We’re about to leave 2014 behind, and enter what will be, at least for me, an exciting year.
Through the first month of the year I will participate in a course on coursera regarding cryptography. This is a free, online course, from Stanford University, lead by Dan Boneh. Cryptography is something I have picked up an interest in lately, alongside with computer security, so it will be interesting to see if I can get some better knowledge around this subject. As far as I can tell it will be interesting to participate in this course, as it will be lectures and assignments, which means I get to test my understanding of the subjects.

Another thing I personally look really forward to is the fact that I start in a new job in February. I go from being a software engineer, working with configuration and development of industrial control systems, to work as a software engineer, with all my focus in programming and development. I have lately felt that this is something I need to do to develop as a developer, and I have realized that it is what I really want to do.

When we came into 2014 I didn’t set any particular goals to myself. I guess you could say I were in at a stage of not really knowing what I wanted to do with the year, and as such I haven’t reached nor not reached any goals. This has changed when we cross the finishing line of 2014. A lot of people state that if you want to reach your goals, you should tell people about them (especially true if you try to change habits, I guess). So I have decided to share most of them here.

Goals should be measurable, so I have tried my very best to put some numbers next to each goal.
My goals for 2015 is the following:

Write at least 25 blog posts. I have wanted to write more posts this year, however I have not actually done it. In 2015 I aim to write a new post at least every other week. I believe that if I can manage this, I can both increase my understanding of the topics I write about, but also get feedback on ideas and my understanding of subjects.

Release at least 3 apps At this moment I have 3 app ideas I would like to see come to life. By making this a goal, it means I have to complete one app per quarter (excluding the summer season!). When thinking about the fact that I start a new job, work out, play guitar and also want some time for family and friends, it might be a bit optimistic. But hey, I like challenges!

Do some kind of work out at least 120 times within the year I am in a good rythm regarding work out now, where I go to the gym three times a week. I’d like to keep that trend going through 2015. Excluding a few weeks with vacation this leaves me at around 120 times. Note that by working out I mean running/jogging/weight lifting/playing soccer/boxing etc.

Improve my programming skills Ok, this is a dogdy one. How do I measure my programming skills? Well, I have a pretty good idea on where I am today, so my goal is to improve by the end of the year. I plan to take one or possibly two certifications from Microsoft, so I will let that be my guide.

I do have some more goals on a personal level, but those are just that, personal. It will be exciting to sit here the last days of December 2015 and summarize my year, to see how it’s been.

Do you have any goals for 2015? Are they achievable?

Anyway, until next time! Have a great new year celebration!