Looking back on Q1'22; Looking forward to Q2'22
At Google each team, each product, all the way up the stack define OKRs each year and quarter. These objectives and key results are a way to set goals with measurable and quantifiable results. It seems like too often they are used too much like a stick rather than a carrot, a way to align everyone on how to succeed.
I like OKRs, so much so that I’ve been using them personally. As I detailed at the start of the year, I have defined three overarching themes of what I want to achieve. Each quarter I have specific objectives that I try to meet. As Q1 has ended, it’s time to look at what I accomplished and what to look forward to next.
Find Peace in Hobbies: 0.6
I had set some ambitious goals for myself, finishing not just my final novel in my fantasy series but also writing a bunch of short science fiction stories. Unfortunately I may have overestimated how much time I would have to devote to both tasks and ended up not completing either one completely.
I also aimed to read twenty books, so my time was being split a lot in this area. I did manage to read ten, which is good but does give that key result a score of 0.5.
I learned to cook new things, such as these cinnamon buns.
I also have been trying to pare down my Google Maps “To Visit” list. Since last year I have become a big reviewer of restaurants and bars in New York City, becoming a Level 8 Local Guide.
I have continued other hobbies like posting short skits on TikTok and being a feature writer on PokeJungle.
Looking at the next three months, my goals are the same. I plan to cook more things, and plan to read less. Adjusting the numbers of each goal should be more realistic.
Develop a Community: 0.53
Unfortunately the Omicron variant disrupted some of my plans to get involved in communities such as the local IEEE branch. Yet as cases have continued to decrease there were opportunities for me to meet new people in-person.
I spent time with old friends too. Perhaps not enough, but things have been going well for me.
At the start of the year I had done a number of livestreaming events where I worked on some code. After doing half of them, I found that it wasn’t really fun nor was it building an audience. So I got 0.5 for that key result and don’t plan to do this anymore.
Going forward, fingers crossed, we can restart the IEEE YP group with fun events and I can continue doing social events and making new friends. It’s been a tough few years and I hope to move to a steady state.
I also do hope to improve my online following, in particular boosting my Twitter followers by 50% by the end of the quarter. There does seem to be occasional interest in what I’m posting, so it’s a matter of doubling down on what works in my areas of interest.
Prepare for the next step in my career: 0.84
My career development has been progressing in a quantifiable manner. I’ve been writing more technical blog posts about topics of interest. I’ve been improving my investments for financial independence.
My bigger focus has been on my linear algebra class, which I’m mostly done with at this point. It’s eating up quite a bit of time, but I’ll then be one step closer towards a graduate degree.
Along with finishing my course next month, I plan to write five technical blog posts. Rather than mixing livestreaming and blogs, I’ll repurpose content original for video into blogs and try to do more interesting things. Once I finish the class I should have more free time in the evenings so expect more in this area.
Q2
The weather is finally nice. COVID cases are down. Kyiv has held. Things are looking up.
