Public Commitment 2019 – Update 1

This year my theme is Connection. And for this, I’ve started laying the groundwork. Just like in the second half of 2018, I’ve been keeping up my updates on the Timeline.

One big thing I’ve done is to follow a course on ‘The Molecular Mechanisms of Ageing‘. The course was quite detailed and I’ve learned some more fundamentals of ageing. I hope to use this knowledge further in a later part of this year.

I’ve also followed a course on JavaScript from Codeacademy. The course was quite enlightening, now I should/will start using it (and future courses on PHP and other tools) to upgrade my website, workflows (e.g. toggl-google calendar link), and Queal Dashboard/website.

One other actionable was to start using more ‘book’ knowledge in real-life and at Queal, we’ve been implementing two books into our routines. One about Building a Storybrand, and the other about usability testing (Rocket Surgery Made Easy).

Here is my analysis of the goals and various updates:

Goal 1: Make this website a true personal knowledge hub

I’ve added almost all of my back-catalogue from before moving the website over. I’ve also done the same from another wiki-like system I used. Of course, I haven’t yet written all the blogs/reviews I wanted to write.

The goal stays the same and in the coming quarter, I hope to improve search and continue to add new things to the Timeline, reviews, etc. Maybe I will write a long essay, but no guarantees.

Goal 2: Eat good meals that support my well-being 90% of the time

Yes and no. For most meals I eat at home, I’ve made them myself and have put some effort into it. I do see that I eat quite a lot and that includes quite some yoghurt with toppings at work.

I will keep being conscious of this and with Lotte moving in, I think my food will be very good. I might even bring some more to the office (and have some variety next to 2-3 meals of Queal per day).

Goal 3: Keep on improving my house

Yes. I’ve done quite a lot since last writing here. The bathroom is finished (for which I only did the door and painting). I take a bath about once a week and of course it’s very convenient to have a toilet upstairs.

Next to that, Lotte is moving in soon (in a few days of writing this draft, and on the day of publishing) so we’ve been making the house even cooler in the meantime.

The plants have multiplied, we’ve painted some walls, there is a new couch, new bookshelves/library, etc. I like how everything looks and Lotte will take some time to sort out her things.

One other addition is ‘Anne’, the robot vacuum (from iRobot) and he is working quite well. Today I put away all cables he was messing up, so he should be all good to go.

Goal 4: Achieve my fitness goals

The last few weeks I’ve been following my own new plan and that is going very well. I don’t know yet what I can do best in terms of weight-loss versus muscle-gain, but everything looks good for now.

I’m still learning the Snatch and better my Clean & Jerk. I haven’t measured my max yet (will do so in about 7 weeks) and who knows I will be a bit closer to the 90kg.

Goal 5: Write Spero

No. I have this on my daily checklist. Who knows if I will be able to incorporate this in my routine somewhere in the coming months.

Alright that is it for now. I don’t have any new goals at the moment, let’s just be happy with the ones I have and there is enough to be done already.

Public Commitment 2019

It’s the first of January and unlike other years I’ve been quite productive already. I’ve read for about an hour. I worked for an hour or two. Finished my recap of 2018. And spent time with Lotte and had coffee with my mother.

Now let’s see what I will focus on for the rest of the year. As always these are the ‘goals’ and don’t fully reflect all the ongoing daily tasks/habits/etc.

Without further ado, my goals for 2019.

Theme – Year of Connection

In 2019 I plan to find connections between the different parts of information that I’ve gathered in the last 28 years. I want to think more about how my goals are interconnected and can support each other (a thing I realised when reading The Early Retirement Extreme).

One very specific thing I want to do for this is to make my website more easily searchable, make more links between books, and keep on adding knowledge here. Less directly I also want to find more links between books I read and reality (like work). But also between different aspects of life like sports to health, or eating to sports.

Goal 1: Make this website a true personal knowledge hub

In the abstract, I would like to come here every few days and look something up. Concretely, I want to have all the books I’ve read (that I found interesting) summarised here. And continue to add new knowledge the Timeline every few days. And finish moving everything from the old site here (that should be done in a few days time). Another sub-goal I might introduce/work on, is to make 5 essays about topics like longevity, but not at the moment.

Goal 2: Eat good meals that support my well-being 90% of the time

Ok, I think I need to define these terms to keep myself accountable (and explain it more clearly to anyone reading). The ‘good meals’ are meals that I’ve made myself that are not just warming up a pizza or getting something else pre-made. The can also include everything we make at Queal.

The 90% of the time practically means that of the 28 meals (counting small snacks etc as a fourth meal) I can ‘cheat’ 3 times per week. I’ve added this goal to my daily checklist (see Triggers).

Goal 3: Keep on improving my house

Just like last year, I want to make my house even more ‘cool’ and nice to live in. One upgrade I haven’t really talked about is a Roadmi vacuum that is cordless, highly recommended.

In the next few weeks I will get a bathroom upstairs and I have some secrets plans for further improvements to my house too. After that I want to keep looking into automation (e.g. smart lock).

Goal 4: Achieve my fitness goals

The main one here is the 90kg Clean&Jerk. I’m not saying it will be easy, but I think very much achievable. Secondary to that are the following mini-goals:

• 10% body-fat
• 52kg Overhead Squat Press
• Touch my toes
• 450kg combined on Squat, Bench Press, Deadlift

Goal 5: Write Spero

I just bought Scrivener and plan to take a moment to write every day. I’m not yet familiar enough to know how much and in what way, but I think it’s a good commitment for myself to write every day.

For now, that moment (trigger) will be when I get home from work. And fairly early in the morning during the weekend. I might also take Sunday to not write but plan/work on the plot/do other things related to the book.

And here are some things I want to do less of:

• Watch YouTube ‘without thinking’. I do want to watch some to relax, so I found a new blocker that still only allows me 5 minutes for Facebook/Reddit/News/etc, and 15 for YouTube. (WasteNoTime)
• Spend money without benefit. This applies both to the supermarket (think energy drinks without having to pull an allnighter) and the ‘going-out’ category. One implementation towards this goal is to only go to the supermarket when I have a plan what to buy. Otherwise, it will just be Queal for dinner.
• Do ‘good’ things instead of  ‘great’ or nothing. By this, I mean doing things for Queal that have no large benefit or committing myself to something which won’t make me significantly happier. I value my own time too much for that and really like doing things in the ‘nothing’ category (e.g. reading a book).

That is about it at the moment. I might revisit the goals in the near-future, but I’m quite content with what I’ve written down.

Public Commitment 2018 – Recap

This year my theme was Curiosity. I’ve done quite a few things this year and here I will recap on the trends. To follow along on what I’m intellectually consuming, see my Timeline.

