Public Commitment 2014 – Update 2

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Dear friends, family, and interested readers,

At the beginning of 2014, I first made public my goals for the year. In that post I indicated I would review them multiple times. After the first review, here is the second review & update.

Daily

1. I will always do something. At all times I am busy creating new things or gaining new experiences.

The last two months I have been having a bit of trouble with my health. Normally I was never ill, now I faced multiple times that I could sleep most of the day. What it has been (or is), I do not know. I figure it may have something to do with me always doing something. My committees are coming to an end and thinking about this goal has made me reconsider it for the coming half year:

1a. I will always do something meaningful, even if this means doing nothing. Its quite paradoxical, but I think this is a better definition for me.

2. I will execute all my habits. I eat home-made 6-7 days per week, I work out 6 days a week, I blog twice per week, I read and do my exercises each morning.

Eating healthy is working out great for me. For the last month, I have severely cut down on the amount of meat I eat. After following the course, Practical Ethics, by Peter Singer I decided that it is not necessary for us to eat meat when there are so many alternatives. I have dubbed myself a ‘flexitariër’ and will continue to eat meat every once in a while but at home, it is totally gone.

Working out has also suffered from being ill the past few weeks. I am back to running three times a week and I guess (from prior experience) that my pace will pick up again. Tomorrow will be the first time in the gym after a while, but I plan on kicking some ass over there too. My morning exercises are going great and the back pain is still gone (forever?).

Blogging is going its pace. I do think the categories needs some simplification and the focus of the blog could also be somewhat better. On the other hand, I allow myself to put up everything I like here and that brings in a bright mix of in-depth articles and personal statements.

3. I will take moments to reflect. I will contemplate on my life, goals and experiences.

After the first update I concluded that meditation or things alike are not for me. Reflecting on my goals every week is something I have done over 130 times and it is something I keep to every week. Reflecting per day is something I have not done that consistently. Sometimes you have parties and other times you just want to watch something on youtube before sleeping. I think it is good to start doing this more rigidly, in many thing I read it is stated as being very beneficial. Luck has it that I have bought a new notebook in which I can perfectly do this.

Moments

4. I will find/create my perfect job. From October 2014 onwards I will work full-time on a job that fits my skills, knowledge and abilities whilst also giving me ample opportunity to learn and challenge myself.

I have mixed feelings about this goal. My thesis (see goal 6) is going at a slower pace than I expected, or wished, and it will be likely that it will take a bit longer to finish this. In discussion with some fellow Directors at De Kleine Consultant, I have also better pinpointed what I want to do for a job. I love to develop other people (build excellence) and will be doing something that makes this possible. Currently, I am reading the amazing book ‘What Color is Your Parachute‘ by Richard Bolles (review will be online within a month) and this has really helped me in this process. By the next update I will probably have found my perfect job, if I will already be working there, that is a second question.

5. I will explore a new country.

Going abroad has been a big part of my youth. Every summer we went on vacation and more than not it was to a country I have never been to. This year has not brought me somewhere I have not been yet. With my ‘jaarclub’ we went on a surprise trip to Budapest, but I had already been there three years ago. This goal will follow.

6. I will host an epic graduation day + party. After my graduation  in September 2014 (implicit goal) I will host an event for everyone involved in my student career, from associate professors, fellow students, to family and friends from past days.

My student career is coming to an end and I am rounding up all committees and other activities. The sixth goal will be fulfilled this year, if it will be September, that is another question. Invitation will be send after I have completed my data collection (after that there is almost no dependency on other factors than yourself).

Reach

7. I will blog 100+ times & reach 10.000 with blogging. Each week I will produce 2+ articles, and I will create one long and in-depth paper per month that will take at least 2 hours to write. On a new website, I will write about leadership, psychology and related topics in collaboration with others with a global mindset and exposure.

Blogging until now has passed the 50 mark already. Some posts were quite short, others were a thorough review of books I have read. Reaching out to a bigger public is not something that I have achieved. I guess this has something to do with the lack of focus on the blog which makes it difficult to attract a certain public. The questions that can be asked is: Do I want to reach this many people? I still think the answer is yes. If it will be via this blog I am not sure. In the meanwhile, I have built another website (clevarvision.com) and will continue to fill this website (currently it is mostly empty).

8. I will reach and maintain 15% bodyfat, 10km in 45 minutes, 300 kg on the big three. In January I will lower my bodyfat percentage to 15%, I will steadily increase my speed to 10km in 45 minutes and I will push myself to reach a 300 kg total on squat, benchpress and deadlift by the middle of the year.

Bodywise I am quite happy. I reckon my bodyfat is not 15% and I think I can still lose a bit of weight, but it does not matter to a very big degree. Running during the 10km of the Rotterdam Marathon proved to be a run of about 48 minutes. This is quite the time and I am happy with it. The beginning was really slow (so many people) and in the later minutes I picked up the pace. My knees were not doing great and I am being careful of going too fast or far. By the end of the year, the goals is still a reachable one. Reaching 300 kg on the squat, benchpress and deadlift also are possible, but also here; safety first.

9. I will learn a new sport.

I am becoming better at chess. Of course, that is not the sport I meant to say here and learning to golf is still high on my list. What in the end I will be doing I do not know yet. Suggestions are always welcome.

10. I will read/listen 26 books.

Listening to audiobooks on my bike is very effective. Over the past weeks, I have been listening to ‘War and Peace’ by Leo Tolstoy and this rather thick book is advancing so rapidly. I love that I can spend the time on my bike with listening to books and it really adds value. Reading in the morning has lagged behind a bit, but with a better health now I am back to doing this too. The number 26 is a low one and I will definitely read some more.

11. I will learn a new field of study. I will learn to code/program. I will improve my HR knowledge.

Over the past months of internship, I have learned a great deal about different aspects of HR. Everything for doing salary to motivating employees has passed by. In the last week I also have started coding (basics of html and css) and it is a lot of fun to do. Learning new things is cool to do and I will continue with these two areas in the coming months.

12. I will apply A/B testing each week. I will try different configurations of exercise/food/sleep/work/etc. each and every week.

As noted in the first review this goal has changed a bit. For the rest of the year I will formulate the following goal:

12a. I will constantly update my habits.

