Goals - 2021
TLDR: My goals for 2021 - financial and personal
I remember this fictional narrative I read online describing 2020 from the point of view of a grandfather retelling his life experiences to his grandchild in the distant future.
Forest fires in Australia and US
Cyclones that ravaged South east Asia
Russia Arctic oil spill
Beirut explosion
Volcanic eruption in Philipines
Trump being trump
COVID
The grandchild says wow what a tough decade, grandfather says, that was not the decade but just 2020.
2020 has sure been a very tough year. Let us leave all that behind and move towards 2021. Below are my SMART goals for 2021.
Personal goals
Weight
I have gained a lot of weight because of my desk jockey job with limited / no exercise. So I have decided to make a change on this front starting 2018 when was at my heaviest. the progress has been slow but at a pace that I am happy with.
Goal for 2021 - Lose 10% of my weight this year as well.
Weight loss each year
Exercise
Weight loss is directly tied to 2 factors and there is no way around those two factors.
Food intake
Exercise
70% of your weight gain or loss is tied to food and remaining 30% to exercise. I have been recording every single meal, snack, drink via an app called MyFitnessPal which has helped me understand the calories that I consume (Nuts are calorie dense) and make smart decisions about what and how much I eat.
Goal for 2021
Walk a minimum of 60 KM every month starting in Jan and reach a total of 120 KM by end of the year
Complete 20 days of exercise ring on apple watch
Meditation
Let us do this thought experiment together. Find a comfortable spot where you will not be disturbed and close your eyes and think of nothing at all for 30 seconds.
Can you do this? It is nearly impossible as thoughts rush into our head, it can be
Running through your to do list
Plans for the upcoming
worries about kids
Argument with your spouse or colleagues
Office deadlines
Nostalgic memories of the past
Concerns about the future
All of the above
It is very difficult to keep still and do nothing at all. I use the app called calm for this practice
Goal for 2021 - Complete 300 minutes of mindfulness practice every month.
Sleep
One of the things that we don’t prioritise is sleep. We don’t schedule it and are not consistent with duration. Sleep is important in rejuvenation and improved cognitive capabilities. I use my apple watch to track my sleep and an app called autosleep for sleep tracking other than the in built health app to get additional detail and overall sleep quality.
Goal for 2021 - 7 hours of sleep every night
Reading
In general I read/listen a minimum of 2 books every month. 2020 I had leaned more heavily on the fiction side of things, hope to move towards non fiction in 2021.
Goal for 2021 - Read a total of 25 non fiction books in 2021
Financial
India & global Portfolio
Goal for 2021 - DCA/SIP into portfolio every month
Monthly Savings Rate (MSR)
42% MSR in 2020 was an exception than the norm. I expect it to fall lower than 2019 as I have additional expenses in 2021
My youngest starts school this year
Mrs starts her post grad this year
Backlog of trips and vacations from 2020 hopefully in the vaccinated post COVID 2021.
Goal for 2021 - MSR at 30%
Conclusion
It is quite easy to define the goals at the start of the year as a part of your new year resolution, the key is to stick with them throughout the year. But posting this online I have no option but to achieve them given that it is out there for the world to see. Let us see review these periodically to see where I stand and the progress that is made.
Good luck and Happy Investing.
#MyFatFIRE.