Professional

With Queal, we’ve grown quite a bit both in knowledge and in revenue. We’ve worked on helping our customers better (e.g. with a new product, dashboard, premium shaker) and on getting the word out there.

The main challenge is marketing, and I mean that in the broadest sense. Not only paid marketing, PR, or the like. But even more about how to tell our story, about what we do and how it benefits others. I hope that next year we become even better at that.

Learning

In 2019 I’ve read about 50 books. I can’t say specifically how at this moment because I haven’t tracked it perfectly. That is something I’m doing now with the Timeline and also something I want to use to apply spaced learning (go over my notes after 1-3-6-12 months and then every year again – and maybe open the book if it’s particularly interesting/timely).

I’ve learned more and more about understanding the world. The book I’m reading now The Beginning of Infinity is maybe one of the best for this. I think David Deutsch defines knowledge there as ‘information that is causal’.

Another great book I read was Triggers by Mark Reiter and Marshall Goldsmith. It looks at how you can use triggers (duh) from your environment to shape new (good) behaviour. It acknowledges that behaviour change is one of the most difficult things to do. To this day I still reflect on the ‘goals’ of each day (Today I did my best to … ). The goals change over time (and for weekdays vs weekend) and it has been a great way to keep myself on track.

Then without going too much into detail here, I also enjoyed the following books very much:

• Ending Aging (longevity, through an optimistic and scientific lens)
• How to Change Your Mind (psychedelics and their uses)
• The Elephant in the Brain (psychology, how we fool ourselves)

Personal

It has been a great year for me personally. I enjoyed most of my work (aka the place I spent much of my time), I loved being with Lotte and with my friends. I enjoy how I can spend my time and how I have ‘engineered/planned’ my life.

One highlight of the year was the trip to Jordan with Lotte. We enjoyed the hospitality, the amazing Wadi Rum desert, Petra and more. Although we have nothing planned for the coming year, I do plan on seeing a new part of the world again.

The Goals

So without spending too much time recapping, let’s take a look at the individual goals I set for myself (in the 2018 Update), and what I made of it (and what I plan to do with it this year).

Goal 1: Write a Sci-Fi novella

Although I started doing this fairly early on, it never got into my rhythm. I still have the main storyline and do think it’s very interesting to do, so this will be one for 2019 too

Goal 2: Assemble a personal board

I didn’t do this and although I can see the value in it, I don’t feel comfortable doing it. Who knows I will do this somewhat formally later on in life, for now I will just do my thing and ask advice here and there where needed.

Goal 3: Consistently share what I’ve learned on my website

The start was a bit rocky but in the last few months, I have been doing this very well. Most are updates around podcasts and books and I think that is the right way for me to keep track of learnings at the moment.

For next year, I want to deepen this by combining more of the topics and making it more searchable.

Goal 4: Improve my spending for happiness with feedback loops

I didn’t look at this very precisely, but it’s incorporated in the tracking of finances. One thing I do something think/worry about is spending money together with friends, I do see that I’m more frugal than most and maybe I can be stronger in expressing my preference for doing fun and cheap things.

Goal 5: Cooking basics level 2

I continue to enjoy cooking and have gotten another good vegetarian book this Christmas. One of the ‘improvements’ I want to do next year is think more about good vegetarian and protein rich recipes.

Goal 6: Hit my fitness goals

I’m not at the stated goals of:

• 52kg Overhead Squat Press
• 90kg Clean & Jerk
• 10% body fat

I haven’t measured the Overhead Squat Press, but with the Clean & Jerk I’m at 72kg and I’m very happy with that. For the last year I’ve been working on my flexibility and I can now do Overhead Squats, so I think that next year I will continue to improve on these exercises.

Another thing I measured (and want to keep measuring/improving on) is the Big Three power-lifting moves. I improved quite a bit over my 2014 (when I did quite some fitness) scores:

• Squat: 120kg
• Bench Press: 90kg
• Deadlift: 190kg

Goal 7: Share about Effective Altruism

I did do some for EA, but again not as much as possible. One thing I do believe is that it might be better for someone else to take over since I also have other things I want to be working on (and thus don’t have the drive/energy to organise EA Rotterdam). Yet at the same time I do know a lot of the things that need to happen, so for the foreseeable future I will continue to work on it. (and I got my donation to AMF matched, so that is really cool).

Goal 8: Make my house even more beautiful

In the last month or maybe a bit longer I’ve made quite some improvements to my house. I made two sliding doors for the bedroom and future bathroom. This was quite a bit of work and I’m really proud/satisfied with the outcome.

Goal 9: Do something crazy for love

Lotte and I had a great day in Rotterdam. Although my surprise eventually didn’t pan out it was still really fun together.

Goal X: More slack in the system

Yes and no. At work I feel that I’m not too hurried or feeling overwhelmed. And at home maybe also not, so yeah there is a bit of slack in the system.

I do see listen to quite a lot of podcasts and don’t have many ‘do-nothing’ moments. And in other moments I do watch quite a bit of YouTube. One lesson I think I want to take with me for 2019 is to think about what ‘slack-time’ things I can do (e.g. write Spero).

To Conclude

This was my recap of the last year. I really enjoyed my year of Curiosity. Onto 2019 for a year of Connection (at least that’s what I’m calling it now).

Public Commitment 2015 – Q4 Recap

Welcome back to an overview of my goals. Today I will look back to the last 3 months of 2015. Tomorrow I will present my goals for 2016. And the day after that you can find my goals for the first 3 months of 2016.

In the last quarter of 2015 I made the goals listed below. They also represent a revised vision of my 2015 goals. It’s been a fun three months and I have learned many new things. It also has been an interesting time and I’ve (once again) learned that communication is the most important aspect of work (or actually everything). So here is to communicating my goals.

Career	2	Queal is worth €1 million Goal-setting is in Beta and we have a plan-of-attack I have launched 3 side projects I spend 80% of my time on important & non-urgent tasks
Personal Development	1	I learn for 2 hours per day I spread my knowledge for 1 hour per day I have 2 senior mentors and 2 peer coaches I have improved my speaking skills I know the basics of tango dancing I play the saxophone better than ever before I can play basic songs on the piano
Finances	4	I have an investment plan I have the perfect company/tax structure I spend <1000 per month
Health	3	I have a basic understanding of human longevity and what it implies for me I have visible abs I have participated in two obstacle runs I am in the 1000 pound club
Relationships	6	I meet with friends at least 2 times a week
Spiritual	5	I have discovered which Global Goal fits the best with me I have learned more about Stoicism/philosophy of life I donate 10% of my income I run a fundraiser in December I meditate 3x30min per week

Goals Q4 2015 Recap

Career

+ Queal is worth €1 million

The most important aspect of being an entrepreneur is being able to choose what to work on. I’m (totally) free to spend my time according to what I want to spend it on. Of course, this statement can be nuanced, but this is actually the reason I’m an entrepreneur. That being said, I wanted to have a goal that was more easily measurable (more SMART). I can be glad to say that Queal is worth more than €1 million. How much more depends on how you (e)valuate companies, but it’s safe to say that there is a margin. If you want to calculate the value of your own company, please consult Equidam.

