Public Commitment 2016 – Recap

2016: Where I missed out on connecting.

I’m very grateful for what I’ve been able to do this year. I’ve been to India for 3 weeks, hiked there and saw a very beautiful country. I make a living by doing what I love, being an entrepreneur. My schedule is flexible, I’m my own boss. And Max, my dog, is slowly becoming my friend.

Now that I look back on the goals I set for this year, I see that I am far from achieving most of them. Some were to do with external circumstances, others with a lack of throughput from my side. What I want to do now is look first at what were the right things that I did. After that, I will write shortly about each goal.

***

80/20 Analysis – More.

What were the 20% of X activities that led to 80% of Y outcomes?

Happiness. There were two situations in which I was most happy. Being together with people I love is the first. Laughing out loud is good for you. An example would be playing with my nephew. The second is ‘working’ on something important, but not urgent. Reading a book, running, fitness, financial plan, etc. The commonality between both types of happiness is that I was living in the ‘now’. I was wondering off to somewhere else, just living in the moment. They call it flow.

Productivity. Combining theory and practice is what was most productive. Thinking about what not to do is also what drove growth/saved time. Being alone/not disturbed for 3-5 hours resulted in my best work. And finally, being in a good mental and physical state works wonders. After meditating in the morning, having gone for a run, those were the best moments.

Health. Cooking, both mentally (calm) and physically (good food). Going to bed early and rising early. Challenging myself (e.g. obstacle run), pushing for something better each session.

***

80/20 Analysis – Less.

What were the 80% of X activities that lead to 20% of Y outcomes?

Happiness. There is a ‘Profaned Vase’ in our office and it might be my doing. I get most frustrated when things don’t go my way and when I run out of patience. Less acutely I think that I sometimes forgot to enjoy the moment. Being more mindful and just remembering how great work (and other moments) is, should become more common. Lastly, we had a conflict with a partner at work and that led to the most stress over the run of multiple weeks. In resolving the conflict I think we couldn’t have done many things differently, but in keeping my calm/sanity and still being happy with other aspects of life is really something that I could have done better.

Productivity. Most of my time was categorised as Marketing (Growing was a close second). The biggest time drain was making a new website, as compared to the impact it had. Less website fiddling next year. Cooperations with events/small companies were far from profitable. Adwords, which we try and outsource, is still not working like we want to, so have to do a good analysis of costs/benefits. A lack of focus on where I can make the most impact is also what crippled me a bit this year. I did a lot of things others could do too. Next year more focus on strategy and leadership.

Health. Binge drinking and eating. Hangovers, upset stomach, loss of a full day. Binging is really something I will consciously avoid next year.

***

The Goals I Set 364 Days Ago.

I spend 80% of my time on important, non-urgent tasks. To be honest I think I spend something like 30% on those really big goals, 50% on day-to-day processes (of which a big percentage were improvements, not only execution), and 10% on things that were really urgent.
I am familiar with the full start-up skillset. I’ve learned so much this year, but it’s not organised yet. I have trouble naming specific things, whilst having read 25+ business books, listened to 100+ podcasts about it and learning many things at Queal. Expect something related to this next year.

I make half a million (pre-tax). I earned enough this year to live from and save more than most people do. But it’s far, far, away from making that half million. Both a lack of the growth we wanted at Queal and the cancellation of another big project have hampered my money making plans.

I learn and blog about 11 (sub)topics. I still don’t know exactly what to blog about, but I do have a better idea. The subtopics are still things I’m very much interested in, but I will have to see what I will write exactly.

I play the saxophone twice a week. I have played the saxophone. Most in recent weeks. With a new work schedule, I will continue to make time for it. But definitively haven’t played the amount I wanted to.

I have optimised my weekly schedule. Multiple attempts at good schedules have been made, and all have had some flaws here and there. The most important thing I failed at was making time on Sunday to look over the coming week and making a plan where there is enough free time, time for thinking and sleeping.

I have read 50+ books. I should have made a list. But yes, definitively read (or listened) more than 50 books. Many were fantasy books (Discworld, Enders Game), business (Elon Musk Bio, 4 Hour Body), and other (thanks Lasse and Kawai).

