Made it.

Some see the new year as overblown and overhyped. It’s just another day, right?

I don’t. I love it. I buy into the new page idea. The old is gone; everything is made new again.

To my surprise, I got some stuff done in 2023. The first draft of Sean was finished - and published here on the blog. I walked into Santiago de Compostela seven years after setting off from St. Jean Pied de Port. I pressed submit on my dissertation, completing my MBA (unless I’ve not made the pass mark.) I got a couple of tattoos on my left arm, expressing my growing fondness for stoicism.

I didn’t get fitter or slimmer, but rather slower and fatter. The thought of a salad still drives me to a kebab and a beer. Home improvement projects were moved onto a back burner, one that was never lit.

I can’t complain. I have a fabulous wife and live in a beautiful spot. I’m a lucky guy.

In the spirit of the internet, I’m obliged to write about my aspirations for 2024. Depending on your school of thought, I should set targets and objectives, make resolutions, or set a theme. Predictably, I do a bit of a mix.

This is my year of love.

I will focus on loving my nearest and dearest, my friends, and yes, even loving myself. Stop sniggering at the back, it's not big and it's not clever. People close to me are facing health challenges, and I want to be their champion in facing those. My role is to be a good listener (not a strength of mine) and be as supportive as I can be. Part of that means taking a good look at my own lifestyle. I can hardly expound on healthy eating as I finish my mixed grill washed down with four beers followed by a digestif or two.

To my surprise, loving myself means un-retiring. Not that I ever retired properly in the first place. I simply added retirement activity to work. Hot take: there are still only 24 hours in a day which spread thin over sleep, two businesses, domesticity and leisure. Golf three or four times a week makes a big hole in available time.

I love a round of golf. A walk in nature on a sunny day, with occasional swishing and swearing. However, at times, I’m playing while worrying about my inbox. That’s a sort of self-flagellation. I neither get the work done nor enjoy the sport.

2024

Playing less golf will present me with a gift of more time. I’ve reintroduced myself to the gym, where I can burn some calories more efficiently. I have a chunk of client work this year for Lime, and doing it deepens my knowledge and expertise. I intend to leverage that and take on more clients.

Finishing the Camino and the work for my MBA in 2023 was satisfying. What can I finish in 2024?

  1. The novel. The obvious one. This project has been rumbling along for seven years. Time to get it finished and shipped.
  2. The Mountain hideaway. There are several projects that need scoping, planning and execution. Houses don’t paint themselves. Sadly.

So - I’m reducing golf, kebabs and booze. I’m doing more work. Space for something new? Sure…but not until I finish the damn novel…

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