That is it for the second review of my goals of 2014. Not everything is going at the pace I was hoping for (i.e. thesis). Yet other goals are advancing at lighting speed (i.e. reading). Life is journey and it is about enjoying the ride, not the destination. Do not be a passenger on the ride of others, but take control of your own destiny and keep on cruising along.

Floris

Doelen 2014

Beste vrienden, familie en geïnteresseerd lezers,

In het begin van 2014 heb ik mijn doelen voor het jaar bekend gemaakt. In dat bericht gaf ik aan dat ik ze meerdere keren zou evaluaren. Na de eerste review is hier de tweede evaluatie en update.

Dagelijks

1. Ik doe altijd iets. Ten alle tijden ben ik bezig met het creëren van nieuwe dingen of opdoen van ervaringen.

In de laatste twee maanden heb ik enkele problemen met zijn gezondheid gehad. Normaal was ik nooit zie, nu is het mij meerdere keren overkomen dat ik een hele dag kon slapen. Wat het was (of is) weet ik niet. I denk dat het wel iets te maken kan hebben met dat ik altijd wat aan het doen ben. Mijn commissies komen tot een einde en terwijl ik nadacht over dit doel ben ik tot een betere formulering gekomen voor komend half jaar:

1a. I doe altijd iets betekenisvol, ook al betekent dit niks doen. Dit statement herbergt natuurlijk een paradox, maar ik denk dat dit een betere definitie voor mij is.

2. Ik voer mijn gewoonten uit. Ik eet 6-7 dagen per week home-made, ik sport 6 dagen per week, ik blog 2+ keer per week, ik lees en doe elke ochtend mijn oefeningen.

Gezond eten werkt heel goed voor mij. In de laatste paar maanden ben ik minder vlees gaan eten. Na het volgen van het online vak, Practical Ethics, van Peter Singer heb ik besloten dat het niet nodig is om vlees te eten wanneer er zo veel alternatieven zijn. I heb mezelf een ‘flexitariër’ bestempeld en zal zo af en toe nog wel vlees eten, maar thuis ben ik er helemaal mee gestopt.

Mijn sportactiviteiten hebben ook geleden onder het ziek zijn van de afgelopen weken. Ik ben weer begonnen met drie keer per week rennen en ik denk (op basis van eerdere ervaring) dat mijn tempo weer snel omhoog zal gaan. Morgen zal weer de eerste keer in de fitness zijn na een tijdje afwezigheid, ik ben van plan ook hier weer mijn best te gaan doen. Mijn ochtendoefeningen gaan perfect en de rugpijn is nog steeds weg (voor altijd?).

Bloggen gaat zo zijn gangetje. Ik denk wel dat de categorieën wat simplificatie behoeven en dat de focus van de blog nog beter kan. Aan de andere kant geef ik mezelf de ruimte om te schrijven over alles was ik wil en dat resulteert in een leuke mix van verdiepende artikelen en persoonlijke statements.

3. Ik neem momenten om te reflecteren. Ik denk na over mijn leven, doelen en ervaringen.

Na de eerste update heb ik besloten dat mediteren en dergelijke praktijken niks voor mij zijn. Reflecteren op mijn doelen van de week is iets dat ik nu meer dan 130 keer heb gedaan en iets wat ik elke week doe. Reflecteren per dag heb ik nog niet te consequent gedaan. Soms heb je een feestje en andere keren wil je gewoon iets kijken op youtube voor het slapen gaan. Ik denk dat het goed is om dit met meer regelmaat te gaan doen, op veel plekken lees ik dat het heel goed is om te doen. Toevallig heb ik een nieuw notitieboek gekocht waar ik dit perfect in kan gaan doen.

Momenten

4. Ik vind/maak mijn perfecte baan. Vanaf oktober 2014 ga ik fulltime bezig zijn met werken in de baan die past bij mijn vaardigheden en tegelijkertijd genoeg uitdaging biedt.

Ik heb verschillende gevoelens over dit doel. Mijn thesis (zie doel 6) gaat langzamer dan ik had verwacht en het is waarschijnlijk dat ik hier langer mee bezig ben om af te maken. In een gesprek met een mede Director bij De Kleine Consultant heb ik wel beter de baan die ik wil kunnen pinpointen. I vind het geweldig om andere mensen te ontwikkelen (bouwen van excellentie) en ik wil iets gaan doen waar dit mogelijk is. Momenteel ben ik het boek ‘What Color is Your Parachute‘ van Richard Bolles (review online binnen een maand) aan het lezen en dit heeft mij echt geholpen in dit proces. Bij de volgende update heb ik waarschijnlijk mijn perfecte baan gevonden, of ik er dan al aan het werken ben ik een tweede vraag.

5. Ik ontdek een nieuw land.

Naar het buitenland gaan was een groot deel van mijn jeugd. Elke zomer gingen we op vakantie en vaker dan niet was het een land waar ik nog nooit was geweest. Dit jaar heeft mij nog niet gebracht in een land dat ik nog niet kende. Met mijn jaarclub zijn we op een reis geweest naar Boedapest, maar hier ben ik drie jaar geleden ook al geweest. Dit doel zal dus nog worden vervuld.

6. Ik geef een episch afstuderen dag + feest. Na mijn afstuderen in september 2014 (impliciet doel) geef ik een feest voor iedereen die betrokken was in mijn studentencarrière, van hoogleraren, medestudenten, tot familie en vrienden van vroeger.

Mijn studentencarrière loopt tot een einde en ik ben bezig met alle commissies en andere activiteiten af te ronden. Het zesde doel zal dit jaar worden vervuld, of dit in september zal zijn is een andere vraag. Uitnodigingen zullen verstuurd worden nadat ik de datacollectie heb gedaan (daarna is er geen afhankelijkheid, behalve dan op mijzelf).

Uitdaging

7. Ik blog 100x & bereik 10.000 mensen met bloggen. Elke week produceer ik 2+ artikelen, en maak ik één lang en verdiepende paper per maand die minstens 2 uur kost om te schrijven. Op een nieuwe website zal ik schrijven over leiderschap, psychologie en relevante topics in samenwerking met anderen in een globale mindset en bereik.