I run a sub 3:45 marathon. With a time of 4:20 I was slower than I planned for. The second half, or particularly the last 7km were killing. New chances coming year.

I am under 12% body fat at one point. I did reach the related goal of <88kg, alas there was also a loss of water weight. I am now in the best shape I’ve ever been and next year will be even better. Sixpack here I come.

I finish the iron viking. YES YES YES!!! This was awesome to do. Amazing to do together with my brother. Something to do again, someday.

I reach the 1000 pound club. After the two marathons I decided to take it slow and although I’ve improved again with lifting weights, I didn’t reach the 1000 pound club.

I moderate my alcohol drinking & meat eating. I think drinking less hasn’t been a goal that I’ve achieved. Eating less meat I did reach. Never did I buy meat from the supermarket and more than ever whilst dining out I ate vegetarian.

I have a dog. WOEF (that was Max). It was quite the workload in the beginning, but the amount of ‘gezelligheid’, coziness or ‘hygge’ he brings is enormous. Still a bit of training to do, but he is very, very lovely.

I have 3+ social events per week. Looking back on the agenda, the average looks more like 4 social evenings per week. So yes, I got out enough.

I am offline&social for 1+ day a week. I think almost every Friday night to Saturday evening I was offline. But I could be more conscious about it.

I go on vacation for 4+ weeks. Yes.

I run/start the Rotterdam EA chapter. Together with Johan and Joeri, I help organise the EA Rotterdam meetings. We can be more active, but the start is there.

I 10x my giving impact. I know at least one confirmed story from our EA group that someone has taken the pledge, but I don’t think I’ve reached a 10X yet.

I donate 10% of my income. Done. Please support Against Malaria Foundation if you want to make the world a better place (and really have an impact!)

I spend less than 1200 per month. Definitively not. I spent way too much on going out and also on groceries. I do manage it now in AFAS online and I will be able to get a good grip on it the coming year.

I plan each week, priority every day. Most days I did make a plan. But the weekly plans I forgot to make. More weekly planning (and accountability) coming up shortly.

I review every 1 & 3 months. I did do a review end of Q1 and Q2 but didn’t do one after Q3 (not publicly). So everyone who calls me so goal-oriented, I also fail sometimes 😉

I buy a house. I have a house, and it’s bea-uuuu-tiful. It’s really becoming my place and although I want to still do a lot of things, it’s already my home.

***

Systems are Key.

The goals I failed to achieve we’re mostly a fault of ‘systems’. I mean that I didn’t plan ahead to make time to review my goals and planning each week. Or that I went on a bender without agreeing with myself to limit the drinking to a few consumptions. Preparing better habits and strategies is one of the things that will make 2017 even greater than 2016 has been.

Thank you for reading

– Floris

Public Commitment 2016 – Q3

Based on my goals for 2016 I’ve made the following goals for the next 3 months (Q3).

These goals are more concrete and the continuing goals (i.e. habits) are not listed.

If you want to join in for any of the goals, please let me know via email, facebook or LinkedIn!

I double the revenue of my combined businesses

• Focus Queal on growth in September (weekly sessions with outside help)
• Restart sales for Jerky Empire
• Launch a new product for Queal
• Reach 100 paying customers Psychostudent
• Restart StudS
• Multiple clients for LPaW

I share 3 quality blogs (on average) per week

• On my own blog
• And update all bio-related info

I build my knowledge wall

• I read 15 books
• I map my knowledge areas

I am under 12% body fat

• I drink only occasionally
• I do sports 3+ times a week
• I fast for 24 hours per week
• I binge for 24 hours per week

I raise Max

• I go on puppy training in August
• I am present whenever he needs me

I go on 2 vacations

• One long vacation (planned: India, Leh)
• One short vacation (tbd)

I will structure my coaching effort

• I make a weekly schedule for calls/meetings
• I set goals and manage expectations

I will grow the EA team

• Find a team on EUR
• Promotional member EA

I blog for ITM 1x per week

• Share entrepreneurial-life knowledge

I do a weekly session

• Recap, Goals, Finances, Planning

I do a daily session

• Exercise, Recap, Plan, Meditate

Alright, that’s it again. The goals for Q3 are set.

