2009 Priorities
January 1st, 2009 - Chris MarshallAm not one for New Year resolutions, but do think it is a good time to take stock of what is and isn’t a priority for the coming year.
For me this has the potential to be an interesting year. Without doubt the ‘Credit Crunch’ is going to effect us all, and one priority for us all will be surviving the next year with our health, sanity and finances intact.
With this as the background then what are my three priorities for 2009?
1. Get Fit:
An ‘old chestnut’ I know, but I much prefer being fit, and while the process of getting fit gets harder as the years go by I reckon this is the perfect time. An inevitable process of getting fit is to eat and drink less so it is a good time to watch the pennies, and running, cycling, walking and generally being active are all free (or low cost) forms of entertainment.
I always take January off from the booze, but this year I am going to ‘stay dry’ until I am fit. This involves a significant amount of weight loss for sure, but also the need to build up my cardio vascular strength, my core strength, and to rehab a number of old injuries.
2. Learn Spanish:
Yep, another ‘old chestnut’ and one that I have no real excuse for not achieving before now. I have tried many many times before and honestly have no aptitude for languages but there are many reasons to learn: better integration with the Spanish community, more work opportunities, better prospects for the blog, more opportunities for friendship etc etc.
My immediate goal is to be able to spend an evening in Al-rruz with Inés and Juan Carlos and to only speak Spanish. Until that time I don’t intend to frequent any bar or restaurant where I can’t speak Spanish. Based on the first 2009 priority above that basically means cafes for the start of the year I guess!!
3. Internet Income:
I have made my living ‘through’ the internet for a couple of years now, but still remain dependent on actual clients for a lot of my work. I am going to continue with that but I also want to see how realistic it is to survive only on money that I generate direct off the internet.
I have a pretty good head start on this but it does require more focus. The self imposed motivational reward? Well I am not going to buy any new gadgets until I reach my goal. There are three exceptions to this that I have ‘registered’ with Sands and are all going to be required if a contract I am discussing comes off i.e. if I get the contract I need the three items. If I don’t get the contract then I don’t require the items.
So what about 2009 for the site? There are at least three ‘big’ projects that we are hoping to get up and running in January, and a number of smaller initiatives that we are working on. Overall the aim with the blog is to take it much closer to the original personal blog that we first set up, get back into podcasting, and support the blog with the smaller initiatives that we are working on.
So that is it for my priorities. If you have any that you want to share then leave a comment below. Is always good to hear other peoples thoughts and of course it is the perfect way to get started on the competition we are running each month with some local restaurants.
Am loving this new approach to commenting!!!
January 4th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
[...] we opted for a Sunday Brunch at home, and as we are both on a bit (well a LOT in my case) of a health drive at the moment that meant fresh grapefruit, smoked salmon, scrambled egg, and grilled tomatoes, with [...]
June 28th, 2009 at 10:50 pm
[...] with the Spanish online community, and specifically see if I can use it to help me with one of my 2009 priorities, which is to improve my [...]