It's that time of year when I usually look back at the goals I set for myself a year ago, see how well I did, and set new expectations for the next year.

This past year of course has been... a year. On December 31st 2019, I don't think any of us imagined where we'd be now, yet here we are.

Looking back at my goals from last year, one thing is clear. I did not necessarily accomplish everything I set out to do, but I also had quite a few accomplishments I would never have imagined in the beginning of the year!

Let's first take a look at what I was hoping for:

Yechiel Kalmenson • Dec 27 '19

I'll start!

In tech goals, 2020 is the year of Kubernetes for me. I plan on getting more familiar with the eco-system, and maybe even start contributing to the project!

In career goals this is not an aggressive goal for me, but if I can find a job at a company that has all the pros of where I work now, but in addition to that is a remote-first company I'll be very happy :)

And in personal goals, I'm taking up Krav Maga and organizing a course at my synagogue for next year.

Of those three goals:

1. Kubernetes: turns out my career took a bit of a turn, I joined a new team where the focus was on a different direction, and I did not end up learning as much as I hoped (never mind getting involved in the community). I still hope to get more into that eco-system, but that's taken a place on a back burner for now.
2. Finding a remote job: in an ironic twist of fate, my current job is now remote (along with many others), and my company communicated that they will be more open to people working from home permanently, even as offices begin to open. So I'll count that as a goal I fulfilled 🙂
3. Krav Maga: I did start this one. I put together a group in my neighborhood and we met in my house a few times, but then covid put a halt to that so we'll see when that becomes practical again.

On the other hand, there have been a number of accomplishments this year that I would not have imagined a year ago!

My friend Ben Greenberg and I, published the Torah && Tech newsletter for two years now.

In June, we published the first year's worth of newsletters in the Torah && Tech book:

Announcing Torah && Tech; The Book.

Yechiel Kalmenson ・ May 19 ・ 2 min read

#showdev #books #learning #coding

In personal news, also in June, my family grew as we welcomed our son Meir to the family.

So yes, 2020 has been a year. Here's hoping that 2021 only improves.

What about you? What were your 2020 goals? How did you do on them? What are you hoping to accomplish in 2021?

Looking forward to hearing from you in the comments!