2024 Recap. 2025 Plan. – Ihor Hadzera

It’s yet another year of my recap (it’s already fifth; you can check last year here). Surprisingly, I’ve received comments from a few people this year that my blog and especially recap posts inspired them to do some draft plans for the upcoming year, too; undoubtedly, that was a pure pleasure and motivation for me to hear that. As usual, I highly recommend that you, my dear reader, create a draft plan for some period in the future. Neither should it be the whole year nor in the shape of a public blog – write down a list of things you want to achieve with a clear deadline and regularly check how you are doing to calibrate your course. If you find that helpful (or even suddenly useless), please contact me through this portal or email; I’m keen to hear more about your experience and learnings! If it comes to me, I want to give my credits to Andriy from andriybuday.com/. He inspired me to start my blog in 2020, and I am immensely grateful to him.

Before beginning my review of retro plans, I want to remind you that the Russian aggression in Ukraine continues. Every day, russia’s terrorist attacks claim the lives of Ukrainian civilians while courageous Ukrainian defenders hold the line along a frontline spanning over 1,000 kilometers. I urge you to support Ukraine’s fight to protect its people and freedom. You can find a list of major Ukrainian foundations for various causes at saveukraine.org/donate. Every contribution, no matter how small, makes a difference.

2024’s plans progress

Health

Do 48 workout (or other non-running activity) sessions (~1 per week) – 30%

The initial plan was to do at least one non-running activity, but I lost my grip on that matter after a few weeks and later did just about one training per month, which summed up 13 workouts in total in 2024, so I marked it as not completed.

Run at least 48 runs with a minimum of 300km distance and take part in at least 1 race – 90%

Even though I did more than 48 runs, I’ve not started in a single race. There were a few occasions, but unexpected obstacles popped up every time.

Build a daily mindfulness routine – 0%

I read a book about mindful philosophy and hoped to build a daily routine based on the knowledge I gained. Still, after a few attempts, I gave up due to low motivation and limited understanding of my progress. If I ever want to try again, attending mindfulness classes is my only way.

Professional & Personal Development

Receive a professional certificate which requires passing an exam (AWS, MS, CAPM, etc) – 0%

Even though I started preparation, exam has not been passed yet.

Complete the course for communication or leadership upskill – 100%

Completed “Leadership in 7 Steps” onside workshop with Kamila Slowik

Solve 48 LeetCode/HackerRank problems (~ 1 per week) – 0%

It used to help me to keep my base software engineering “instincts” sharp, but this year, it just disappeared from radars.

Learn 1 new programming language on an advanced level – 20%

There are some gains in Kotlin, but they’re definitely not on an advanced level.

Read at least 8 books (from which at least two on a technical or non-fiction) – 100%

Book of the year due to my personal ranking – Atomic Habits

Visit at least 1 tech conference or tech meetup – 100%

I attended the AWS DynamoDB tech meetup.

Have at least 48 “active days” in my GitHub account – 100%

Invest 15% more money than in 2023 – 120%

I’ve managed to achieve 20% extra in absolute numbers

Add at least 3 new posts on my blog (New Year recap doesn’t count) – 0%

That was probably the last time I’d included such a point in my annual plan. I found a “number” plan counterproductive, as it prioritizes quantity over quality, which is the opposite of what I want this blog to be. So next year, I will put as many (or as few) posts on this blog as I consider topics/thoughts interesting to share, not more, not less.

Improve my finance and investment awareness (read 1 investment-related book/complete the course) – 100%

I subscribed to a few investment newsletters, paid more attention to global market trends, and invested in a new ETF this year.

Limit daily phone screen time to 2 hours – 75%

My daily screen time over the last 12 months has dropped from 3.5 to 2.4 hours, which I consider as good progress, but I’ve not hit the mark yet.

Family

Sign my daughter up for swimming classes – 100%

Done, that’s a big one for me. We’ve started visiting swimming classes together, even though there were a few gaps in time due to childhood illnesses.

Build a weekly routine of reading Ukrainian books for my daughter – 50%

It is kind of a half failure/half success. I’m trying to read my daughter, but it appears that at the end of 1, she doesn’t care about the plot but rather the colors of the pictures. I hope we both will do better next year.

First outside of Poland trip in an increased shape of our family – 300%

We’ve managed to have three trips outside of Poland this year; traveling with a 1-year-old baby is an unforgettable experience

Leisure

Hike to a new mountain peak or try first Via Ferrata – 0%

I overestimated my ability to plan a trip for more than one day. Not completed.

