2014 - review of objectives

In January 2014 I set myself a list of objectives for the year.

Unfortunately, 2014 was a rather disappointing year in most respects, due in part to circumstances beyond my control and in part to my own actions (or inactions). Here are the lacklustre details:

1. financially 2014 was a very average year - total return on my portfolio was enough to cover living expenses and more or less match inflation. The biggest drag on performance was the weakness in the AUD and, to a lesser extent, the NZD. On the positive side (i) I didn't do anything really stupid with my finances and (ii) expenses were reasonably well controlled;

2. fitness was a big fat negative - the "minor" foot injury of early January turned into a case of plantar fasciitis that took several months to remedy after I rather stupidly tried to keep running on it;

3. the degree has been a lot of fun - I am on track to complete the degree requirements by mid-2015. While I am a long way from being one of the better students in my intake, I have enjoyed studying an unfamiliar area, rewiring my ageing brain and getting to know a lot of interesting and new people. One of my tasks for 2015 is to line up my next project;

4. I failed to complete a first draft of my novel by year end - close but no cigar. In part because of time spent on the degree and in part because of an unexpected distraction which chewed up a lot of time in October - December (and which is still on going). The good news is that it is sufficiently advanced that a final version including editing will be completed by the end of 2015;

5. the miscellaneous housekeeping was a bottomless pit of tasks that resembled a hydra - overtime I completed one job, two others would raise their ugly heads. Currently outstanding: three lots of completely unnecessary window inspections, one application to boarding school, one passport renewal, one lost tax return to replace, follow up questions for my complaint to the Data Privacy Commissioner against a cold calling real estate agent who refuses to delete my personal data or to stop calling me, figure out Apple's useless Time Capsule being a few among the many items in the "to do" pile.

Hopefully 2015 will be a better, more productive and distraction free year.