So two weeks ago, I wrote about my resolutions for 2013. I had both failures and successes, and I used that information to prepare a list for this year. The interesting thing about it is that I think both the successes and failures were based on the clarity that I applied to the resolutions.
Here is my 2014 list. Unlike last year, I have included my rationale behind each resolution this year.
1) Develop a basic instrument calibration simulation.
I think my resolution last year of “design a game in Game Maker” was simultaneously too specific and too broad. “A game” is too vague of a goal to be measurable, and there’s no reason why the game needed to be made in Game Maker. This constraint pressured me to avoid spending time working on something like a tabletop game, and artificially constrained me to a single platform. This year, I’ve decided that there are several specific things that I want to learn within the development software, and this specific project will help me to do that.
2) Complete 12 pieces of 3D digital art for the art shows.
This worked well last year, so I will keep it going this year. Not much more to say.
3) Use up 12 brush pens on brush pen work.
As I mentioned two weeks ago, I had set the resolution last year to do a certain amount of brush pen work. The purpose of this resolution was to develop the skill set. The problem, of course, is that the measure that I chose (12 pieces) doesn’t necessarily contribute to that goal. The purpose of the resolution was to get me to practice more, but the measurement didn’t encourage such practice. For example, I could belt out 12 pieces in an hour or two, but they won’t necessarily be good or thorough, and certainly would not help with my skill development.
I think wearing out brush pens as the measuring stick will give me better results.
4) Complete my PMP certification.
I strongly considered resolving to completing one year without taking a class. I have an addiction to formalized education, and every time an opportunity comes up to take an organized course (particularly a free one), I pounce on it. This has helped me to improve my skill sets, but has eaten into my video, audio, and art development time.
That said, continuing education has been a cornerstone of my career, and I don’t suspect this will change anytime soon. So when trying to figure out the approach that I want to take to controlling my addiction, I’ve decided to give myself a single, achievable objective that would keep me progressing but not force my education time to conform to a rigid schedule.
In my day job of as an instructional designer, the PMP certification is an important milestone. Everything I do is project-based, so learning more about the processes of running a project is a good fit. Setting this as my benchmark will allow me to pour my study time into the time gaps that I already have, but still gives me a clear, measurable result at the end of the year.
5) **REVISION** Make the blog more topical, and focus on games in the news.
The death of my thumbdrive in a later entry has prompted me to stop writing big blog entries so far in advance, and to focus my attention on staying up to date with gaming news.
So there we go. We’ll check back in next December and see how we are coming along.