My Goals for 2021

Initially I set these goals inside of the year review but a lot has happened in the first few months of 2021. Mainly my decision to focus heavily on content and product creation alongside freelancing as an individual - deciding not to pursue the agency route.

Business Goals

Grow the Sunday Filter Newsletter to 2000 Subscribers

The Sunday Filter has had a slow start with the list still being tiny as I write this. But as I transition more towards a creator focused business the newsletter will become the center of everything. It's where I'll be sharing my work and the best ideas on creativity, business and self improvement.

I'm finally starting to develop my own style and improve the newsletter week on week.

My main focus this year is on creating great content and building a community, my list will be a reflection on how I'm doing.

Focus on consistency

As I transition to being a creator there is one thing that I need to focus on above all else. Consistency. Without consistency, nothing will happen, sporadic videos, and newsletters will not build trust with my audience and they won't push me to improve as a writer/filmmaker.

Discipline and consistency are essential to building the business and making the content I aspire to make.

Build Twitter Audience to 5k

For the last few years I've been a Twitter lurker. I currently have around 50 followers and a few tweets. I've sat on the sidelines and watched people build friendships and businesses on the platform and now it's time for me to capitalise on this oppurtunity.

Twitter is a great place to make friends interested in similar things and this year I'm going to take advantage of that opportunity.

Launch first digital product

Freelancing is how I will make the bulk of my income this year but towards the end of the year I want to turn my attention towards building and selling a digital product.

I want to sell something that I genuinely believe will help people, selling in an ethical way. My main reasoning for continuing freelancing as I build this business is because it will enable me not to attempt monetisation too early and focus solely on making better things.

Grow Youtube audience to 5k

Youtube and the newsletter are the main areas of focus in terms of content. A lot of the skills are transferable between the two [with writing being at the core of both].

The goal is to hit 5000 subscribers by 2022, this will establish a healthy base and be a great indicator in whether or not I'm offering consistent value.

Personal Goals

Three Workouts per week every week

I'm currently in the best shape of my life but I want to step things up this year. I have developed the consistent habit of working out regularly over the last few years but I want to make my workouts more active.

Instead of just working out I want to train with more intensity and treat my body more like an athlete to increase performance and energy levels.

Less Sugar & Carbs more Fat & Nutrients

The more I research into health and fitness the more I realise how incredibly messed up our societal norms are regarding health and nutrition. Over the last few months, I've realised how much of an in-balance I had in terms of carbs to fat ratio in my diet.

This year I'm focusing on eating more of a high fat diet whilst focusing heavily on getting the right nutrients to have more sustained energy and less spikes + crashes.

Broaden my horizons

“If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.” ― Haruki Murakami

As a person and a creator I don't just want to know what everyone else knows or talk about the news. I want to read more broadly and go deep on obscure topics.

I want to take teachings from a range of places and experience a range of cultures.

This year I'm going to focus on reading more broadly, understanding things better and experiencing new cultures.

Make Friends on the internet and in real life

One area I don't pay enough attention to currently is friendships. Specifically finding friends who do similar things to me / do the things I want to do in future.

I'm placing a focus on putting more effort into friendships this year both online [Twitter, email, zoom] and offline.

At the end of this year I will re-visit these goals and review how I've done on them before setting goals for 2022.