2021 Plans

Some goals and projects for 2021 that I am planning!

In the spirit of not ever being bored in 2021, I have various objectives I would like to achieve. These are not necessarily things that I absolutely have to do else the world will end. But, just things I want to learn and have fun with. That’s the ultimate objective really, have fun and learn!

Side Projects - The side project backlog that I started to tackle in 2020, has definitely seen progress. However there is always more projects being added! I will comment that I think the rate of projects being added is lower than the rate of projects being completed, so it is shrinking. However I think this is primarily because I’ve been targeting the smaller projects first and not the larger ones. There are still projects that involve building larger applications, which will become quite the time sink, but they should help expand my overall knowledge of software development and distributed systems.

Home Lab - Building a home lab has been something that joined my list of hobbies during 2020. There will be plenty of blog posts on the topic, but it’s been really nice to combine a love of software with hardware interaction. The footprint today is still quite small, but the hope is that this will grow into a two function based system, where we have production services and experimental services too. Ultimately, I feel that if I take a low power approach to the lab (think Intel NUCs, Pi boards) I can get quite a lot of local processing capacity. That capacity could be cheaper than the VMs I run today on cloud providers when compared to electricity. Yes, Ireland has some of the most expensive electricity in the world. But even what I have running today has proven to be quite cheap for what I get. Definitely watch this space!

Personal Health - If you read my post on my 2020 in review, you will know that my health ranked lowest on that review, primarily due to a lack of physical movement I did. I’m quite happy to say I’ve already been progressing on this front, with quick walks during lunch and stretching in the mornings. The aim is to grow this into a hobby of itself, to take care of my body and ultimately will mean taking care of my mind too.

Personal Space Remodel - 2020 we all spent a lot of time at home, my personal view is that 2021 will be more of the same, possibly even 2022 a little bit. So in preparation of that, I’ve been planning a bit of a redecorating of my bedroom which is where I spend most of my time. I’ve definitely taken cues from the r/MaleLivingSpaces subreddit, but I think it’ll be a place I really enjoy being in once it is done. Plus, while I’ve only mentioned time spent in the context of lockdowns, there is part of me that is thinking in scope for the next three to five years. I believe I have a unique opportunity to save for a mortgage deposit while living at home. If I’m able to grab this opportunity and just stick it at home for a few years, I could end up acquiring a nice apartment for myself. Which, just sounds delightful!

So that’s just a brief summary of what I have been planning for 2021! We’re only in February, yet it feels like to me the year is already going by so quickly. I do yearn for a return to some form of normality with a caveat. Being able to go back to what we did before, but with more of an environmental focus so that we can save the world. But until I can meet up with friends in person and go to a physical office, I shall very much keep myself entertained at home!