — Free Fun in Austin.

• Austin Park and Play
• Austin Aquarium
• Pioneer Farms
• Creek Show
• Dr. Pepper Museum
• Cameron Park
• Mayborn Museum
• Mammoth Monument
• Buckhorn Saloon & Museum, SATX
• The Witte Museum, SATX
• San Antonio Zoo
• San Antonio Aquarium
• San Antonio Missions

Keep same local travel goals. Get at least 12 places in 12 months locally for 2022.

Massages — I fell short of that goal. I will purchase them in advance to ensure I’m getting them regularly.

Networking — Ensure more variety — Film, sales, and real estate — I’ve focused significantly more on the first two.

Film something — I have the videos. I wonder if I can post five videos before EOD today to hit my goal.😊

Drop the rest; I keep up with those and don’t need to track it. I will put a recurring reminder in my calendar and call it done.

Results: I was happier, more focused, and creative. I could be present and a better person for those around me. I didn’t focus on it much before the pandemic but should have. It’s a life-changer. Highly suggest that everyone invest in more self-care, whatever that looks like for you.

From this framework, I’m working on 2022 plans. I feel good about what I accomplished in 2021 personally. I look forward to the days to come, and I hope you do, too.