Het aantal blogs is momenteel al over 50. Sommige posts zijn heel kort, andere zijn een verdiepende uitwerking van een boek dat ik heb gelezen. Een groter publiek bereiken is iets wat nog niet gelukt is. Ik denk dat dit te maken heeft met het ontbreken van een focus op de blog wat het lastig maakt om een groot publiek te bereiken. De vraag die ik kan stellen is: Wil ik een zo veel mensen bereiken? Ik denk dat het antwoord ja is. Of dat via de blog is weet ik niet zeker. In de tussentijd heb ik wel een nieuwe site gebouwd (clevarvision.com) en ga ik door met het vullen ervan (momenteel is die nog vrij leeg).

8. Ik haal en blijf op 15% lichaamsvet, 10km in 45 min, 300kg big three. In januari verlaag ik mijn percentage tot 15%, ik loop gestaag sneller tot ik 10km in 45 minuten kan lopen en push mezelf verder om voor het midden van het jaar de 300kg op squat, benchpress en deadlift te halen.

Met mijn lichaam ben ik zeer tevreden. Ik denk dat mijn lichaamsvet niet 15% is en dat ik nog wel iets meer kan afvallen, maar dat doet er niet echt toe. Tijdens de Rotterdamse Marathon heb ik de 10km in 48 minuten gelopen. Het is een goede tijd waar ik blij mee ben. Het begin ging langzaam (er waren zo veel mensen) en in de latere stukken kon ik het tempo goed verhogen. Mijn knieën zijn niet perfect en ik doe voorzichtig met te snel of lang lopen. Voor het einde van het jaar is het nog steeds een haalbaar doel. Om de 300 kg op de squat, benchpress en deadlift te halen is ook goed haalbaar, maar ook hier; veiligheid eerst.

9. Ik leer een nieuwe sport.

Ik boek vooruitgang met schaken. Maar natuurlijk is dat niet de sport die ik bedoel, het leren van golfen staat nog hoog op mijn lijstje. Wat ik uiteindelijk ga doen weet ik nog niet. Suggesties zijn altijd welkom.

10. Ik lees/luister 26 boeken.

Luisteren naar audioboeken op mijn fiets is zeer effectief. De afgelopen weken heb ik geluisterd naar ‘Oorlog en Vrede’ van Leo Tolstoy en dit zeer dikke boek gaat er snel doorheen. I vind het geweldig dat ik de tijd op mijn fiets kan gebruiken om boeken te luisteren en het voegt echt wat toe. Lezen in de ochtend loopt iets achter, maar nu ik mij weer beter voel ben ik ook weer hier mee bezig. Het nummer 26 is een lage en ik ga zeker meer dan dat lezen.

11. Ik leer een nieuw vakgebied. Ik leer coderen/programmeren. Ik verbeter mijn HR kennis.

Over de afgelopen maanden van stage heb ik veel geleerder over verschillende aspecten van HR. Alles van salaris administratie tot het motiveren van collega’s is voorbijgekomen. In de laatste week ben ik ook begonnen met coderen (basis van html en css) en het is heel leuk om te doen. Het leren van nieuwe dingen is leuk en ik ga zeker door met deze twee gebieden de komende maanden.

12. Ik pas A/B testen elke dag toe. Ik probeer verschillende configuraties van oefeningen/eten/slaap/werk/etc. elke week.

Zoals gesteld in de eerste review is dit doel een beetje veranderd. Voor de rest van het jaar zal ik het doel als volgt formuleren:

12a. Ik update constant mijn gewoonten.

Dat is het voor de tweede review van mijn doelen voor 2014. Niet alles is gegaan in het tempo waar ik op hoopte (bijv. scriptie). Echter andere doelen gaan weer heel snel (bijv. lezen). Het leven is een avontuur waarbij het gaat om het genieten van de rit, niet de bestemming. Wees een passagier in de rit van iemand anders, maar neem controle over je eigen lot en ga door op je avontuur.

Floris

Public Commitment 2014 – Update 1

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Dear friends, family, and interested readers,

At the beginning of 2014, I first made public my goals for the year. In that post, I indicated I would review them in the middle of the year. Since I have decided to do this 4 times, and therefore here is the first review & update.

Daily

1. I will always do something. At all times I am busy creating new things or gaining new experiences.

This goal is going quite well. On the upside, I have been productive for most of my waking hours. But sometimes a Sunday gets lost in watching series. I have decided to more actively monitor myself for this behaviour and also keep in mind that doing something (e.g. passively watching something educational or reading literature) is always better than fully trying to escape reality/responsibilities (e.g. watching a series). Always doing something is going strong.

2. I will execute all my habits. I eat home-made 6-7 days per week, I work out 6 days a week, I blog twice per week, I read and do my exercises each morning.

Habits can change, and I have added some moral guidelines in these first three months. Reading has turned out to work very well in the morning (not so much at night). Blogging has increased beyond twice a week and now consists of a diverse range of categories, which in the coming months may easily change again. Exercises are also going great and back pain is almost non-existing. Lastly, eating home-made is closer to 5 times, still not a bad score, and working out is probably around the same.

3. I will take moments to reflect. I will contemplate on my life, goals and experiences.

In one of my experiments I looked at meditation and how I could fit this in my life. Living life like a Buddha is not the way for me, too much energy going around. My way of reflecting consists of setting a goal for the day, reflecting on this in the evening, and then making a cup of tea and finishing my day without any distractions (with exception of some music to really listen to on occasion). Ow, and of course I am still doing a lot of goal setting!

Moments

4. I will find/create my perfect job. From October 2014 onwards I will work full-time on a job that fits my skills, knowledge and abilities whilst also giving me ample opportunity to learn and challenge myself.

It is not yet October, but I am learning about where my skills are, and how to effectively use them. The half-year review will probably give some more information about the progress here.

5. I will explore a new country.

Which country will it be? I do not know yet.

6. I will host an epic graduation day + party. After my graduation in September 2014 (implicit goal) I will host an event for everyone involved in my student career, from associate professors, fellow students, to family and friends from past days.

The date is planned (19th of September 2014). Invitations etcetera will follow in a few months.

