Jumpstart January

Prologue

Oh wow this is such an awesome feeling. Finally I’m using the tool that I really just built for myself and my writing friends - Lifelog. My very first post, after taking a short break from two unbroken years of daily writing; after that crummy COVID-filled year 2020; after some crazy weeks of coding from 6am.

My very first post on Lifelog. Very first post on monthly goals. And may this be the first of many firsts—good things—to come, in the new year.

Jumpstart January

So on to Jumpstart January. It’s a new year. What better chance to jumpstart on new endeavours and projects than on the first day of the year.

I love setting goals at the start of a year. Call it new year resolutions, aspirations or just goals. As @therealbrandonwilson said, new year resolutions are pretty arbitrary, and most people fail at it. If your goal is worthwhile, you can start today, any day. That’s so true too. It’s the growth mindset and spirit, the habit system you develop that counts in the end, not some enthusiastic proclamation on a random day. But having said that, I do also like the tradition of new year resolutions. It’s like an invitation to reflect and review, and then look ahead with optimism. Any tradition that encourages more thoughtful introspection is a good tradition, in my book. It’s also generates a nice initial jumpstart of motivation, which any good habit forming endeavour needs. Just that most if us don’t really know how to sustain habit formation, that’s why new year resolutions fail. I’m for keeping them, but maybe people just need more practical help on how to sustain any habit.

2021 feels like the year to do all the things I wanted to have achieved in 2020.

Back to Jumpstart Jan. 2021 feels like the year to do all the things I wanted to have achieved in 2020. And indeed, early signs in the last days of 2020 seem to be pointing to that. I wanted to launch my very first SaaS in 2020, and here it is - Lifelog. I wanted to break the zero and earn my first dollar in monthly recurring revenue (MRR), and I got it just a few days ago, through Lifelog! I even had an audacious, moonshot goal of earning $1mil! This year will be the year to get a jumpstart on those 2020 goals and solidify what the past few days had only just seeded, what COVID had held back for the entire 2020.

Here’s what I’m planning to jumpstart on this month and year:

• Set up 2021 for success. Dream big(ger), think ahead, plan out, pen down my intentions for 2021…like using my 8 forms of capital framework. More to come in the coming posts!

• Get Lifelog into a stable state, keep fixing bugs (especially the streak), and get a product roadmap going with all the feedback coming in. Add as many of the basic features as possible, like edit/delete, comments count, notifications, @mentions, and markdown previews.

• Start daily writing again (yaaay, done!)

Alright 2021. Here I come. Ready…set…go!