My 2023 KPIs

Instead of my regular new year resolutions statements for the beginning of the year, I have decided to call them my 2023 KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) now.

I have been doing this annual goal setting for a few years now. The exercise helps me to focus on a to-do list instead of wasting the year away aimlessly. During my past work life, I had to set revenue targets and prepare for a battle plan in Dec for execution at the beginning of the upcoming new year. 01 Jan is where the clock sets the revenue clock back to zero. We then have to start all over again to hit our monthly profit targets in order to achieve the final big number for a good bonus payout.

There are also multiple mini-strategies within the team for various business segments to fine-tune the specific action plans during Dec. Finally, we will have a all-hands-on-deck Jan team startegy meeting to brief everyone on the big plan plus the sub-group strategy. Each individual will have a crystal clear idea on how they can help achieve the overall team budget and we get total buy-in of the plan. We are then laser focused as a well-oiled machine to execute the strategy.

Likewise, on a persoanl basis now, I need to have goals to drive my actions and help measure and evaluate myself periodically as the year progresses. The KPIs are fine tuned annually and they may be similar year on year with some small changes. They can also be brand new ones to challenge myself, to stry to stretch myself further. I keep to no more than 6 goals to make them manageable and focused. So here goes, my 2023 FCW KPIs:

1. To read at least 20 books – I started with 10 a few years ago, worked up to 15 in 2021 (midst of Covid with a lot of time to kill) but slagged off to 12 last year – too many distractions. There are no more excuses not to achieve it as I can read any book for free via the Libby app linked to my NLB account. They have all the latest books and I can borrow books for 21 days at a time. They even have audiobooks that I will try to “read” this year while jogging outdoors like what I have been doing by listening to blogs while running. When I finish a book, I will write a short summary on my iPhone Notes app to recap the main takeaways I had from the book. I should do more fiction books rather than stick to a majority of serious non-fiction ones this year.
2. Complete at least 10 online courses. I may not have the time to do full-time courses this year due to possible work commitments. So the next best thing for my lifelong learning journey is to access the easily available MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses). They may be from Coursera or Udemny and many other sources. I have already been constantly signing up for webinars that interest me all the time. All these resources are made so accessible nowadays from one’s des. This is the way forward to upskilling oneself in this dynamic world of constant learning to stay relevant. One cannot just sit still and become stagnant. We need to constantly remain on the treadmill of learning to exercise our minds.
3. Edit videos – I have a backlog of 2 years+ of raw video footage data from 2020 till today which I need to edit and compile to create summarized finalized shortened versions. I will aim to become up-to-date and reduce this backlog. Regardless of whether I will be using my old trusted Muvee editor (which had ceased to be updated) or picking up a newer software, I will do it. I should not waste the efforts of video editing that I have been doing for the past 20 years to create family video memories.
4. Develop my consultancy pivot. 2023 might result in a full-time job from the current consultancy project I am in, thanks to an ex-colleague. It is an exciting career path to combine various topics that interest me which I had been preparing and learning from since 2018 in FinTech. There will be more clarity as I approach Q2. So for the moment, I have decided not to actively pursue full-time learning in case this opportunity develops further.
5. To create a personal GitHub page. This KPI will be my most stretched goal as I am not tech-savvy. Besides having a CV and an online LinkedIn profile, one can also showcase one’s expertise via a GitHub page. I was impressed with a trainer during my NUS Fintech course who did this. While I may not have many tech projects to showcase, I should nevertheless try to step up to the next level and achieve this goal.
6. Finally, to constantly remind me of my life motto: to stay healthy and happy always. It is easier said than done. I have to actively work on this via regular exercises to keep fit, embrace positivity and eradicate negativity. This simple discipline will help me stay focused on my long-term halftime objective.

I watched Avatar – The Way of the Water on Monday using the uncle discount pricing of only $4.50 for those above the age of 55. It was surprisingly better than I thought as I did not even go to the toilet during the 3 hours 10 minutes movie! Chinese New Year is around the corner and I am looking forward to the many family feass and gatherings that were not possible during the Covid years. Time to go back to where we once were and return back to normalcy again 🙂