Reach

7. I will blog 100+ times & reach 10.000 with blogging. Each week I will produce 2+ articles, and I will create one long and in-depth paper per month that will take at least 2 hours to write. On a new website, I will write about leadership, psychology and related topics in collaboration with others with a global mindset and exposure.

Blogging is fun to do and I have quite some posts already. Reaching more people is still difficult and this is a goal that will take some more time to finish. A new website, mostly about goals/vision/time-management will launch somewhere in the coming two months.

8. I will reach and maintain 15% body fat, 10km in 45 minutes, 300 kg on the big three. In January I will lower my body fat percentage to 15%, I will steadily increase my speed to 10km in 45 minutes and I will push myself to reach a 300 kg total on squat, bench press and deadlift by the middle of the year.

After facing an injury to my knee (apparently I have X-legs) running is back to a good level, if I will reach the 10km in 45 minutes at the marathon April 13th 2014, we will have to see. My gym-related goals are for after the marathon.

9. I will learn a new sport.

Learning a new sport has not yet happened, golf is up there, so probably will learn that together with a friend coming summer.

10. I will read/listen 26 books.

This goal I will most definitely reach, maybe even already by the middle of the year.

11. I will learn a new field of study. I will learn to code/program. I will improve my HR knowledge.

As you can see there are actually two goals mentioned in the sub-text. What I have found until now is that I am learning much more during my internship. For coding specifically not so much yet, so during the summer I will actively engage in learning this.

12. I will apply A/B testing each week. I will try different configurations of exercise/food/sleep/work/etc. each and every week.

In the beginning, I had quite some inspiration for this goal, now I have tried a few things and found that better shaping my own being is best done via best-practices and not testing things in different weeks/configurations. The category dedicated to this has therefore also changed from A/B testing to Changing Habits. This last goal is a bit modified, but still active.

That is it for the first review of my 2014 goals. Until now I am very much satisfied with how it is going. Not every goal has seen the progress I wish it to have, but I am confident I will reach every goal (maybe modified or new goals too) by the end of the year 2014!

Doelen 2014

Beste vrienden, familie en geïnteresseerd lezers,

In het begin van 2014 heb ik voor het eerst mijn doelen voor het jaar publiekelijk aangekondigd. In het bericht gaf ik aan ze in het midden van het jaar te evalueren. Reeds heb ik besloten om dit 4 maal te doen en daarom bij deze de eerste terugblik en update.

Dagelijks

1. Ik doe altijd iets. Ten alle tijden ben ik bezig met het creëren van nieuwe dingen of opdoen van ervaringen.

Dit doel gaat best wel goed. Ik ben productief voor de meeste van mijn wakkere uren. Echter kan ik soms wel een zondag verliezen met het kijken van series. I heb besloten om mijzelf meer actief te monitoren voor dit gedrag en in mijn achterhoofd het volgende te houden; iets doen (bijv. passief iets educatiefs kijken of het lezen van literatuur) is altijd beter dan aan de realiteit/verantwoordelijkheden proberen te ontsnappen (bijv. een serie kijken). Altijd iets doen gaat lekker.

2. Ik voer mijn gewoonten uit. Ik eet 6-7 dagen per week home-made, ik sport 6 dagen per week, ik blog 2+ keer per week, ik lees en doe elke ochtend mijn oefeningen.

Gewoonten kunnen veranderen en ik heb enkele moral guidelines toegevoegd in deze eerste drie maanden. Lezen in de ochtend heeft zeer goed uitgepakt (in de avond niet zo). Bloggen doe ik zelfs meer dan twee keer per week en bestaat nu uit veel categorieën, welke in de komende maanden zo weer kunnen veranderen. Oefeningen gaat goed en de rugpijn is er vrijwel niet meer. Als laatste eet ik ongeveer 5 keer home-made, ook geen slechte score, en is het voor sporten evenveel.

3. Ik neem momenten om te reflecteren. Ik denk na over mijn leven, doelen en ervaringen.

In een van mijn experimenten heb ik gekeken naar hoe meditatie werkt en hoe ik dit in mijn leven zou kunnen verwerken. Leven zoals een boeddha is niet voor mij weggelegd, te veel energie die hier rond gaat. Mijn manier van reflecteren bestaat uit het stellen van een doel voor de dag, reflecteren hierop in de avond en daarna met een kopje thee de dag afsluiten zonder afleidingen (met de uitzondering van af en toe een muziekje om echt in mij op te nemen).  Ow, en natuurlijk doe ik nog veel aan het stellen van doelen!

Momenten

4. Ik vind/maak mijn perfecte baan. Vanaf oktober 2014 ga ik fulltime bezig zijn met werken in de baan die past bij mijn vaardigheden en tegelijkertijd genoeg uitdaging biedt.

Het is nog niet oktober, maar ik leer veel over wat mijn vaardigheden zijn, en hoe ik die effectief kan inzetten. De halfjaar review zal hier waarschijnlijk meer inzichten in geven.

5. Ik ontdek een nieuw land.

Welk land zal het zijn? Ik weet het nog niet.

6. Ik geef een episch afstuderen dag + feest. Na mijn afstuderen in september 2014 (impliciet doel) geef ik een feest voor iedereen die betrokken was in mijn studentencarrière, van hoogleraren, medestudenten, tot familie en vrienden van vroeger.

De datum staat al in de planning (19 september 2014). Uitnodigingen en meer volgen in een paar maanden.

Uitdaging

7. Ik blog 100x & bereik 10.000 mensen met bloggen. Elke week produceer ik 2+ artikelen, en maak ik één lang en verdiepende paper per maand die minstens 2 uur kost om te schrijven. Op een nieuwe website zal ik schrijven over leiderschap, psychologie en relevante topics in samenwerking met anderen in een globale mindset en bereik.

Bloggen is leuk om te doen en ik heb dit jaar al aardig wat blogposts geschreven. Het bereiken van meer mensen is nog steeds lastig en dit doel zal dan ook meer tijd hebben om te behalen. Een nieuwe website, voornamelijk over doelen/visie/tijdmanagement zal ergens in de komende twee maanden online komen.