This time I’ve used an empty a4 paper and looked at the connection between goals to find synergies. For instance, the vacation helps me rest and think strategically about business. And sport gives me energy for being an entrepreneur (etc.).

I’ve also reduced the amount of (top-level) goals, so they are clearer and fit together better.

And I’ve made a poster again (because not looking at one really makes you lose focus)!

Public Commitment 2016 – Q2 Recap

Welcome back to an overview of my goals. Today I will look back at the second 3 months of 2016. On Monday I will present my goals for Q3 of 2016.

For the second quarter of 2016, I made the following goals. If you click on each goal you can read about my experiences. First, here are some general things I learned this quarter.

• Time flies by and not having your goals present (top-of-mind) will make you wander off and do other things
• Cool opportunities are not (adequately) captured in the goal-making process
• Day 3: a puppy costs more energy and time than I had anticipated (read: it’s just like having a baby, without a diaper)

I find the first clients for Life Planning at Work

With Life Planning at Work we’ve had the first two productive meetings with HR professionals. Here we’ve dug deeper into their needs, and now hopefully will be even better suited to help them.

We almost have the first paying customers, I believe that this quarter we will be able to get the first few contracts going. And with that also get the business side of things (my area) going faster.

I solidify the core message for Queal

Queal is in a transition phase. We’re in between helping a very specific group of people and being able to help almost everyone in the general public with our complete meal solutions.

It’s time to think big and plan for success. This also means that Onno and I have to invest in the company (with time, but also with money). And this isn’t the easiest thing to do, we also still want to live our lives at the same time.

And when are you successful, there are so many metrics. The most important one is, of course, being happy (or tranquil), and as long as I feel that I have adequate control (where I want to), I believe that I can be 100% happy in Queal.

Back to the core message, we have this in our head, and in the coming weeks we will take more time to share this with others. Expect more social media updates soon.

I make a comprehensive overview of my start-up knowledge

On this website, I wanted to accumulate my knowledge. What I found is that making this overview is not possible for me at the moment. I do still want to gather the knowledge I have into a sort of mindmap. A real-life wall (I have one spare in my house) Will maybe be the place for this.

How cool would a wall like in investigative series look like!

I blog every day (for at least 40 days)

I’ve started this project twice in the last months. What I find is that continuing with this is just not possible for me. On the one hand, I run out of original ideas, on the other hand, I run out of time to write down the things I’m thinking about.

What would work better is doing it on a basis of once every few days. But then the routine is more difficult to maintain. So a way to do it is to schedule a weekly moment to sit down for the blog and make things happen.

Expanding the readership could also take more president. Something to think about for the next months.

I get 100 subscribers to my weekly blog email

Nope, I didn’t put much effort into this and I also don’t really know how to do this.

One problem here (and with marketing for Queal) is that I myself am subscribed to almost no newsletters/blogs/etc. At the same time, this could be the solution, first examine why I am subscribed to these (and not to others).

Do I want to influence more people? Yes of course. How do I increase my reach? I will find a way!

I have summarized all the books I have read

I’ve added some reviews, but definitively not as many as I wanted to.

There are still so many books to review.

What I do like is that with my new way of blogging (focus on a lesson), I can write more useful things and focus less on summarizing the book(s).

I have a dog

Max is home!

His full name is Maximus Seneca Wolswijk.

He is a Friesian Stabyhoun (or Friese Stabij). A medium-large breed of dogs that’s native to The Netherlands. Called one of the rarest breeds on Wikipedia, but not too uncommon here.

Frans, my dad, has a dog of the same breed (named Tsjibbe).

Max has been home for 6 days. He is as cute as they get. He still needs to learn how to go to the toilet outside (consistently), but he has been really nice, is ok with his crate (bench), and loves people.

Taking care of him has been exhausting in the first few days. I hope (and think) that in the coming weeks the load will be a bit less (because he knows the environment better, I get to know him better, and things become more predictable). He will also be going to the office, hopefully everything will go smoothly there too.