(short note: does this mean I’m a (half)millionaire? Nope. This means that in a perfect market, with the predictions we have about revenue, with a willing buyer, someone might be willing to pay the valuated amount. Onno and I plan to keep managing Queal ourselves and, therefore, this valuation can be seen as ‘virtual’ money)

+/- Goal-setting is in Beta and we have a plan-of-attack

Over the last few months, I’ve been working behind the scenes with Julian and Gabriël on something really amazing. It has to do with goal-setting but is actually much more than that. From this month, we will start to launch the business and expect some great things, especially if you are already working at a (big) company. This doesn’t mean I will stop working on Aldrin.io, I have some ideas to make the website more valuable (more help with making and executing of goals) and those will be on the website in Q1 of 2016.

– I have launched 3 side projects

The side-projects goal was not the best one to have. It distracted from my main career goal (valuation of Queal) and divided my attention without having a real focus. Under the guidance of a coach Onno and I learned more about focus. At the same time, I’m a person who likes to do multiple things. For myself, this means that I want to keep doing multiple projects, but more structured and with an overarching goal (improve lives).

+/- I spend 80% of my time on important & non-urgent tasks

The biggest leap I’ve made for this goal is by installing BatchedInbox for Gmail. This plugin only lets email through at 12 PM and 5 PM, and yes those are the only moments I will be looking at my email. This prevents me (and my monkey brain) from looking at emails in the morning.

Personal Development

+ I learn for 2 hours per day

I can say that I’ve been learning for at least 2 hours per day. On average I read 30 minutes in the morning, listen to 1 hour of podcasts and take at least 30 minutes to learn new things on the job. Does this mean I already have a perfect system to store this knowledge? No, it doesn’t. And that is something I will continue to work on (on this website).

+/- I spread my knowledge for 1 hour per day

This goal links back to the last goal. I want to keep on blogging about the things I learn. I have also helped 2 of my friends with the first steps towards their own businesses and I really loved doing that too. I haven’t blogged as much as I wanted, but keep expecting the blogs to be coming in the coming year.

+/- I have 2 senior mentors and 2 peer coaches

At Queal, we have had 3 senior mentors (via BrownCow). We will continue the coaching with one of them next year. I haven’t made any peer coaching commitments yet, but I want to (read: will) make them with friends for the coming year.

+/- I have improved my speaking skills

On two occasions I gave a training. The first was during the Venture Cafe (everyone welcome, each Thursday in the Groothandelsgebouw). The second was for InTheMaking. I really loved giving workshops and I will continue doing these kinds of engagements. What I want to continue to improve on is storytelling. I think I have a good understanding of a variety of topics, but that only through storytelling you can really get others to experience (and understand) it with you.

– I know the basics of salsa dancing

I planned on keeping dancing, but to be honest, I didn’t like doing it alone. So I’m dropping this one for now and I’m glad that I know the basics.

– I play the saxophone better than ever before

I’ve practised once every two weeks. This wasn’t enough to learn to play better than I did back in the days. The main reason for not playing enough is that I scheduled it on Fridays, the day that you also want to finish a whole lot of other stuff. I do really love playing the saxophone and in my planning for the coming year, I will make sure to find a moment each week to play.

– I can play basic songs on the piano

When I didn’t make enough time to play the saxophone, I prioritized it above playing the piano. Since I might be moving soon I think I will stick to the saxophone (focus) and maybe learn to play the piano some other day.

Finances

+ I have an investment plan

I know where (and when) I want to invest my money. With the current plan, I will save enough per month to provide for a royal retirement. Next to the automated (I guess this is the most important aspect of it, that you don’t have to think about saving) deposits I don’t know exactly where I will invest any extra money, but for now, I will stick to Index Funds.

+ I have the perfect company/tax structure

Over the last few months, we’ve spent some money on getting everything fixed for Queal and our other projects. Everything is in perfect order now and I’m happy that even the bank has a feature to see multiple bank accounts at one time.

+/- I spend <1000 per month

To be honest, I haven’t been tracking my spending as closely as before. I do know that I haven’t spent any strange amounts of money in one area or the other. I did enjoy a very fun weekend in Dublin with my fellow board members. Aside from that, I think I’ve had no ‘big’ expenses.

Health

+/- I have a basic understanding of human longevity and what it implies for me

Reading about AI, quantum computing, radical life extension and other ‘singularity’ related topics can leave your mind ‘blown’. I really like how many fields are converging and that even psychology makes an appearance every once in a while. From what I know now, I believe that we (relatively rich people in the Western world) can live (a healthy life) for far beyond 100 years. Technology is improving exponentially and we will be able to take advantage of that in the coming decades. Before I go on too much, please stay tuned for more blog posts about longevity.

– I have visible abs

I’m really close to hitting my physical targets, but sometimes life gets in the way. I need to lose about 4kg more to get to the percentages I want. With a marathon (Rotterdam) and 42km obstacle run in sight, I think I have the proper motivation to reach my goals. I’m not there yet, and I might blame my knees a little bit, but at the same time, I’m really happy with how I look, my endurance and power.

+ I have participated in two obstacle runs

Next, to the two viking runs (13km and 19km) I participated in the harbour run (11km) and also did the first (normal) run in a long while, the bruggenloop (15km). And yes I really enjoyed each one of them.

– I am in the 1000 pound club

No, this goal isn’t about becoming really fat. This goal is about being able to do a lot of weight on the big exercises. With my knee in mind, I haven’t worked towards these goals and I will only be actively pursuing this again after the marathon.

Relationships

+ I meet with friends at least 2 times a week

It’s still difficult to put a specific goal for relationships, at the same time it may just be so because I take this category for granted (which then, of course, is a good thing).

Spiritual

+ I have discovered which Global Goal fits the best with me

In line with where I donate (Against Malaria Foundation, AMF), I most strongly identify with the third Global Goal: Good Health. One of the sub-goals is making malaria a negligible disease by 2030, how great would that be!

+ I have learned more about Stoicism/philosophy of life

I continue to read the classics and get a more complete philosophy of life. I also really like talking about these ideas with some friends and learning about philosophy has really made my life more interesting. Highly recommended!