8. Ik haal en blijf op 15% lichaamsvet, 10km in 45 min, 300kg big three. In januari verlaag ik mijn percentage tot 15%, ik loop gestaag sneller tot ik 10km in 45 minuten kan lopen en push mezelf verder om voor het midden van het jaar de 300kg op squat, benchpress en deadlift te halen.

Na een blessure aan mijn knie (blijkbaar heb ik X-benen) is het rennen weer terug op een goed niveau. Of ik de 10km in 45 minuten ga bereiken bij aankomende marathon op 13 april 2014 zullen we zien. Mijn fitness-doelen zijn voor daarna.

9. Ik leer een nieuwe sport.

Het leren van een nieuwe sport is nog niet gebeurd, golf staat op de shortlist. Waarschijnlijk zal ik dat met een vriend leren komende zomer.

10. Ik lees/luister 26 boeken.

Dit doel ga ik zeker behalen, misschien zelfs al voor het midden van het jaar.

11. Ik leer een nieuw vakgebied. Ik leer coderen/programmeren. Ik verbeter mijn HR kennis.

Zoals zichtbaar in de sub-tekst zitten er twee doelen verborgen hier. Wat ik tot nu toe heb gevonden is dat ik zo veel meer aan het leren ben tijdens mijn stage. Voor coderen specifiek echter nog niet zo veel, hier ga ik in de zomer actief mee aan de slag.

12. Ik pas A/B testen elke dag toe. Ik probeer verschillende configuraties van oefeningen/eten/slaap/werk/etc. elke week.

In het begin had ik had veel inspiratie voor dit doel, nu ik een aantal dingen heb geprobeerd ben ik erachter gekomen dat via best-practices ik beter kan leren wat het beste is om te doen versus elke week nieuwe dingen/configuraties proberen. De categorie die hiervoor was bedoeld heb ik dan ook veranderd van A/B testing naar Changing Habits. Dit laatste doel is nog actief, maar iets aangepast.

Dat is het voor de eerste review van mijn 2014 doelen. Tot nu toe ben ik zeer tevreden met hoe het ermee gaat. Niet elk doel heeft de vooruitgang gezien die ik wou, ik heb er het volste vertrouwen in dat ik elk doel zal bereiken (mogelijk aangepast of met nieuwe doelen erbij) voor het einde van 2014!

Public Commitment 2014

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Dear friends, family, and interested readers,

Hereby I would like to publicly announce my goals for 2014. Each goal has his own backstory on which I will elaborate shortly below. I have chosen to share these goals with you all to publicly commit myself to achieve each and every one of them. I will evaluate these goals in the middle of the year, and at the end of 2014. On beforehand I would like to thank you for helping me achieve these goals.

Daily

1. I will always do something. At all times I am busy creating new things or gaining new experiences.

2. I will execute all my habits. I eat home-made 6-7 days per week, I work out 6 days a week, I blog twice per week, I read and do my exercises each morning.

3. I will take moments to reflect. I will contemplate on my life, goals and experiences.

Moments

4. I will find/create my perfect job. From October 2014 onwards I will work full-time on a job that fits my skills, knowledge and abilities whilst also giving me ample opportunity to learn and challenge myself.

5. I will explore a new country.

6. I will host an epic graduation day + party. After my graduation in September 2014 (implicit goal) I will host an event for everyone involved in my student career, from associate professors, fellow students, to family and friends from past days.

Reach

7. I will blog 100+ times & reach 10.000 with blogging. Each week I will produce 2+ articles, and I will create one long and in-depth paper per month that will take at least 2 hours to write. On a new website, I will write about leadership, psychology and related topics in collaboration with others with a global mindset and exposure.

8. I will reach and maintain 15% body fat, 10km in 45 minutes, 300 kg on the big three. In January I will lower my body fat percentage to 15%, I will steadily increase my speed to 10km in 45 minutes and I will push myself to reach a 300 kg total on squat, bench press and deadlift by the middle of the year.

9. I will learn a new sport.

10. I will read/listen 26 books.

11. I will learn a new field of study. I will learn to code/program. I will improve my HR knowledge.

12. I will apply A/B testing each week. I will try different configurations of exercise/food/sleep/work/etc. each and every week.

Doelen 2014

Beste vrienden, familie en geïnteresseerd lezers,

Bij deze wil ik publiekelijk mijn doelen voor 2014 aankondigen. Elk doel heeft zijn eigen verhaal welk hieronder uitgelegd staat. Ik heb ervoor gekozen deze doelen te met jullie allen te delen om mijzelf publiekelijk aansprakelijk te houden voor elk van de doelen. I zal de doelen op het midden van het jaar en het einde van 2014 evalueren. Van te voren wil ik je alvast bedanken voor het mij helpen in het bereiken van deze doelen.

Dagelijks

1. Ik doe altijd iets. Ten alle tijden ben ik bezig met het creëren van nieuwe dingen of opdoen van ervaringen.

2. Ik voer mijn gewoonten uit. Ik eet 6-7 dagen per week home-made, ik sport 6 dagen per week, ik blog 2+ keer per week, ik lees en doe elke ochtend mijn oefeningen.

3. Ik neem momenten om te reflecteren. Ik denk na over mijn leven, doelen en ervaringen.

Momenten

4. Ik vind/maak mijn perfecte baan. Vanaf oktober 2014 ga ik fulltime bezig zijn met werken in de baan die past bij mijn vaardigheden en tegelijkertijd genoeg uitdaging biedt.

5. Ik ontdek een nieuw land.

6. Ik geef een episch afstuderen dag + feest. Na mijn afstuderen in september 2014 (impliciet doel) geef ik een feest voor iedereen die betrokken was in mijn studentencarrière, van hoogleraren, medestudenten, tot familie en vrienden van vroeger.

Uitdaging

7. Ik blog 100x & bereik 10.000 mensen met bloggen. Elke week produceer ik 2+ artikelen, en maak ik één lang en verdiepende paper per maand die minstens 2 uur kost om te schrijven. Op een nieuwe website zal ik schrijven over leiderschap, psychologie en relevante topics in samenwerking met anderen in een globale mindset en bereik.

