Let’s Do This, 2019
As I Move Into the New Year, I Want to Say a Few Things
Personally, 2018 was a pretty good year. I got into Northwestern, graduated High School, and have found so many cool parts of college (The Garage, friends, professors, etc.). But, I must keep looking forward and moving forward, so 2019 here I come.
I’m currently in a small airport in the British Virgin Islands, recharged from a week long vacation. The house was great, beaches were great, and the amazing weather has made me really excited to head back to a Chicago winter…Not only was this trip an opportunity to see family but this time has also allowed me to reflect on my first quarter of school and where I want to be at the end of the next quarter. Inspired by John Doerr (and through the transitive property, Andy Grove), I have created some OKRs for the new year. For those of you that don’t know what this means, please read “Measure What Matters” by John Doerr.
Objective #1: Feel better physically by making exercise habitual and eating less.
Key Results:
Walk for a cumulative two hours each day. My classes right now force me to move around the Northwestern campus throughout the day, but I want to push this even farther. Whether its taking the long way to class, walking along the lake, or working in new locations each week, I want to exercise throughout the day without it feeling like high intensity work.
Exercise for at least 30 minutes. This result can be satisfied by a number of mediums. Between a quick jog in the gym, yoga, or participating in intramural sports, I want between 30 minutes to an hour of high intensity exercise.
Only eat when I’m hungry. I like food. A lot. Food brings me joy and meals provide a great way to connect with others. So my new diet won’t consist of carefully selecting my meals, but instead reducing my caloric intake and focusing on the nutritional meals I already eat. This means less snacking throughout the day and not eating when I’m bored, but eating because I’m hungry.
Objective #2: Develop a better level of focus and feel better mentally throughout the day.
Key Results:
Keep work to classrooms, libraries, and study spaces. Keep social to dorms and off campus events. Too often I bring my work, and therefore stress, back to the dorm with me after class. My dorm room is a place of comfort and relaxation, so it’s hard to not want to escape after a long day of classes. But, when I do this, I have no separation between work and play throughout my life. I am in a constant state of “I have some work to do, but I also want to watch Netflix”. In the new year, I will only do my school work, work assignments, and personal projects outside of my living space.
Go to bed earlier and get more work done in the morning. This past week, I never woke up past 8 am. Now you may be thinking, “Drew, you’re crazy. You’re on vacation.” But I also never went to bed past 10:30. By shifting my sleep schedule to a more normal time, I found myself awake and energized early in the morning, ready to take on the day. With my new time in the early hours of the day, I want to focus on “Deep Work”, where I turn off my phone and do things that give me time to think and reflect (reading, writing, listening to a podcast, etc.).
Read every day for at least an hour and write something every week. A weird thing happened when I came to college: I suddenly started to read, and read a lot, and I actually liked to do it. I don’t know what switch flipped, but I found myself going from someone who would dread picking up a book to reading a new book each week. This year, I want to keep this love of reading going, but also develop my own communication skills by writing. While I am not the best writer, the experience is therapeutic and can guide many of my jumbled thoughts.
My third OKR is less big picture and more passion project of mine.
Objective #3: Create a successful entrepreneurship and VC podcast.
Key Results:
Meet interesting people. I love podcasts because I can hear people’s stories and learn from them. This will be my main goal in starting my own podcast. I want to use it as a vehicle to meet new people, hear their stories, develop my own story, and share this experience with others.
Generate 200 listens per show. To have credibility and to feel I have made something of substance, I set this lofty goal of 200 listens per show.