I continue to help 3+ friends with their business

I really like helping other people and this goal has been great to do.

What I think can improve is to get more structure into the process so both parties feel more responsibility. A system like at ‘De Kleine Consultant’ of doing a weekly email would be great to do. It’s on the list for next quarter.

I go on at least 1 (small) vacation

I’ve been away for two weekends with friends. And they were great.

They helped me relax, chill down, and act a little crazy.

The next quarter I will be going on a 3-week vacation to India, so mental rest (combined with physical exercise) will do me good.

(I do have to miss Max, but Onno will take very good care of him!)

I run a sub 3.45 marathon

The marathon! Wow, what an experience. It was great to do and very challenging to participate in.

The support from the crowd, my mother and Geert Jan in special, was great.

The first half of the run went really well (1.50ish), but in the last 12km I really struggled.

Eventually, I finished in 4.20, which of course is a great time by itself.

Next year I will be back to set a new record!

I am under 12% body fat

In combination with the sports activities, I wanted to do this goal.

Train really hard, then diet afterwards.

But in all honesty, I indulged myself in snacks and booze after the marathons.

There is no excuse, and now with my puppy, I’ve become more home-bound (aka fewer parties) so I will strive to achieve this goal in the coming quarter (also, there are no physical exercise goals I’m pursuing at the moment).

I finish the iron viking

Hoorah!

Fuck yeah!

Together with my brother Tom, I made it!

And it was as awesome as you can imagine it to be.

At 19km we bumped into some friends of mine, we were still as energetic as can be.

When at 30ish we met up with our parents, we were less fit. But still, we did almost every obstacle, did every km (plus a few bonus km) and finished the race in about 7 hours.

It was a great experience and one to maybe do again in a while. But first, focus on learning swimming and biking for the triathlon.

I continue to drink only occasionally

I would give myself a B on this goal.

In the week-to-week, I don’t really drink much alcohol, but at some parties, I did let myself go.

With my goal of 12% body fat, I will definitively pay more attention to reducing my alcohol intake

I organize 3 EA Rotterdam meetings

We only had 1 meeting and that’s a shame.

The problem is getting people interested in the topic. It’s something that’s not on the top of your priority list. So how do I get people to sacrifice their evening to go to my event?

I have some ideas about this and I will definitively be testing some of these out. Partnerships with existing groups will be part of the strategy.

I find a permanent team to help run the meetings

The team now is a good mix of people. What we miss a promotional person, someone who loves to connect and get people coming to events.

My skills are in leading teams and having a greater vision. So I should work with these skills to become a good recruiter and find someone who is great at promotion. Challenge accepted.

I do my personal finances every 15th and last day of the month

Nope.

Didn’t do this.

And I should really do this.

/facepalm

What I can do better the coming quarter is to do a weekly review. And then incorporate this into the routine. That should make this work.

I pause (plan & meditate) every morning

I’ve been more consistent on this front. Aside from the last week (read: puppy) I’ve been meditating most days of the week.

I’ve been using Headspace to help me with the mediation. Here I do 15-minute sessions. They really help me calm down and take a broader perspective.

I make amazing artwork for my house

This has been a really cool goal and I’ve enjoyed making the pieces.

I might make more of these in the future (digital and/or print) as they look nice and are inspirational at the same time.

Please feel free to leave a comment if you like them.

All right, these were my goals for Q2 2016. If I reflect on all goals in general, I believe that I set too many separate/disparate goals that didn’t connect in the best way possible. For Q3 I will take my time today to think about how to connect my goals and make the positive outcomes cumulative. See you tomorrow for the goals for Q3 2016.

Public Commitment 2016 – Q2

Based on my goals for 2016 I’ve made the following goals for the next 3 months (Q2).

These goals are more concrete and the continuing goals (i.e. habits) are not listed.

If you want to join in for any of the goals, please let me know via email, facebook or LinkedIn!