8. Ik haal en blijf op 15% lichaamsvet, 10km in 45 min, 300kg big three. In januari verlaag ik mijn percentage tot 15%, ik loop gestaag sneller tot ik 10km in 45 minuten kan lopen en push mezelf verder om voor het midden van het jaar de 300kg op squat, benchpress en deadlift te halen.

9. Ik leer een nieuwe sport.

10. Ik lees/luister 26 boeken.

11. Ik leer een nieuw vakgebied. Ik leer coderen/programmeren. Ik verbeter mijn HR kennis.

12. Ik pas A/B testen elke dag toe. Ik probeer verschillende configuraties van oefeningen/eten/slaap/werk/etc. elke week.

Ps. Want to make your own goals for the next year? Think of at least 10 things you want to achieve. Then try and define them as precisely as possible, get them SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound). Then throw them out there for anyone to read, or keep them to yourself, but be sure to put them up in a place where you are confronted with it every day!

Ps. Wil jij ook je eigen doelen maken voor komend jaar? Bedenk dan minstens 10 dingen die jij wilt bereiken. Probeer ze daarna zo specifiek mogelijk te definiëren, maak ze zo SMART (Specifiek, Meetbaar, Haalbaar, Relevant, Tijdsgebonden) mogelijk. Gooi ze daarna online zodat iedereen ze kan zien, of hou ze voor jezelf, maar wees er zeker van dat je ze op een plek hebt waar je er elke dag mee geconfronteerd wordt!

• Update 1 – March 2014
• Update 2 – June 2014

Public Commitment 2015

Dear friends, family, and interested readers,

Here they are, the goals for the year 2015! This year I’ve taken a slightly different approach, let me explain.

I’ve divided the goals into the following areas: Career, Financial, Education, Family, Artistic, Attitude, Physical, Pleasure, Public Service.

Each area can have multiple goals. The areas are sorted by priority (this year).

Next to the yearly goals, I’ve included my (brand new) 90-day action plan.

And below my goals is a short call-to-action for things I could really use your help on!

If you liked this update and you would like to do some more, here are 3 ways you can help!

1. If you like this post (or my book reviews or other articles) – please subscribe (see the ‘pop-up’ when you scroll down)

2. Do you know someone who would like to mentor me? (topics: leadership, entrepreneurship, productivity) – send me a message

3. Do you like talking about philosophy (e.g. should we tell the truth?) – send me a message for an invite

Of course, if you wish to help me in any other way, please do feel to contact me via email , facebook or LinkedIn!

This is the start of my 2015 journey. New blog, own company, ambitious goals – let’s go!

“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself” – Rumi

Public Commitment 2016

Dear friends, family, and interested readers,

Here they are, the goals for the year 2016! This year I’ve taken a slightly different approach, let me explain.

I’ve divided the goals into the following areas: Entrepreneur, Student, Sportsman, Active Friend, Philosopher Altruist, Clerk

The change is from area’s of life to roles I take on in my life. I think this better represents the categories of my life and also allows more overlap between the categories.

Each role can have multiple goals. Some goals may fit multiple roles and are place in the one they most identify with. The areas are sorted by priority (this year).

And below my goals is a short call-to-action for things I could really use your help on!

If you liked this update and you would like to do some more, here are 3 ways you can help!

1. If you like this post (or my book reviews or other articles) – please subscribe (see the ‘pop-up’ when you scroll down)

2. Do you want to effectively donate some of your money? Let me know and I will update you when EA Rotterdam starts

3. Do you want to do a run together? Let me know. I normally run on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday & Sunday.

Of course, if you wish to help me in any other way, please do feel to contact me via email, facebook or LinkedIn!
“We often underestimate our ability to reinvent ourselves.” – Shankar Vedantam, host of Hidden Brain Podcast on NPR

This is the start of my 2016 journey. Great companies, big physical goals, and fun to be had!

*These goals combine to both letting me use the time to learn (about start-ups and everything involved) and bring that learning into practice at the same time

**This is an ambitious goal, based on guesstimates, but my goal nonetheless

***I want to achieve this goal around May and probably settle a little bit higher

****For this goal I want to limit drinking alcohol to once or twice a week and eating meat to about twice a month

*****I will not be on email, do work-work etc on one day of the week, this will most probably be Saturday

******Via the Effective Altruism I want to increase the amount that is given to my pre-tax income of 2015, this can (for instance) be achieved if I convince 10 people to also pledge 10%

*******The 1200 includes: groceries, dining/drinking, clothes, mortgage/internet/phone/etc, but excludes: vacation, books, medical, big one-time expenses (e.g. moving costs)

Public Commitment 2016 – Q1

Based on my goals for 2016 I’ve made the following goals for the next 3 months (Q1).

These goals are more concrete and the continuing goals (i.e. habits) are not listed.

If you want to join in for any of the goals, please let me know via email, facebook or LinkedIn!

Public Commitment 2016 – Q1 Update

A little over a month ago I set upon a journey of becoming a better me. Since then I’ve made the first steps toward my goals, failed to do other things and enjoyed life very much.

Entrepreneur

The two new projects I’m starting are almost ready to go. In one, we are waiting for another party to comply with our requests. In the second, we are preparing the promotional materials and have spoken to the first clients. Queal is still taking up a lot of time and from next week onwards we will probably have another FTE added. At Jerky Empire, Julian is building relationships with resellers and the websites are now both in Dutch and English. We also found out how much we could charge and the prices are now fixed.

Student

As you might have noticed I haven’t been blogging here. With other things on my plate, I just didn’t take the time to do it. Since the beginning of this month, I read my first book on running and am very inspired. Expect some blogs (about 1 a week) here soon! In the meantime feel free to read Eat and Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness by Scott Jurek.

Sportsman

With all this running I’m doing (160km in January) I feel like I’m losing weight without effort. So that good :). I ran 21KM as my longest run, so just shy of the 24KM.

Active Friend

Last month I’ve been helping one friend with starting a business. He and his girlfriend have a great idea and this month they will have their new website.

Philosopher Altruist

It’s been very frustrating, but another person started a group already for Effective Altruism (EA) in Rotterdam. But this fellow is unreachable. The first meetup is tonight and I will be at the IFFR. So I’ve made a meeting with someone else that couldn’t make it. And I hope to reach this organizer to see about the date and organizing capacity. I really want to make this big and timing shouldn’t stand in the way of that.