Do at least 1 “adrenaline rush activity” – 0%

I planned paragliding this year, but I failed because of my laziness and unpredictable weather for most of the weekends in the summer.

Spend at least 1 night camping/a tent – 0%

Attend at least 3 concerts/sports events – 33%

It was only one concert (but goddamn good one) I’ve managed to visit this year.

Add a 1 new board game to the home collection – 100%

Even though it was not the best choice of the game this year, our board game library has slightly increased (tip of the year from Ihor aka Captain Obvious – don’t trust “nice box” and read reviews before buying board games)

Miscellaneous

Make at least 12 contributions to nonprofit organizations (~ 1 per month) – 150%

Donate at least 10% more money in 2024 than in 2023 – 150%

Donate at least 1.5 liters of blood (3 times) – 66%

I’ve managed to do it only twice this year; before I became a father, I couldn’t imagine that being 100% healthy and not having a runny nose or cold could be such a challenge, especially when your child brings a new stamp of biological weapon from kindergarten every other week ☢️

Learning from 2024

My biggest finding this year is not to postpone your plans. This could sound trite, but looking back, people usually think about what they’ve done and what they abandoned. We rarely remember reasons for failed plans, such as a dream trip to Iceland, the first parachuting jump, or starting a shared hobby with our kids, as in most cases, these reasons are so minor. The lesson from this finding is to do everything possible to make abandoning hard/impossible. The easiest way is probably to buy a ticket, course, or voucher for your plans in advance; believe me; it will be much harder to find a silly reason to give up on the trip if no one refunds you 2k USD for tickets you’ve already spent 😉

Sum-up

52% (13/25) – Fully completed targets
12% (3/25) – Progressed well, but not completed
36% (9/25) – Have not been started or progress is negligible

I have a mixed feeling about my 52% completion rate, on one side, it’s below my target threshold, but on the other hand, I’m quite surprised I’ve reached such a high level, as this year has been a year of many personal changes for me – my lovely grandpa passed away, I finally got married to my partner after dating for five (!) years, we acquired and moved to a new property, I finally had a chance to meet my grandma the first time since russia started its brutal war against Ukraine.

The following year promises to be even more challenging for me, so I will keep the same 60% completion rate as a target for 2025 and a 75% progress level of treating something as “done.”

Plans for 2025

Health

Do 48 workout (or other non-running activity) sessions (~1 per week)
Run at least 48 runs with a minimum of 300km distance and take part in at least one race (ideally together with my daughter)
Do 5000 pushups/dips (200 per week with some margin to sickness, vacation, or laziness)
Increase muscle flexibility to the point when I can firmly touch the floor with my palms on straight legs
Keep the weight under 80kg

Professional & Personal Development

Complete leadership workshop (preferably not online)
Create a publicly accessible pet project with the language/technology I want to learn
Read at least eight books (from which at least two are technical or non-fiction) and write a review of at least two of them (primarily for retrospective purposes)
Visit at least one tech conference
Have at least 48 “active days” in my personal GitHub account
Extend Emergency Fund to 9 months’ worth of expenses
Adopt a tool for automatic monthly investments

Family

Attend pool classes with my daughter at least 20 times
Build a weekly routine of reading Ukrainian books for my daughter (again)
First outside of Poland trip in an increased shape of our family

Leisure

Build a daily reading routine – 300 active reading days
Hike to a new mountain peak or try first Via Ferrata
Do at least one “adrenaline rush activity”
Attend at least two concerts/sports events

Miscellaneous

Limit daily phone screen time to 2 hours (spying on kids through baby monitor doesn’t count)
Make at least 12 contributions to nonprofit organizations (~ 1 per month)
Donate at least 1.5 liters of blood (3 times)
Limit time spent on social media (including YouTube) to 1 hour daily

Final thoughts

So many global things have happened this year, undoubtedly bad – war in Ukraine is not over, events in the Middle East are getting very concerning, neutral – breathtaking POTUS election campaign, or good and enjoyable – such as the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics and Euro football championship. In most cases, we don’t directly influence global events. Still, indirectly indeed – by crafting our small world by our beliefs and promoting our values to other people, that’s how human beings transformed the world from an absolute monarchy back in the Middle Ages to democracy and undisputable acceptance of human rights in most parts of our planet today. Just do what is right!

As we enter 2025, I’m filled with hope and excitement for the possibilities ahead. May this year bring you joy, growth, and countless moments of happiness. I also hold a special wish for peace—may the war in Ukraine end, and may we see healing and unity in the year ahead. Here’s to new beginnings and a brighter, more peaceful world for all.

Wishing you all the best in 2025!

P.S. A few highlight photos from 2024