+ I donate 10% of my income

If you consider donating too, please visit GiveWell to see where to donate.

– I run a fundraiser in December

I’m sad to say I didn’t do a fundraiser.

+ I meditate 3x30min per week

With the help of HeadSpace, I’ve managed to meditate for almost every day in the past month. I really like the guidance it provides and I will continue to use it daily.

 

Ok, that’s it for 2015, let’s get this 2016 party started.

Public Commitment 2015 – Q4

In the coming three months I will focus my attention on the goals listed below. These are slightly different from the yearly goals I made 9 months ago. What differs most is the change is categories. Since the last update, the ‘fun’ category has been replaced by ‘spiritual’. Of course, I will also have fun, I hope a lot, but that is less easy to define in a goal-oriented way.

As always I can use your help:

1. Do you know of a programme for (public) speaking (preferably in English) that you want to share, or do you want to teach me specific skills?
2. Have you done some (informal) investing yourself and would like to share the lessons with me?
3. Are you a friend of mine and have nothing to do for lunch or dinner?

Call me.

Career	2	Queal is worth €1 million Goal-setting is in Beta and we have a plan-of-attack I have launched 3 side projects I spend 80% of my time on important & non-urgent tasks
Personal Development	1	I learn for 2 hours per day I spread my knowledge for 1 hour per day I have 2 senior mentors and 2 peer coaches I have improved my speaking skills I know the basics of tango dancing I play the saxophone better than ever before I can play basic songs on the piano
Finances	4	I have an investment plan I have the perfect company/tax structure I spend <1000 per month
Health	3	I have a basic understanding of human longevity and what it implies for me I have visible abs I have participated in two obstacle runs I am in the 1000 pound club
Relationships	6	I meet with friends at least 2 times a week
Spiritual	5	I have discovered which Global Goal fits the best with me I have learned more about Stoicism/philosophy of life I donate 10% of my income I run a fundraiser in December I meditate 3x30min per week

Public Commitment 2015 – Q3 Recap

Technically this is only the second update, in the summer I wasn’t blogging that much, so let me start with an overview of the goals I had the last 3 months:

Career	1	I have transferred my blog into a braindump + review site I have written 1 guide + goal-poster website (launched) on goal-setting I have grown Queal 20% per month
Fun	6	I have discovered a new country I visit a museum 2+ times a month
Personal Development	2	I study leadership and related topics 9 hours per week I have read and reviewed 12+ books I have completed 2 online courses I have a solid plan including A/B tests of time-management, energy levels, and activity management
Health	3	I have participated in 1 obstacle run I have visible abs (<12% BF) I have kept my strength levels
Relationships	4	I have got to know Kris even better
Finance	5	I have written a mini-guide (possibly website) on investing for young professionals I invest 20%+ of my income I spend <1000 on expenses I donate 10% of my income

Overall the last few months have been good to me. I’ve had a wonderful trip to Costa Rica. We moved offices and the view and atmosphere here are very positive. My knee is finally getting a bit better. And I feel that I am both learning and contributing to the world. Here is a full recap of all the goals:

 

Goals Q3 2015 Recap

Career – I have transferred my blog into a braindump + review site – I have written 1 guide + goal-poster website (launched) on goal-setting – I have grown Queal 20% per month

It took a while to figure out what I wanted to do with my blog. First I thought about dividing it into the topics I found interesting and making separate blogs out of them. But in the end, I decided that focussing on this one blog is the best thing to do. For the last few weeks, I have been blogging once a day. I will keep this up for a few more weeks (for a total of 30-40 days) so that the habit of blogging is engrained in my system. I’ve also chosen to make the reviews of books shorter and to focus on what I learned from it, instead of giving the less personal/more boring overviews of the books.

It’s not officially launched, but please take a look at www.aldrin.io. Together with Onno and Julian, I’m working on making the website your go-to place if you want to work on your goals and start being committed to them. Our final deadline if during the next In The Making event (21 November in Arnhem). Before that date, I will probably have informed you about us going live already! Stay tuned.

Queal has been growing steadily in the last few months. It hasn’t been exactly 20% but we’ve come pretty close. Behind the scenes, we’ve worked on making everything streamlined and we now have everything set. The coming months will also focus on the expansion of our sales so expect a similar goal for Q4.

Fun – I have discovered a new country – I visit a museum 2+ times a month

Two countries to be precise – Costa Rica and Nicaragua. The trip with jaarclub Steen was amazing, I loved every day of it.

In my free time, I’ve been to a few museums this summer. If I also count the museum in Nicaragua I exactly hit the target. Earlier I spoke about the Keith Haring exposition, I still highly recommend it.

Personal Development – I study leadership and related topics 9 hours per week – I have read and reviewed 12+ books – I have completed 2 online courses – I have a solid plan including A/B tests of time-management, energy levels, and activity management

In retrospect, I think the first two goals of personal development could have been combined. On average I listen to books/podcasts for more than 2 hours a day (at 1.6 or 2x speed). I also read quite some articles and take 30 minutes most mornings to read. If everything is related to leadership, I guess not. What I mean to say is that I’m learning a lot in diverse fields, not only leadership. So I would say yes to learning, but maybe that not everything is related to leadership.

In the past months, I’ve read about 20 books. The one I liked best was Start With Why by Simon Sinek, it explores the topic of ‘your life purpose’, something I will be learning more about in Q4.

I’m sorry to have to say that I’ve not completed any online courses. I started one but didn’t make the time to commit to it. What I could have done better is allocate a specific time slot to it and work on the course material at that time. At Queal, we might introduce a specific time to do just that. What I did do was watch the videos from Crash Course, I now know a lot more about Astronomy and Economics.

Health – I have participated in 1 obstacle run – I have visible abs (<12% BF) – I have kept my strength levels

The obstacle run is this Sunday, wish me luck! And in about 3 weeks I will do one that is 19km long so that knee of mine better behave.

At the beginning of September, I lost about 3kg in no time. After that, I hit a plateau. The main problem is that other habits (i.e. drinking with friends) that are fun interfere with this goal. For the next three months, I will first think about how I can best combine these types of goals.

In relation to strength, I think not much has changed. My legs (of course) are a lot weaker, so when my knee if fully restored I have quite the workload in front of me.

Relationships – I have got to know Kris even better

Kris and I had a great time together. She’s a great person and I enjoyed every moment with her. But we’re not together any more. And as much as I like to share with you on this blog, if you want to know more you have to ask me in person.

Finance – I have written a mini-guide (possibly website) on investing for young professionals – I invest 20%+ of my income – I spend <1000 on expenses – I donate 10% of my income

Why are finances so boring? It’s something every one of us has to live with, learn to manage and can help us greatly. I haven’t found the right motivation to write about investing for young professionals. What I will do is write more about it on the blog here and use that as a basis to figure out what I really want to do with it. I still think a lot of my peers (and I) don’t know exactly what to do with our new-found wealth, so more information is always welcome.