Clerk

I’m signing the papers tomorrow. Then I will officially be a homeowner. Friends if you have any questions about buying a house, let me know.

The Q1 Goals

Public Commitment 2016 – Q1 Recap

Welcome back to an overview of my goals. Today I will look back at the first 3 months of 2016. Tomorrow I will present my goals for Q2 of 2016.

For the first quarter of 2016 I made the following goals. If you click on each goal you can read about my experiences. First, here are some general things I learned this quarter.

• Not everything goes according to plan, be accepting of your environment (try only to change what you can effectively change)
• Being accountable for a big goal can be very motivating (i.e. keep up running training when you have a marathon coming up)
• You laugh the most when you’re around other people, so be there or be square

I start LifePlanning & StudySuccess

When your company is only two (enthusiastic) entrepreneurs, things go fast. When we (Onno and I) started Queal, we were up and running in no more than 2 weeks. When working with more people, things tend to take longer.

With StudySuccess we’ve been stuck in the cogs of the university bureaucracy for months now. We really believe the intervention can help millions of students achieve more study success. Without an agreement with the university, however, we can’t go forward. Over the last months, we did make a website which will be able to go live soon. If we can start helping students next September, that’s still a question.

For LifePlanning we’ve laid the groundwork and are ready to get started. This Thursday we’re going to incorporate and then we will move into second gear. Everything looks great and if we can get the right offer-customer fit we will be rocking.

Important to note is that both projects haven’t made any money yet and therefore it’s still investing (with time). On a longer timescale (e.g. in 3 years) it will be good to see what the return on investment is.

I build Jerky to 10k revenue

Nope. This definitively didn’t happen. And there are two related reasons for this.

1. We couldn’t get AdWords and other advertising places to work. This is something that with more expertise might still work.
2. I’m flexitarian (i.e. don’t buy any meat, eat very little meat) and selling a meat product is somewhat hypocritical.

Still, I know that we can use our skills from Queal to make Jerky Empire/Outdoors work. What we need to make happen is 1) to get cracking on the online presence, 2) find out more about the lives of the cows where we get the jerky from (I know that they eat grass outdoors in Switzerland, but is this 1 day a year or always?)

I am under 90kg

Two more kg to go. I’ve lost 2kg and now hover around 92kg.

Between the marathon and the long-distance obstacle run, I will go to the gym a lot. Next to that, I will keep up my running (but of course a little less intense) and together with good food,d I believe I can make this 90kg thing happen. And maybe even less (or more muscles, because 90kg is only a proxy for ~14% body fat).

I run 24KM (Jan), I run 29KM (Feb), I run 32KM (Mar)

Hell yeah!

It hasn’t been easy (and it’s not supposed to be easy). But I’ve done my runs and are now prepared for the marathon.

Two weeks ago I went skiïng and I was afraid that my time there didn’t improve my running ability. But since I ran 10km in 47 minutes last weekend I’m confident I can make it. If I will make the 3:45, we will see.

I help 2+ friends with starting their (micro)businesses

Over the last months, I’ve been helping, at least, two friends with their businesses.

The first is coaching with Paul & Kiran. They help students by checking their spelling for documents like their thesis and motivational letters.

The second is for two German students/entrepreneurs. They are making a fitness shake that is personalized for each person. This way you get the perfect amount of the right protein, amino acids, etc.

I buy & decorate a house

This has been my most time-intensive goal. In my new house, I’ve put in a new floor (together with Stijn, Robbie, Frans, Tom, Désiree, Sjoukje, Romy, Onno and more) and painted all the walls. The kitchen, bathroom and other things were already great. And now I have a place I can call my own. And I like it.

Feel free to invite yourself for dinner or a drink.

All right, these were my goals for Q1 2016. I didn’t manage to get all my business things done, but definitively am happy with my house and the projects for good that I’m doing. See you tomorrow for the goals for Q2 2016.

Public Commitment 2016 – Q2

Based on my goals for 2016 I’ve made the following goals for the next 3 months (Q2).

These goals are more concrete and the continuing goals (i.e. habits) are not listed.

If you want to join in for any of the goals, please let me know via email, facebook or LinkedIn!

Entrepreneur (1)

I find the first clients for LifePlanning

I solidify the core message for Queal

I make a comprehensive overview of my start-up knowledge

Student (2)

I blog every day (for at least 40 days)

I get 100 subscribers to my weekly blog email

I have summarized all the books I have read

Sportsman (4)

I run a sub 3.45 marathon (in 4 days, aahhhhhh)

I am under 12% body fat

I finish the iron viking

I continue to drink only occasional

Active Friend (3)

I have a dog

I continue to help 3+ friends with their businesses

I go on at least 1 (small) vacation

Philosopher Altruist (5)

I organize 3 EA Rotterdam meetings

I find a permanent team to help run the meetings

Clerk (6)

I do my personal finances every 15th and last day of the month

I pause (plan & meditate) every morning

I make amazing artwork for my house

What do you think? Too ambitious, vague, cool, boring? Or like to join any of the goals?

Public Commitment 2016 – Q2 Recap

Welcome back to an overview of my goals. Today I will look back at the second 3 months of 2016. On Monday I will present my goals for Q3 of 2016.

For the second quarter of 2016, I made the following goals. If you click on each goal you can read about my experiences. First, here are some general things I learned this quarter.

• Time flies by and not having your goals present (top-of-mind) will make you wander off and do other things
• Cool opportunities are not (adequately) captured in the goal-making process
• Day 3: a puppy costs more energy and time than I had anticipated (read: it’s just like having a baby, without a diaper)

I find the first clients for Life Planning at Work

With Life Planning at Work we’ve had the first two productive meetings with HR professionals. Here we’ve dug deeper into their needs, and now hopefully will be even better suited to help them.

We almost have the first paying customers, I believe that this quarter we will be able to get the first few contracts going. And with that also get the business side of things (my area) going faster.

I solidify the core message for Queal

Queal is in a transition phase. We’re in between helping a very specific group of people and being able to help almost everyone in the general public with our complete meal solutions.