Entrepreneur (1)

I find the first clients for LifePlanning

I solidify the core message for Queal

I make a comprehensive overview of my start-up knowledge

Student (2)

I blog every day (for at least 40 days)

I get 100 subscribers to my weekly blog email

I have summarized all the books I have read

Sportsman (4)

I run a sub 3.45 marathon (in 4 days, aahhhhhh)

I am under 12% body fat

I finish the iron viking

I continue to drink only occasional

Active Friend (3)

I have a dog

I continue to help 3+ friends with their businesses

I go on at least 1 (small) vacation

Philosopher Altruist (5)

I organize 3 EA Rotterdam meetings

I find a permanent team to help run the meetings

Clerk (6)

I do my personal finances every 15th and last day of the month

I pause (plan & meditate) every morning

I make amazing artwork for my house

What do you think? Too ambitious, vague, cool, boring? Or like to join any of the goals?

Public Commitment 2016 – Q1 Recap

Welcome back to an overview of my goals. Today I will look back at the first 3 months of 2016. Tomorrow I will present my goals for Q2 of 2016.

For the first quarter of 2016 I made the following goals. If you click on each goal you can read about my experiences. First, here are some general things I learned this quarter.

• Not everything goes according to plan, be accepting of your environment (try only to change what you can effectively change)
• Being accountable for a big goal can be very motivating (i.e. keep up running training when you have a marathon coming up)
• You laugh the most when you’re around other people, so be there or be square

I start LifePlanning & StudySuccess

When your company is only two (enthusiastic) entrepreneurs, things go fast. When we (Onno and I) started Queal, we were up and running in no more than 2 weeks. When working with more people, things tend to take longer.

With StudySuccess we’ve been stuck in the cogs of the university bureaucracy for months now. We really believe the intervention can help millions of students achieve more study success. Without an agreement with the university, however, we can’t go forward. Over the last months, we did make a website which will be able to go live soon. If we can start helping students next September, that’s still a question.

For LifePlanning we’ve laid the groundwork and are ready to get started. This Thursday we’re going to incorporate and then we will move into second gear. Everything looks great and if we can get the right offer-customer fit we will be rocking.

Important to note is that both projects haven’t made any money yet and therefore it’s still investing (with time). On a longer timescale (e.g. in 3 years) it will be good to see what the return on investment is.

I build Jerky to 10k revenue

Nope. This definitively didn’t happen. And there are two related reasons for this.

1. We couldn’t get AdWords and other advertising places to work. This is something that with more expertise might still work.
2. I’m flexitarian (i.e. don’t buy any meat, eat very little meat) and selling a meat product is somewhat hypocritical.

Still, I know that we can use our skills from Queal to make Jerky Empire/Outdoors work. What we need to make happen is 1) to get cracking on the online presence, 2) find out more about the lives of the cows where we get the jerky from (I know that they eat grass outdoors in Switzerland, but is this 1 day a year or always?)

I am under 90kg

Two more kg to go. I’ve lost 2kg and now hover around 92kg.

Between the marathon and the long-distance obstacle run, I will go to the gym a lot. Next to that, I will keep up my running (but of course a little less intense) and together with good food,d I believe I can make this 90kg thing happen. And maybe even less (or more muscles, because 90kg is only a proxy for ~14% body fat).

I run 24KM (Jan), I run 29KM (Feb), I run 32KM (Mar)

Hell yeah!

It hasn’t been easy (and it’s not supposed to be easy). But I’ve done my runs and are now prepared for the marathon.

Two weeks ago I went skiïng and I was afraid that my time there didn’t improve my running ability. But since I ran 10km in 47 minutes last weekend I’m confident I can make it. If I will make the 3:45, we will see.

I help 2+ friends with starting their (micro)businesses

Over the last months, I’ve been helping, at least, two friends with their businesses.

The first is coaching with Paul & Kiran. They help students by checking their spelling for documents like their thesis and motivational letters.

The second is for two German students/entrepreneurs. They are making a fitness shake that is personalized for each person. This way you get the perfect amount of the right protein, amino acids, etc.

I buy & decorate a house

This has been my most time-intensive goal. In my new house, I’ve put in a new floor (together with Stijn, Robbie, Frans, Tom, Désiree, Sjoukje, Romy, Onno and more) and painted all the walls. The kitchen, bathroom and other things were already great. And now I have a place I can call my own. And I like it.

