December 30, 2009

• 2010 – the grand plan

  As discussed in my previous post, 2009 was not exactly a banner year for me.  I’ve identified that there were some things that were problematic with my own thinking, so I have some things to work on.  I’ve also started building plans to work towards more financial freedom and greater job satisfaction.

  First I need to fix some of the more twisted thinking that’s been allowing me to make bad choices with respect to time management.  In no particular order:

  • I need to start thinking in terms of the sense of achievement in completing work, not in terms of the imposition of the effort required to do so.  The completion of things that are hard offer higher rewards than completing things that are simple, or simply not completing them at all.  It’s better to put in a genuine effort from day 1 with no procrastination, but only work an 8 hour day than to put things off until they’re already overdue then put in 16 hour days to get them done.
  • I need to start getting better at saying no to clients, managers and colleagues/friends.  In the last year I have said yes to too many things and been set up for failure by being overcommitted.  As discussed in the previous post, I tend to deal with stress by retreating into indulgences such as computer gaming or watching DVDs, so making sure that I’m not putting myself under too much stress is a big part of managing the avoidance strategies.
  • Like many people, I still hear the disapproving voices of my parents telling me that what I’ve accomplished isn’t good enough.  Rationally, I know that all my folks were trying to do when they pushed me for better results, etc… was to get me to maximize my potential and do better in life than they did.  However, I internalized that pressure as a kid and one of the big work stressors is that I imagine them telling me that the work I’m expected to deliver doesn’t meet the required standard.  Because of my avoidance/cram approach, I’ve effectively guaranteed that my work products are not going to be good enough as I simply haven’t given myself time to get things right.  However, all I need to aim for just enough, not too much or too little.  I don’t need to write 60-page white-papers when a 20-page specification will do, nor should I be satisfied with handing in 5 pages of bullet-points because that’s all I’ve left myself time to deliver.
  • As I mentioned above – part of my avoidance strategy has been indulgence.  When I get stressed I get the urge to spend money to prove to myself that someone feels I’m important.  This is something I’m learning not to do.  Over the last year I’ve probably spent $2000 on audio gear, the same again on laptops, computer peripherals and parts, another $500 on DVDs and $1500 on booze.  Even worse, I’ve probably spent close to $5000 on take-out or restaurant meals, which is clearly insane. If I had only spent half of that $11,000 I’d have fewer toys, but be a lot closer to achieving my financial goal of getting debt free. 
  • I’ve hinted at this above, but I also need to spendless time on the work treadmill – instead of living to work, I need to reorient my values and my self worth in new areas.  As such, I want to make sure some of these things happen over the next year.
  • I want to join a jazz choir.  I’ve played in bands a lot, but never really had a chance to explore singing as deeply as I’d like.  My voice is untutored, and generally a bit undisciplined… but with some training and use I think I could get quite good.  More importantly, singing is a kind of therapy in its own right.  Singing is a great emotional release, and I really need to find that kind of release right now.  So – first step is probably some singing lessons, and the second is to hopefully find a choir to sing in via my voice teacher.
  • I want to spend more time composing and recording.  This is something I promised myself I’d spend more time doing this year, but because of travel and other emotional demands, I wasn’t able to make the time or find the inspiration to do this.  In the upcoming year, this will change.  I fully intend to produce a minimum of 20 songs.
  • I want to invest some time doing .NET training for non-work purposes.  For example, I have friends in Sydney who are interested in playing dice-n-paper RPGs, and I’d like to build an app that would help facilitate that.  I also have some ideas for how I could use a SharePoint solution for facilitating backstory creation, world building, etc.  It would be interesting to see if I could build an ad-funded site that other dice-n-paper devotees would be interested in using if I can get some legs under this concept. 

  My professional objectives for 2010 are as follows:

  • Move out of the “permanent” job market into the contracting/consulting area - running contracts via my own ACN.  This will have some key learning outcomes for me:
  • I’ll be forced to get more disciplined about money management, dotting the I’s, crossing the T’s.
  • I won’t have quite the level of risk of pure consulting or service-based/product-based business
  • I’ll have the opportunity to set up the company infrastructure required to get better leverage on my income (company tax vs PAYG; operating expenses before tax, not after)
  • Get MCTS certifications for SQL Server and SharePoint
  • Look into Dynamics certification and registration and a Microsoft partner.
  • Start working towards MCA and MCT qualifications
  • An MCA qualification puts me in a particularly good position with respect to architecture and consulting gigs.
  • Getting an MCT qualification means I get access to Microsoft’s official curriculum, and can offer my services within the Adelaide market, which is notoriously under-serviced in non-mainstream products.
  • By March 2010 I want to start getting the tech blog at http://ozziemedes.blogspot.com running in full swing, with articles about Visual Studio, Team System, .NET and SQL Server being published at least weekly, and ideally 2-3 times a week.
  • By July 2010 I want to have the poddify.com.au website fully online and operational.  I also want to have the infrastructure code to support media streaming and storage completed, tested and in production.  The proof of the pudding will be a .NET/SQL Server podcast that I’ll start producing around that time and publishing through the site.
  • By the end of 2010 I want to have at least 5 ongoing clients for Poddify signed and being recorded on a regular basis.  I’d like the Poddify brand to be earning at least a quarter of my earnings from consulting and contracting gigs.
  • I intend to expand the number of people I know in the local IT and media production sector in order to: A) drum up some new business opportunities, and B) identify opportunities for small business alliances and joint ventures.  As an owner-operator, my bread will need to be buttered mainly by recruitment companies for the first 6 months of the year.  However, as I get myself better established, I’d like to become more independent as well.  One way to spread the risk of this is to work collaboratively with other small business operators.  The networking opportunities I’ll be particularly focused on are as follows:
  • Join the AIIA (Australian Information Industry Association) – the peak body for IT companies, and offshoots, such as the SA.NET joint venture that AIIA and South Australia’s Department of Trade and Economic Development have put together in the last 18 months.
  • Attend industry conferences such as Microsoft’s Tech Ed, Professional Developer Conferance and Mix; and start looking at media production conferences/conventions such as Integrate.

  My hope is that by following this path I should be in a much better position by the end of 2010.  I hope to be financially better off – I know contracting has its risks, but unless HP comes to the table with a better offer I don’t see any other way of making the money I’m worth in the immediate short term.  Additionally, I should be emotionally better off as a result of getting more down time and taking some pressure off myself in the work environment.  I’ll be more creatively fulfilled as a result of achieving my gaming software, singing and recording goals.  I’ll also have a better industry standing than I currently have in the IT and media production sectors, and hopefully be in a position to put my hand up as a regular presenter at major Microsoft events over the coming year.

  So… 2010, I’m ready – I know what I want and I know how I intend to go about getting it.  Look out – here I come!

  • 5:19 am
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