It’s time to think big and plan for success. This also means that Onno and I have to invest in the company (with time, but also with money). And this isn’t the easiest thing to do, we also still want to live our lives at the same time.

And when are you successful, there are so many metrics. The most important one is, of course, being happy (or tranquil), and as long as I feel that I have adequate control (where I want to), I believe that I can be 100% happy in Queal.

Back to the core message, we have this in our head, and in the coming weeks we will take more time to share this with others. Expect more social media updates soon.

I make a comprehensive overview of my start-up knowledge

On this website, I wanted to accumulate my knowledge. What I found is that making this overview is not possible for me at the moment. I do still want to gather the knowledge I have into a sort of mindmap. A real-life wall (I have one spare in my house) Will maybe be the place for this.

How cool would a wall like in investigative series look like!

I blog every day (for at least 40 days)

I’ve started this project twice in the last months. What I find is that continuing with this is just not possible for me. On the one hand, I run out of original ideas, on the other hand, I run out of time to write down the things I’m thinking about.

What would work better is doing it on a basis of once every few days. But then the routine is more difficult to maintain. So a way to do it is to schedule a weekly moment to sit down for the blog and make things happen.

Expanding the readership could also take more president. Something to think about for the next months.

I get 100 subscribers to my weekly blog email

Nope, I didn’t put much effort into this and I also don’t really know how to do this.

One problem here (and with marketing for Queal) is that I myself am subscribed to almost no newsletters/blogs/etc. At the same time, this could be the solution, first examine why I am subscribed to these (and not to others).

Do I want to influence more people? Yes of course. How do I increase my reach? I will find a way!

I have summarized all the books I have read

I’ve added some reviews, but definitively not as many as I wanted to.

There are still so many books to review.

What I do like is that with my new way of blogging (focus on a lesson), I can write more useful things and focus less on summarizing the book(s).

I have a dog

Max is home!

His full name is Maximus Seneca Wolswijk.

He is a Friesian Stabyhoun (or Friese Stabij). A medium-large breed of dogs that’s native to The Netherlands. Called one of the rarest breeds on Wikipedia, but not too uncommon here.

Frans, my dad, has a dog of the same breed (named Tsjibbe).

Max has been home for 6 days. He is as cute as they get. He still needs to learn how to go to the toilet outside (consistently), but he has been really nice, is ok with his crate (bench), and loves people.

Taking care of him has been exhausting in the first few days. I hope (and think) that in the coming weeks the load will be a bit less (because he knows the environment better, I get to know him better, and things become more predictable). He will also be going to the office, hopefully everything will go smoothly there too.

I continue to help 3+ friends with their business

I really like helping other people and this goal has been great to do.

What I think can improve is to get more structure into the process so both parties feel more responsibility. A system like at ‘De Kleine Consultant’ of doing a weekly email would be great to do. It’s on the list for next quarter.

I go on at least 1 (small) vacation

I’ve been away for two weekends with friends. And they were great.

They helped me relax, chill down, and act a little crazy.

The next quarter I will be going on a 3-week vacation to India, so mental rest (combined with physical exercise) will do me good.

(I do have to miss Max, but Onno will take very good care of him!)

I run a sub 3.45 marathon

The marathon! Wow, what an experience. It was great to do and very challenging to participate in.

The support from the crowd, my mother and Geert Jan in special, was great.

The first half of the run went really well (1.50ish), but in the last 12km I really struggled.

Eventually, I finished in 4.20, which of course is a great time by itself.

Next year I will be back to set a new record!

I am under 12% body fat

In combination with the sports activities, I wanted to do this goal.

Train really hard, then diet afterwards.

But in all honesty, I indulged myself in snacks and booze after the marathons.

There is no excuse, and now with my puppy, I’ve become more home-bound (aka fewer parties) so I will strive to achieve this goal in the coming quarter (also, there are no physical exercise goals I’m pursuing at the moment).

I finish the iron viking

Hoorah!

Fuck yeah!

Together with my brother Tom, I made it!

And it was as awesome as you can imagine it to be.

At 19km we bumped into some friends of mine, we were still as energetic as can be.

When at 30ish we met up with our parents, we were less fit. But still, we did almost every obstacle, did every km (plus a few bonus km) and finished the race in about 7 hours.

It was a great experience and one to maybe do again in a while. But first, focus on learning swimming and biking for the triathlon.

I continue to drink only occasionally

I would give myself a B on this goal.

In the week-to-week, I don’t really drink much alcohol, but at some parties, I did let myself go.

With my goal of 12% body fat, I will definitively pay more attention to reducing my alcohol intake

I organize 3 EA Rotterdam meetings

We only had 1 meeting and that’s a shame.

The problem is getting people interested in the topic. It’s something that’s not on the top of your priority list. So how do I get people to sacrifice their evening to go to my event?

I have some ideas about this and I will definitively be testing some of these out. Partnerships with existing groups will be part of the strategy.

I find a permanent team to help run the meetings

The team now is a good mix of people. What we miss a promotional person, someone who loves to connect and get people coming to events.

My skills are in leading teams and having a greater vision. So I should work with these skills to become a good recruiter and find someone who is great at promotion. Challenge accepted.

I do my personal finances every 15th and last day of the month

Nope.

Didn’t do this.

And I should really do this.

/facepalm

What I can do better the coming quarter is to do a weekly review. And then incorporate this into the routine. That should make this work.

I pause (plan & meditate) every morning

I’ve been more consistent on this front. Aside from the last week (read: puppy) I’ve been meditating most days of the week.

I’ve been using Headspace to help me with the mediation. Here I do 15-minute sessions. They really help me calm down and take a broader perspective.

I make amazing artwork for my house

This has been a really cool goal and I’ve enjoyed making the pieces.

I might make more of these in the future (digital and/or print) as they look nice and are inspirational at the same time.

Please feel free to leave a comment if you like them.

All right, these were my goals for Q2 2016. If I reflect on all goals in general, I believe that I set too many separate/disparate goals that didn’t connect in the best way possible. For Q3 I will take my time today to think about how to connect my goals and make the positive outcomes cumulative. See you tomorrow for the goals for Q3 2016.