2018 Recap

Way back in December 2017, I cozied up at my local coffee shop with this little workbook on "designing your year." I had never tried to set personal goals in such a formal way before, and I was ready for the experience to be annoying. Forced. A pretentious thing to even attempt, really. I tackled my pdf printouts with a pile of colored pencils and skepticism.

But almost immediately I found myself...having fun? "Grab a glass of wine or coffee," the workbook began, "and use this page to list everything you did in 2017 that made you proud." It felt like unwrapping a surprise gift. It can't be a new concept, this idea that you should occasionally take time to review your own accomplishments. But how often are you handed an invitation to actually do it?

Next week, I'll tackle the 2019 workbook. But first, here's a list of everything I did in 2018 that made me proud.

The goals

With my trusty workbook, I set three goals for the year. Here's how it went.

1. Finish at least one book a month.

I read 22 books this year. I'm fully convinced that reading more books is about setting yourself up to read more books. What helped me:

• Writing down recommendations immediately when they are given.
• Setting up periodic reminders to add to my library eBook queue.
• Audiobooks, so I could knock a few things off the list while hiking.
• Reading only women.

Yep, I only read women in 2018. It wasn't planned. At first, I was just furious over #metoo, and particularly conscious of how women aren't allowed to serve as our collective storytellers the way men are. I wanted to seek out women's stories. And the more I read, the more I wanted to keep going.

Here are a few books that stuck in my brain, in a good way:

2. Finish at least one major home renovation.

The idea here was to make my time at home more enjoyable. And I made a ton of progress: in 2018 I completed three construction projects! And as a bonus goal, I triaged and donated (most of) my old possessions. My space feels lighter, and what's left is intentional. What helped me:

• My therapist, who believes in the importance of a relaxing space
• Your contractor recommendations
• Opening a line of credit (for peace of mind in case anything went terribly wrong)
• The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up

In 2018, I celebrated my 10-year anniversary in this house. I'm immensely proud of that, of having managed this home by myself. I consider it one of my biggest achievements to-date. I marked the occasion by hosting a potluck.

3. Travel somewhere I wouldn't typically go.

The aforementioned therapist assures me: if the idea of planning a solo backpacking trip in another country sounds more stressful than fun, I don't have to do it. But I still beat myself up for not going. Constantly.

So my goal this year was about experiencing something new, without judging myself by the standards of what anyone else considered adventurous.

The trip was to Santa Fe. I saw the desert for the first time. I rented my first car. I went to a spa, which is incredibly unlike me. I did not drink (?!?). I just relaxed and explored and took hundreds of pictures of cacti and crystals.

Special thanks to Anna and Amie for planning this with me. Also: to Mary Ann, for getting me to try camping (?!?!) this year. And to Eric, for making sure I got to climb a mountain in 2018. And Aaron and Abby, for letting me crash a family vacation.

What helped:

• Friendships. With reliable people.
• "Mount Everest Is a Shitty Therapist"
• Hoarding credit card points
• An REI membership

Other achievements

In 2018, I'm proud that:

• our startup got acquired!
• my piece on body image and Instagram advertising got 280k hits.
• I made this map to help people go kayaking, and then I started a newsletter.
• Philly Day Hiker was visited by 23k people (up 55%).
• the Therapy Cost Calculator was visited by 3k people.
• I crowdsourced a list of therapists recommended by other Philadelphians at bit.ly/phillytherapists
• I launched Problem Bodies, my most code-heavy project yet.
• my work was featured in the Inquirer (three times!) and the Philadelphia Citizen.
• I organized a Twitter meetup and helped organize a few mental health meetups.
• I took myself to the movies alone for the first time.
• I managed an employee (in tech) for the first time.
• I won a hackathon.