It is that time of year again, time to reflect on the year that has passed and look forward to the year ahead. As with many years 2024 has been a mixed bag, some good stuff, and some not so good stuff. I did not make any goals at the start of 2024, but I am going to fix that for 2025.

Goals for 2025

• Blog Posts
• More Learning
• Drink More Water and Do More Walks
• Attend Conferences and User Groups

Blog Posts

For most of the year, I have not been writing blog posts. However, the Scottish Summit conference reignited my blogging spark, and I have written seven posts since then. My goal is to write one post a week. I am sure I will miss the odd week, but the important thing is not to miss two in a row.

More Learning

Being a developer is a constant journey of learning, and I have not done enough of that this year. During December, I completed a few challenges from Advent of Code, and I hope to do more of them. I have also discovered Exercism and started working through the C# track. I am sure there will be more opportunities to learn new things in 2025.

Health

2024 took an unusual turn. In June, I walked a half marathon across the Peak District, and since then, I have been doing lots of walks. Walking is good for my physical and mental health, so I intend to do more of it in 2025. I have a 5k scheduled for January, which should be lots of fun as it is around the wildlife park. On the same topic, I want to drink more water. Not sure how I am going to accomplish this as I am easily distracted by the current developer problem, instead of thinking about my health.

Conferences and User Groups

I want to attend a conference or user group once a month in 2025. Conferences and user groups are great places to meet people, learn new things, and be encouraged by the community. I have signed up as a volunteer for NDC London in January, and DDD North is back in February. I am sure I will be able to fill the other months with events soon enough as well.

What Happened in 2024

I did something in 2024 that I thought I would never do. I signed up for a half marathon hike across the Peak District for charity. This was an amazing achievement for me, involving lots of training walks and raising over £600 for charity.

My attendance at conferences and user groups has been a bit light this year. However, I did attend the Scottish Summit in October, which rekindled my blogging. I also attended DDD North with a couple of my work colleagues, which was great as usual.

Family life has kept me busy this year and has been my focus for much of the year. Next year, I want the focus to shift more to my work and career. I attended a couple of code club sessions with my eldest son, and it was great to see his skills develop. Like me, he wanted to help others with the coding exercise.