Investing is going well. I automatically set aside some money and everything goes into a basket of global stocks. I can write about this process in the next month.

With regards to spending, I think I’m spending a bit more than the 1000 euro per month. I’ve bought some new clothes, went out to eat sometimes. At the same time, I eat Queal a lot, buy things when they are discounted and try and limit spending whenever not necessary. The next two months will probably see me spending less, December will be a bit more expensive.

And yes I’ve made some more donations to the Against Malaria Foundation. Read more about effective altruism on GiveWell.org .

 

Final Notes

I recently heard a podcast in which someone speaks about ‘systems vs goals’. With this ,he means that he prefers to make a system in which he will learn, no matter the final outcome (goal). I like the approach, at the same time I think that is also what I’m kinda doing with my goals. They are dots on the horizon and sometimes I end up somewhere else, but they do challenge me to go towards that direction in the first place. Also more about this in a future blog.

Stay tuned for my new goals in tomorrows post!

Public Commitment 2015 – Update 1

Dear friends, family, and interested readers,

Welcome to the first update of 2015. I will write a short recap on each of the 90-day goals, and will commit myself to another set of 90-day goals!

Once again there is a section of call to action‘s for anyone who would like to help me out.

January 2015 – March 2015 Recap

[icon type=”check”] Complete   [icon type=”minus”] Half    [icon type=”times”] Failed

[icon type=”minus”] I have published a goal-setting guide

Instead of a guide on how to set goals I’ve built a website that makes it easy for anyone to make their own goals. With a simple form, you can enter your goals, we will print it and you will receive it at home in a few days.

WEBSITE COMING TOMORROW (3rd of April 2015)

In the next three months, I will be working on improving the site and also adding a more in-depth guide on goal-setting!

[icon type=”times”] I have gained 100 subscribers to my blog

To be honest I have only been posting my updates of book reviews here and have barely been making (very) long posts. Other obligations have kept me busy and my Fridays haven’t been about blogging as much as I wanted. See below for my new goal related to my blog.

[icon type=”check”] I have started a webshop leadership group

With a few other owners of webshops, Onno (good friend and co-founder of Queal) and I get together once a month and discuss things related to all aspects of owning a webshop & company. The first few sessions have been very inspiring.

[icon type=”check”] I have 1 senior mentor

A few weeks ago I had the first meeting with a friend of my parents and after the inspiring talk, I’ve asked him to be my mentor. Our conversation gave me lots to think about, here is the main one: If you are an advisor (something I aspire) you don’t have to make decisions. This, on the one hand, means less stress, but also means less responsibility and influence.

[icon type=”minus”] I have learned how to do marketing for Queal

Queal has been growing quite rapidly since the inception. We are now a team of 6 and I believe that the growth will also continue in the coming three months. For this, I would like to focus more on marketing and less on operations. I’m giving myself a ‘meh’ because I believe that I don’t have enough knowledge yet and would like to learn more in the coming three months (related book reviews are on their way).

[icon type=”minus”] I have a shareable investment plan

Investing is tougher than I thought. A lot of the good information is for the American market and I still haven’t figured out how to do the best passive investment here in The Netherlands. I will get back in three months (maybe even with another website).

[icon type=”check”] I have read/listened 10+ books

Yes, yes, yes. From A Random Walk Down Wall Street to A More Beautiful Question, I’ve kept myself quite committed to reading every morning. Audiobooks on the bike are also still a great way of reading/listening to the more ‘light’ books (e.g. Moby Dick).

If you are struggling to read more I would recommend that you start with 15 minutes each morning, and to get some audiobooks for during your commute.

[icon type=”minus”] I study/learn every Friday

It may sound weird but this might have been my most ambitious goal. Not going back to work, having enough energy, not using the free time to watch some series has been a real challenge. I love the concept of taking time for myself and improving my skills. But even for me – the committed planner – this has been difficult. So I admit that I have failed a few of the past weeks, and I will commit to this goal with twice the resolution for the coming three months.

[icon type=”check”] I spend 2+ days a week with Kris

From Paris to Bergschenhoek, were having fun. No need to say anything more here.

[icon type=”check”] I am playing the saxophone weekly

After 6,5 years of not playing, I’ve started playing again. To be honest I am surprised by how easy it is to play again. Of course, it’s still difficult to learn new songs, but reading the notes and playing with passion is kinda like riding a bike.

[icon type=”times”] I have adopted a time-management principle that is in line with goal(setting)

In the last few weeks, I’ve been running a bit low on energy and time. It’s not that I get a million things done also. So here I’ve put an X to remind myself that I need to be better at managing my time. This means sticking to weekly goal setting on Sunday, making a daily schedule and figuring out when I’m most productive/effective. For the next three months, I think it’s wise to include energy levels too.

[icon type=”minus”] I have participated in 1 run

Two runs are coming up soon (10k during Rotterdam Marathon & 14k on Scheveningen Beach). My knee is hurting a bit so that isn’t great, but I’m just going to go easy a bit and continue building stamina.

Mini update: Yesterday I hurt my right knee, don’t know if I will be able to participate in the runs… 🙁

[icon type=”times”] I have visible abs

Sorry guys and gals, although I’ve lost about 5kg I don’t have the six-pack you’ve been waiting for. (rationalization) I also think it wouldn’t really suit me with having a lot of muscle behind the nice layer of fat I have now. So for the next three months, there is weight training on the menu and with a slight focus on not gaining any fat.

[icon type=”check”] I have started a monthly philosophy dinner-club

It took a short while but the philosophy dinner-club had their first meeting. And it was great; lively discussion and it actually made me change my mind on the subject at hand. From now on the meetings will be monthly (with maybe an exception in the summer) and there are some amazing people participating!

[icon type=”check”] I have found where I want to donate 10% of my income

On GiveWell.org you can compare charities based on their impact. Because the first (most effective) charity is the only one who is registered as ANBI in The Netherlands I’ve chosen to give everything to them (Against Malaria Foundation). I do believe that only giving is somewhat passive so I will be thinking of other things to do that help impact the world in a positive way.

