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Q1 2023 Goal Check-in
How the heck are we 25% of the way through the year?
Josh Cadorette
March 30, 2023
Howdy from Durham,
Welcome to the 5 new subscribers from last week.
Logically, I know that time is linear by looking at a calendar and a clock…yet it seems to speed up with each passing year.
We're somehow a quarter of the way through 2023, so it’s time to check-in.
2023 Goals Updates for Q1
1. 💰 Build Self-Sustaining Income Independent of a Corporation
(✅ - on track to hit)
Original plan of attack: build Feather AI: the premier speech-to-text summary service. See what sticks.
Update: Feather has a whole bunch of free users (and some paid too!) Does it pay the bills completely? No, I’m still operating off of savings. Yet, the feeling of building something from scratch that some folks will pay for is awesome.
Also, I’ve learned an incredible amount about where I want to operate within AI in the past 3 months and have built phenomenal connections in the space. I’ve got a feeling these lessons and connections will help me accomplish this goal by year’s end.
2. 📫 Publish Newsletter Every Thursday & Grow Subscriber List to 1k
(❗️ - needs work)
Original plan of attack: collaborate with other newsletter writers, cross-promote each other's work, and gain new subscribers by marketing long-form essays (more on this below.)
Update: I published every Thursday and went from 241 subscribers to 323. If that growth rate stays consistent through the end of 2023, I’ll end up with ~700 subscribers. That means that I need to begin collaborating with other writers to increase cross-promotion.
3. 📱 Take a 1-Year Break from Facebook and Instagram
(✅ - on track to hit)
Original plan of attack: store the log-in info far away (off my laptop), delete mobile apps, log out from browser, and don't access FB/IG for 2023. Keep in touch with folks via text, phone calls, and the newsletter. Build meaningful relationships on Twitter by helping other people with their businesses, writing, and other projects.
Update: this one is pretty easy to track. I’ve been off IG and FB. Related: I was compensating no FB or IG by spending too much time on twitter, so I removed the twitter app from my phone.
4. 🖊️ Publish 1 Essay Per Quarter
(❗️ - needs work)
Original plan of attack: write one essay per quarter in 2023, market these pieces through channels of distribution such as Product Hunt and Hacker News.
Update: the idea was to work on an essay over the course of 3 months to deliver high quality, long form writing and then publish before the end of the quarter. I simply did not make time for this, and I need to because I love long-form writing.
If I don’t have 2 new essays published by end of Q2 2023 (6/30/2023), I will venmo one of my email subscribers $100.
5. 🏃 Build Endurance, Balance, Flexibility, and Better Nutrition
(❗️ - needs work)
Original plan of attack: go on two backpacking trips, participate in 1 F3 workout per week, walk to co-working space each day, do stretching sessions 2 times per week, buy local produce, get 8hrs of sleep, sleep with your phone in the other room, and drink 16oz of water when you wake.
Update: I did great on the nutrition portion as I adjusted to cooking in a full kitchen (and not a cedar closet on wheels). I had a 5-week lull in working out from mid-February to mid-March. I’m back on the horse, but my endurance definitely took a dip in the middle of this quarter. The recent van trip re-inspired some Planet Fitness consistency, and I’m excited to do F3 in some warmer weather.
6. 📰 Improve Information Caption System
(✅ - on track to hit)
Original plan of attack: review Tiago Forte's content on Building a Second Brain, link instapaper + Readwise to Notion, decommission your broken Evernote/Apple Notes systems, and make time to read what's timeless (not just timely)
Update: After a great deal of research, I determined that I’m committing to Notion as my second brain platform. This includes a personal database to organize my tasks and a shared database with my co-founder, Dave, to collaborate on Feather.
7. ☀️ Rest fully on Sundays
(✅ - on track to hit)
Plan of attack: Go to church, spend time with friends, get outside, get off your phone, meditate, read, and write. Just be still.
Update: believe it or not, I've crushed this one. I don't do work on Sundays.
8. 🧘 Build a 2x Daily Meditation Practice
(❗️ - needs work)
Original plan of attack: 20min of transcendental meditation before the day starts, 20min of transcendental meditation in the late afternoon/early evening - mix in Wim Hof when in need of a more active meditation.
Update: the same 5-week lull that caused my physical endurance to dip in the middle of this quarter also caused my meditation habits to slip. We’re back on the horse. Hard to ignore the possibility that the later stages of winter kill my productivity.
9. 🤟 Participate in a Local Service Opportunity 1x/week
(✅ - on track to hit)
Original plan of attack: meet with my local Pastor, identify a need I can help play a part in, and schedule a weekly cadence to participate in the service opportunity.
Update: I met with my local pastor. Turns out he’s the head coach of his son’s little league team. I became an assistant coach for the team. This is the activity that gives me the most joy in my weekly cadence.
10. ⛷️ Try Things That Are Completely New & Do Things That Bring You Joy
(✅ - on track to hit)
Original plan of attack: go skiing, do some two-stepping, go in with an open mind to whatever other adventures come your way this year, and just have some freakin' fun, you nerd (calling myself a nerd, not you, lol).
Update: Q1 didn't bring any ski trips, but I did get back on a baseball field in a new role as a coach (see #9). I tried disc golf for the first time by playing 18 hole courses and competing in a casual Monday night putting league from time to time. I’m gonna have to make sure I hit a ski trip in the late months of 2023 to accomplish this goal.
Meet the guy who inspired this quarterly check-in.
His name is Joe Wells.
Joe is a prolific online writer that I came across ~3 years ago.
He publishes not one but 2 weekly newsletters (Wonderful Words & Lake Street Journal). I subscribe to both.
Joe's writing about the time he was robbed at gunpoint or his idea for a year of national service will draw you in, but frankly it's his quarterly reviews that'll make you stay.
No one I know is as bold or as articulate as Joe with casting a vision for their future and the impact they'd like to create.
He crafted a 10-year plan at the end of 2019. Every quarter since then, he has broken down the tactical progress behind his 10 year plan (see his quarterly reviews here).
I don’t quite have a 10-year plan, but I have Joe to thank for influencing this review.
What I’m paying attention to:
The recent AI boom has brought San Francisco and irl work all the way back
The case for zigging when others zag
Photos & GIF of the week:
Spent the weekend with friends Kyle and Ang in Savannah, GA.
Savannah is a port city (which I hadn’t previously known since it was my first time visiting). I parked the van alongside the river, took a nap, came outside and was surprised to see this monstrosity rolling on by.
Shot of a Charleston, SC sunset from the back of my van.
Thanks for reading
How did your Q1 go?
Reply and let me know!
Josh
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