Feel free to invite yourself for dinner or a drink.

All right, these were my goals for Q1 2016. I didn’t manage to get all my business things done, but definitively am happy with my house and the projects for good that I’m doing. See you tomorrow for the goals for Q2 2016.

Public Commitment 2016 – Q1 Update

A little over a month ago I set upon a journey of becoming a better me. Since then I’ve made the first steps toward my goals, failed to do other things and enjoyed life very much.

Entrepreneur

The two new projects I’m starting are almost ready to go. In one, we are waiting for another party to comply with our requests. In the second, we are preparing the promotional materials and have spoken to the first clients. Queal is still taking up a lot of time and from next week onwards we will probably have another FTE added. At Jerky Empire, Julian is building relationships with resellers and the websites are now both in Dutch and English. We also found out how much we could charge and the prices are now fixed.

Student

As you might have noticed I haven’t been blogging here. With other things on my plate, I just didn’t take the time to do it. Since the beginning of this month, I read my first book on running and am very inspired. Expect some blogs (about 1 a week) here soon! In the meantime feel free to read Eat and Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness by Scott Jurek.

Sportsman

With all this running I’m doing (160km in January) I feel like I’m losing weight without effort. So that good :). I ran 21KM as my longest run, so just shy of the 24KM.

Active Friend

Last month I’ve been helping one friend with starting a business. He and his girlfriend have a great idea and this month they will have their new website.

Philosopher Altruist

It’s been very frustrating, but another person started a group already for Effective Altruism (EA) in Rotterdam. But this fellow is unreachable. The first meetup is tonight and I will be at the IFFR. So I’ve made a meeting with someone else that couldn’t make it. And I hope to reach this organizer to see about the date and organizing capacity. I really want to make this big and timing shouldn’t stand in the way of that.

Clerk

I’m signing the papers tomorrow. Then I will officially be a homeowner. Friends if you have any questions about buying a house, let me know.

The Q1 Goals

Public Commitment 2016 – Q1

Based on my goals for 2016 I’ve made the following goals for the next 3 months (Q1).

These goals are more concrete and the continuing goals (i.e. habits) are not listed.

If you want to join in for any of the goals, please let me know via email, facebook or LinkedIn!

Public Commitment 2016

Dear friends, family, and interested readers,

Here they are, the goals for the year 2016! This year I’ve taken a slightly different approach, let me explain.

I’ve divided the goals into the following areas: Entrepreneur, Student, Sportsman, Active Friend, Philosopher Altruist, Clerk

The change is from area’s of life to roles I take on in my life. I think this better represents the categories of my life and also allows more overlap between the categories.

Each role can have multiple goals. Some goals may fit multiple roles and are place in the one they most identify with. The areas are sorted by priority (this year).

And below my goals is a short call-to-action for things I could really use your help on!

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 want to effectively donate some of your money? Let me know and I will update you when EA Rotterdam starts

3. Do you want to do a run together? Let me know. I normally run on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday & Sunday.

Of course, if you wish to help me in any other way, please do feel to contact me via email, facebook or LinkedIn!
“We often underestimate our ability to reinvent ourselves.” – Shankar Vedantam, host of Hidden Brain Podcast on NPR

This is the start of my 2016 journey. Great companies, big physical goals, and fun to be had!

*These goals combine to both letting me use the time to learn (about start-ups and everything involved) and bring that learning into practice at the same time

**This is an ambitious goal, based on guesstimates, but my goal nonetheless

***I want to achieve this goal around May and probably settle a little bit higher

****For this goal I want to limit drinking alcohol to once or twice a week and eating meat to about twice a month

*****I will not be on email, do work-work etc on one day of the week, this will most probably be Saturday

******Via the Effective Altruism I want to increase the amount that is given to my pre-tax income of 2015, this can (for instance) be achieved if I convince 10 people to also pledge 10%

*******The 1200 includes: groceries, dining/drinking, clothes, mortgage/internet/phone/etc, but excludes: vacation, books, medical, big one-time expenses (e.g. moving costs)

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.

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.