		1 year
Career	1	I turn a (indirect) profit from my blogs I have written 3 guides on leadership / goal-setting / motivation I’m a member of 2 leadership groups I have 2 senior mentors I’ve build Queal to be worth 1 million euro’s
Financial	3	I have educated myself on investing I invest 20%+ of my income I spend <1000 on expenses
Education	2	I study leadership and related topics 9 hours per week I have read 40+ books I have completed 3 online courses
Family	4	I have found a life-partner
Artistic	9	I have again learned to play the saxophone I have learned ballroom dancing
Attitude	7	I have learned about time-management, energy levels, and activity management
Physical	5	I have participated in 3 obstacle runs I have visible abs (<15% BF) I am in the 1000 pound club
Pleasure	6	I run a monthly philosophy dinner-club I have discovered a new country
Public Service	8	I have donated 10% of my income I run a fundraiser in December I have an overview of school leadership challenges

 

		90 day action plan
Career	1	I have writen 4 long form (3000+ words) posts I have build 15goals.com to include a goal-setting guide I have another senior mentor I have kept Queal growing 20% month-on-month
Financial	2	I have a shareable investment plan (possibly website)
Education	3	“I have read/listened to 10+ books I have completed 1 Coursera I only do long-term things on Fridays
Family	4	Kris and I have started ballroom dancing
Artistic	9	I am playing the saxophone weekly
Attitude	6	I know my energy levels + related time-management
Physical	5	I have done 2 runs I focus on building strength
Pleasure	8	I have dinner with at least 1 friend per week
Public Service	7	I donate 10% of my income

 

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 has been the first update of my 2015 goals, a good start, I’m ready for more!

“Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them.” – Albert Einsteind

Public Commitment 2014 – Update 4

Jump to Dutch

Dear friends, family, and interested readers,

The Christmas decorations are coming down, the ‘oliebollen’ are already warm and everyone is getting ready for 2015. Before we dive into the next year let us reflect on what has happened in 2014. Have you achieved all your goals, which accomplishments are you proud of, and what have you learned from? Take today to look back on last year, take tomorrow to start the next year!

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, second review and third review, here is the fourth and final review & update.

Daily

1a. I will always do something meaningful, even if this means doing nothing. At all times I am busy creating new things or gaining new experiences.

Doing something meaningful sounds easier than it is. Sometimes you just want to sit back and binge-watch House of Cards or something else on Netflix. The past 3 months I have had the luck to be busy with finishing my thesis, building Queal (my company) and moving house. This goal might have been too abstract, but at the same time is a good reminder to not do ‘useless’ things. I believe that I have achieved this goal!

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.

I would give this a 90% completed. Eating healthy has been achieved (also thanks to Queal for making it easy to eat balanced during the day). Working out has been great (and of course not always 6 times a week, but you would be surprised how many times I exercised). Blogging twice a week has seen its ups and downs (with a low for the last 1,5 months). Doing my exercises is routine and reading (or listening to an audiobook) is no more effort than getting up early.

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

What are we here for, what is the purpose of life, how can I contribute the most? These are all questions you should be asking yourself when you are 50-60 years old, but I guess I am already asking them. Reflecting on my weekly goals, discussing it occasionally with friends and writing them down here helps me answer the ‘big’ questions of life in small increments. For anyone who wants to start thinking about what you can do, where you are in the universe and how ‘small’ we humans actually are, please watch Cosmos (with Neil deGrasse Tyson).

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.

After the starting-up phase of Queal, I am now fully committed to making the company a success. For this, I will dedicate the next year to building the company to new heights. This means that actually during the writing of my thesis I was already finding/creating my perfect job. And yes, I still want to do something in training/development in the corporate world, therefore I will be taking Fridays off to blog/read/learn and visit other people in this field.

(ps being an entrepreneur is great, please try it out and feel free to ask me for advice)

5. I will explore a new country.

Yes, in the last month of the year I have completed this goal. Together with Onno, I have been to Tunisia (country of the year according to the Economist). We took some time off work to relax, see the country and continue with renewed energy.

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.

Party will be on the 9th of January. If you are reading this you are most probably already invited. If you do not have an invitation, please send me a message for the details!

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.

If I have counted it correctly I have written 84 blogs over the last year. This is not the 100 I intended on writing, at the same time it is still an impressive number. With blogging, I have not been able to reach a large audience, and next year I will try again to be noticed. The new website is almost ready and on social media, I will announce the start (beginning January). Tips and tricks are always welcome.

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.

350kg is the number that I ended up with after a very successful gym session. With 90kg Bench Press, 110kg Squat and 150kg Deadlift I am very pleased with my fitness goals. My knees are not hurting, running is still going good (best time of the year was 48min for 10km) and I am happy with my body. For an upcoming obstacle run (14km on sand) I will be losing some weight the next month, but after that, I am aiming to reach 450kg on the exercises, wish me luck!

9. I will learn a new sport.

Last time I counted obstacle runs + chess together as one, so lets stick with that (next year I will learn ballroom dancing, mind your toes).

10. I will read/listen 26 books. 10a. I will read all the books I have bought.

Check. I have read or listened to about 50 books (though not all that I had bought in the last months). Some still need their review to be uploaded, I will take care of that in the coming months.

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

Reflecting on this goal I can state that I have not focussed enough on one topic. I guess that is because I have not found a passion programming nor directly in HR. With the new blog next year (/tomorrow) I will be more focussed.

12a. I will constantly update my habits. I will try different configurations of exercise/food/sleep/work/etc. each and every week.

Please everyone try new habits, stick with them for 30 days and you will be amazed at the things you can achieve. I have not experienced (chronic) back pain in the last 1,5 years and have read more last year than maybe all the previous years. On my new blog, I will definitely speak about habits.

 

2014 has been great. It has been my last year as a student and from now on I will be an entrepreneur. My goals for the next year will be online in a few days. Where life will take me, I do not know. If life is great, no matter where it takes me, I do know. “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” – Eleanor Roosevelt.

Floris

 

 

Doelen 2014

Beste vrienden, familie en geïnteresseerd lezers,

De kerstversieringen worden van de boom gehaald, de oliebollen zijn al warm en iedereen maakt zich klaar voor 2015. Voor we in het volgende jaar duiken, hierbij een reflectie op wat er in 2014 is gebeurd. Heb jij al je doelen gehaald, welke prestaties ben jij trots op, en wat heb je geleerd? Neem vandaag om terug te kijken op afgelopen jaar, neem morgen om het nieuwe jaar te starten!

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 evalueren. Na de eerste review, tweede review en derde review is hier de vierde en laatste evaluatie en update.

Dagelijks

1a. Ik doe altijd iets betekenisvol, ook al betekent dit niks doen. Ten alle tijden ben ik bezig met het creëren van nieuwe dingen of opdoen van ervaringen.

