Q3 2023 Goal Check-in

Howdy from Durham,

We are almost through ¾ of the year.

That means it’s time to check-in on how Q3 of 2023 went.

The bottom line up front on my 10 goals:

2 are marked as ✅ - accomplished

5 are marked as ✅ - on track to hit

3 are marked as ❗️ - needs work

2023 Goals Updates for Q3

1. 💰 Build Self-Sustaining Income Independent of a Corporation

(✅ - accomplished)

Original plan of attack: build Feather AI: the premier speech-to-text summary service. See what sticks.

Update: the original plan didn’t work, but it was a huge stepping stone towards the one that did.

Frankly, I didn’t quite frame this goal properly. I phrased the goal as if success meant working for myself, but the truth is that I just didn’t want to work for a large corporation. I wanted experience with a much smaller team that could move fast, and I accomplished that with my new role at Howso (see write-up here). Goal accomplished.

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.

Update: I’ve hit publish every Thursday, but I am completely stagnant on the audience growth component.

I’d like to develop a writing mentor by helping someone with larger distribution than me write/edit their work. My hope is that, in doing so, I can provide them value and improve my knowledge of distribution.

While I know the path forward, I also know that I don’t have time to execute that right now. I don’t think this one gets done before the end of 2023. Stuff happens ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

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: I logged into IG in July to reserve my Threads account (thinking I needed to reserve the “@joshcadorette” handle in case I wanted to write on Threads down the line). Turns out that your Threads handle is your IG handle. So, in actuality, I didn’t need to log-in. I immediately got the heck off of IG and deleted it off of my phone. Not counting this as violating the goal ◡̈

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: I am on track for 2 essays in 2023, not 4. I published what is effectively a post-mortem of Feather here, and I’ll publish my 2023 annual review at the end of the calendar year. I don’t see myself hitting 4 by end of year.

5. 🏃 Build Endurance, Balance, Flexibility, and Better Nutrition

(✅ - on track to hit)

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’ve been off of 75 hard for 90 days, and I miss the consistency/routine. My new job and new apartment have interrupted my well-being habits, but I’m now able to walk to work and have a gym 100 yards from my front door which I am PUMPED about. There’s also a hot yoga studio on the walk to work 👀 .

6. 📰 Improve Information Caption System

(✅ - accomplished)

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: I get e-books from my local library via the Libby app and take notes on them via Kindle. These notes automatically sync with my Readwise/Notion integration. It’s so cool. Goal accomplished.

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: making the sabbath a priority has been so darn good for me.

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: I meditated 1x every darn day for 75 straight days during Q2. This habit fell off a cliff in Q3. Shooting for 2x per day was likely too much, but I really would like to get to 1x.

Don’t be surprised if a 2024 goal of mine is to “build a 1x daily meditation practice.”

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: served in a few different small ways through my church this quarter.

When you factor in my little league coaching in Q1, I’ll balance out to ~1 service opportunity/week for the year. The high frequency of little league practices/games was fun - and likely not something I could take on right now with the new job - but I miss having a consistent chance to stay grounded.

That’s why I’ve started a conversation with a non-profit about a more steady volunteer opportunity.

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: I need to go skiing before 2023 is out to hit this goal. Doesn’t need to be the finest snow out there. Doesn’t need to be the best resort. I don’t even need to enjoy it (though I suspect that I will). I just need to get in some skis.

What I’m paying attention to:

October is on the way

Thanks for reading

How did your Q3 go?

Reply and let me know!

Josh

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