Iets betekenisvol doen klinkt makkelijker dan het is. Soms wil je gewoon op de bank liggen en een paar uur House of Cards of iets anders op Netflix kijken. De afgelopen drie maanden heb ik het geluk gehad om druk bezig te zijn geweest met het afmaken van mijn scriptie, het bouwen van Queal (mijn bedrijf) en verhuizen. Dit doel is misschien ietswat abstract, maar tegelijkertijd een goede reminder om geen ‘nutteloze’ dingen doen. Ik geloof dat ik dit doel heb behaald.

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.

Ik geef mezelf een 90% compleet score. Gezond eten is gelukt (mede dankzij door Queal voor gebalanceerde maaltijden overdag). Sporten gaat heel goed (natuurlijk niet altijd 6 keer per week, maar vrijwel altijd meer dan 4x). Bloggen twee keer per week heeft z’n ups en downs gehad (vooral de afgelopen 1,5 maand). De oefeningen in de ochtend zijn routine en lezen (of een audioboek) is zo gemakkelijk als vroeg opstaan.

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

Waarom zijn we op de aarde, wat is het doel van het leven, hoe kan ik het meeste bijdragen? Dit zijn vragen die de meeste mensen op 50-60 jarige leeftijd stellen, maar ik stel ze nu al. Door het reflecteren op mijn wekelijkse doelen, het af en toe te bespreken met vrienden en hier te bloggen probeer ik de ‘grote’ vragen in kleine stukjes op te lossen. Voor iedereen die interesse hierin heeft adviseer ik de serie Cosmos (met Niel deGrasse Tyson), tijd om te zien hoe ‘klein’ wij mensen eigenlijk zijn.

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.

Na de start-up fase van Queal ga ik er nu mijn volle gewicht achter gooien om van het bedrijf een succes te maken. Om dit te bereiken ga ik komend jaar toewijden aan het verbeteren van Queal. Dit betekent dat ik tijdens het afstuderen al bezig was met het vinden/maken van mijn perfecte bijna. En ja, ik wil nog steeds iets gaan doen in training/ontwikkeling in het bedrijfsleven, daarom zal ik de vrijdagen vrij nemen om te bloggen/lezen/leren en ander mensen in dit veld te bezoeken.

5. Ik ontdek een nieuw land.

Yes, in de laatste maand van het jaar heb ik dit doel bereikt. Samen met Onno ben ik naar Tunesië (land van het jaar, aldus The Economist) geweest. We hebben een week vrij genomen om te relaxen, het land te zien en met hernieuwde kracht door te werken.

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.

Feest is op de 9de van januari. Als je dit leest dan ben je meest waarschijnlijk al uitgenodigd. Zo niet?, stuur me dan even een berichtje voor de locatie.

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.

Als ik het goed heb geteld heb ik 84 blogs gemaakt het afgelopen jaar. Dit is niet de 100 waar ik voor ging, maar nog steeds een indrukwekkend nummer. Met bloggen heb ik nog niet een breder publiek bereikt, komend jaar ga ik dit weer opnieuw proberen. De nieuwe website is klaar en op social media zal ik de start aankondigen (begin januari). Tips en tricks zijn altijd welkom.

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.

350kg is het nummer waar ik mee ben geëindigd na een zeer succesvolle ochtend in de fitness. Met 90kg bankdrukken, 110kg squat en 150kg deadlift ben ik zeer blij met mijn fitness doelen. Mijn knieën doen het goed, rennen gaat lekker (beste tijd was 48min voor 10km) en ik ben blij met mijn lichaam. Voor een obstaclerun in april (14km op zand) zal ik komende maand wat gaan afvallen, maar daarna ga ik voor de 450kg op de grote oefeningen, wish me luck!

9. Ik leer een nieuwe sport.

Laatste keer telde ik obstacle runs en schaak samen als een dus laten we het daarbij houden (volgend jaar leer ik stijldansen, mind your toes).

10. Ik lees/luister 26 boeken. 10a. Ik lees alle boeken die ik heb gekocht.

Check. I heb meer dan 50 boeken gelezen of geluisterd (helaas niet alle die ik nog had gekocht). Sommige krijgen nog een review, daar ga ik in de komende maanden voor zorgen.

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

Wanneer ik op dit doel terugkijk kan ik zeggen dat ik niet genoeg focus op een onderwerp heb gehad. Dit komt mogelijk doordat ik niet werd gegrepen door programmeren of de passie niet vond in HR. Met een nieuwe blog volgend jaar (/morgen) zal ik meer gefocussed zijn.

12a. Ik update constant mijn gewoonten. Ik probeer verschillende configuraties van oefeningen/eten/slaap/werk/etc. elke week.

Probeer alsjeblieft nieuwe gewoonten, doe ze voor 30 dagen en sta verstelt van de grootse dingen die je kan bereiken. Ik heb geen (chronische) rugpijn meer gehad in de afgelopen 1,5 jaar en heb meer gelezen in het laatste jaar dan in de jaren ervoor. Op mijn nieuwe blog zal ik zeker spreken over gewoonten.

 

2014 was geweldig. Het was mijn laatste jaar als student en vanaf nu ben ik ondernemer. Mijn doelen voor komend jaar staan over een paar dagen online. Waar het leven mij zal brengen weet ik niet. Of het leven geweldig is, waar het mij ook heen brengt, dat weet ik zeker. “De toekomst behoort aan hen die in de schoonheid van hun dromen geloven”. Elenor Roosevelt.

Floris

Public Commitment 2014 – Update 3

Jump to Dutch

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 and second review here is the third review & update.

Daily

1a. I will always do something meaningful, even if this means doing nothing. At all times I am busy creating new things or gaining new experiences.

Doing nothing is not my strong suit, but lately, I have been better at managing my energy levels. Most of my waking moments are spent doing new things, and starting a new company is part of that. Keeping my priorities straight is sometimes more difficult, but for the most part, I think everything is going excellent for this goal.

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.

Check. I almost never eat pizza or other unhealthy things and with Queal (powdered food) it is easy to eat healthy during the day. Reading in the morning is sometimes difficult, but for the most part, this is going great. The exercises are a routine, so no worries about that either. I guess the power of habit is true.

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

As always this goal is going strong. It is something I do need to sit down for, but also something that I feel great about when doing it. With some friends, I am developing a framework for goals that is slightly different from this one. When I will update and evaluate my goals at the end of the year, I will post the new framework (free to copy and share of course).

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.

Starting a new company, of course, is fun, so that is what I have been doing from August onward. It is not my perfect job yet. I really want to work in the development of people, and when I graduate I will start focusing my attention on that aspect more. If it will be a ‘traditional’ job, probably not, but I will make it work!

5. I will explore a new country.

Not happened yet. Maybe I will visit a friend in Finland (from my board year), but we have not booked yet. Fingers crossed for completion of this goal!

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.

Change the date and this goal will still stand. Please see the last update 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 also going its course. There is one small problem, and that is that Pulse (from LinkedIn) stopped the emails, so I will get back to that when I get that going again (for the News in Leadership posts). In the queue are still more than 8 reviews and frameworks, so I have my work cut out for me.

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.

Yesterday I met a friend in the supermarket and decided to do a run today. With 49 minutes for 10km it was a good run (especially so unprepared). In a week I will do an obstacle run in the harbour of Rotterdam. After that, I will focus more on fitness than running. I have not tested my strength on the 3 big exercises, but I am confident I will achieve that goal too.

9. I will learn a new sport.

Chess is still the sport of choice now. For the physical part boot camp and obstacle runs are the combination of running and fitness, so maybe I could count both as half and thereby complete that goal?

10. I will read/listen 26 books.

Check. This goal is fulfilled. My new goal is to read all the books I have bought before the end of the year. This is about 10 books, and this does not include audiobooks.

10a. I will read all the books I have bought.

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

Since the last update, not much has happened here. Coding is at a basic level and that is fine by me. Continuous learning about different subjects (e.g. chess, webshops, goal-setting, psychology) is always interesting and I will continue doing that for the remainder of the year.

12a. I will constantly update my habits. I will try different configurations of exercise/food/sleep/work/etc. each and every week.

Since last time I have been consolidating my habits of waking up early. This is going quite well and when I finish my thesis I will probably get some new habits going. These also depend on the framework I will adopt for making new goals.

 

That is it for the third review of my goals of 2014. It has been three good months and I have been keeping myself busy. Self-confidence is an important aspect of goal-setting and getting-things-done. I believe that goal-setting can help you build self-confidence and make you excel at things you never knew where possible. Here is a quote to end this third update: “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” – Theodore Roosevelt.

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 en tweede review is hier de derde evaluatie en update.

Dagelijks

1a. I doe altijd iets betekenisvol, ook al betekent dit niks doen. Ten alle tijden ben ik bezig met het creëren van nieuwe dingen of opdoen van ervaringen.

Niets doen is niet mijn sterkste kwaliteit, maar recentelijk ben ik beter geworden in het managen van mijn energie niveau. De meeste tijd ben ik bezig met het doen van nieuwe dingen, en het starten van een nieuw bedrijfje hoort daar natuurlijk ook bij. Mijn prioriteiten goed ordenen is soms wel iets lastiger, de meeste tijd lukt dit gelukkig wel.

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.

Check. It eet bijna nooit pizza of andere ongezonde dingen en met Queal (powdered foods) is het makkelijk om gezond te eten tijdens de dag. Lezen in de ochtend is soms iets lastiger, maar voor het overgrote gedeelte van de tijd gaat dit ook goed. De oefeningen zijn routine, dus hier ook geen zorgen. De power of habit is blijkbaar waar.

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

Zoals altijd gaat dit doel goed. Het is wel iets waar ik voor moet gaan zitten, maar wanneer ik dit doe voel ik meteen dat ik met iets goeds bezig ben. Met een paar vrienden ben ik bezig met het maken van een framework voor doelen dat net iets anders is dan deze. Wanneer ik mijn doelen op het einde van het jaar update en evalueer zal ik dit nieuwe framework erbij voegen (gratis om te kopiëren en verspreiden natuurlijk).

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 starten van een nieuw bedrijf is leuk, dus dat ben ik vanaf augustus aan het doen. Het is echter nog niet de perfecte baan. I wil graag in de ontwikkeling van mensen werken en wanneer ik afstudeer zal ik mijn aandacht hierop focussen. Of het een ‘traditionele’ baan wordt, waarschijnlijk niet, moet ik nog zien, maar ik ga er wat moois van maken!

5. Ik ontdek een nieuw land.

Nog niet gebeurd. Misschien ga ik een vriend opzoeken in Finland (van mijn bestuursjaar), maar we hebben nog niet geboekt. Fingers crossed of ik dit doel ga halen.

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.

Verander de datum en dit doel blijft staan. Zie de update aan het einde van het jaar!

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 gaat zijn gangetje. Er is een klein probleem, Pulse (van LinkedIn) verstuurt geen mails meer, dus daar ga ik verder mee wanneer ik het heb opgelost (voor de News in Leadership posts). In de wachtrij staan nog meer dan 8 reviews en frameworks, dus ik heb nog wel wat werk liggen.

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.

Gisteren kwam ik een vriend tegen in de AH en besloot ik om vandaag aan een hardloopwedstrijd mee te doen. In 49 minuten heb ik 10km gelopen en was het een goede loop (vooral gezien de minimale voorbereiding). Over een week zal ik een obstaclerun doen in de haven van Rotterdam. Daarna zal ik meer focussen op fitness dan hardlopen. Kracht heb ik nog niet getest, maar ik ben vol vertrouwen dat ik die doelen ook ga halen.

9. Ik leer een nieuwe sport.

Schaak is nog steeds de sport voor nu. Qua fysiek ben ik bezig met bootcamp en de obstacle run, een combinatie van rennen en fitness. Dus misschien kan ik beide combineren als half goed en zo het doel halen?

10. Ik lees/luister 26 boeken.

Check. Dit doel is al gehaald. Mijn nieuwe doel is om alle boeken die ik heb gekocht uit te lezen voor het einde van het jaar. Dit zijn ongeveer 10 boeken, en dat is nog zonder audioboeken.

10a. Ik lees alle boeken die ik heb gekocht.

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

Sinds de laatste update is hier niet zo veel gebeurd. Coderen is op een basisniveau en dat is prima. Verder leer ik constant verder over verschillende onderwerpen (bijv. schaken, webshops, doelen stellen, psychologie) en hier ga ik zeker mee door.

12a. Ik update constant mijn gewoonten. Ik probeer verschillende configuraties van oefeningen/eten/slaap/werk/etc. elke week.

Sinds de laatste keer is het doel van vroeg opstaan een routine geworden. Dit doel gaat goed en wanneer ik klaar ben met mijn thesis ga ik verder met het maken van nieuwe habits. Deze hangen ook af van het doelen framework waar de nieuwe doelen in komen te staan.

 

Dat is het voor de derde review van mijn doelen voor 2014. Het zijn drie goede maanden geweest en ik heb mezelf goed bezig gehouden. Zelfvertrouwen is een belangrijk onderdeel bij doelen stellen en getting-things-done. I geloof dat doelen stellen je kan helpen met zelfvertrouwen opbouwen en excelleren in dingen waarvan je niet wist dat het mogelijk was. Hier is een citaat om de derde update mee af te sluiten: “Geloof dat je het kunt en je bent al halverwege.” – Theodore Roosevelt.

Floris

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