Looking back, over the shoulder - my 2024 retrospective

This year i'm summarizing for the sixth time, my annual summary of the past year. I typically complete in mid-January and this year is no special. While many people reflect on their year at the end of December or the beginning of January, I prefer to do it later.

The reason is simple: some tools I use to track and document my life only provide their summaries in early January. As there’s a lot of information to process, and I like to process the number through and add own commentary to the raw data, it takes some time. For me, the most important part of the summary isn’t the numbers or statistics but rather reflecting on my progress — where I am now and whether my actions have contributed to achieving my larger goals. That’s why it doesn’t matter to me whether the summary is done a week earlier or later.

The focus for me isn’t on individual actions, but rather on the habits I have formed over time and my consistent effort toward goals.

Summary (TL;DR version): I was less successful in achieving several goals last year compared to 2023, largely due to significant life changes like the birth of a new child and a job change, but still had a blast last year!

The changes in my life disrupted the routines I had settled (eg switched from home-office to office environment), requiring adjustments to a new rhythm, which didn’t go as smoothly as I’d hoped.

Last year also taught me the importance of data backups. When my phone unexpectedly broke, I lost some irreplaceable data, leaving this year’s statistics incomplete — particularly for things like podcast listening, though there are missing information gaps elsewhere too.

Now, let’s move on to the results. As always, when I have year-over-year comparisons, I’ll indicate the trends with icons: ?? for improvement and ?? for a decline compared to the previous year.

Main Goal: A Healthy and Long Life

My primary goal is to live a long, healthy life, as it forms the foundation for achieving all other objectives. As genetics plays a big role in this I will try to add to it by being physically active. I firmly believe that taking care of yourself is essential to being able to care for your loved ones.

Here’s an overview of my progress in this area in 2024:

• Steps Taken ??: 2,008,022 steps (?? -232,494). This data is based on Exist and Google Fit, but I suspect some steps were missed due to a phone issue described earlier. The most number of steps i did were September 8th during Tallinn Marathon (40,292 steps), the Scouts' Hike what i did on March 28th (38,360 steps), and September 21 (21,955 steps) - running + mowing the lawn.
• Average Steps per Day: 7,858 steps (?? -26 compared to 2023, based on Suunto), confirming that the yearly total number of steps may actually have been higher.
• Weight ??: +2 kg (??). Not a great year — what I had lost earlier came back. Definately will focus on this in this year.
• Average Sleep ??: 7 hours 9 minutes (?? +8 minutes). This was 30 minutes more than in 2022. There is a lot of research supporting that longer sleep strengthens overall health (sleepdata from Suunto).
• Cycling ??: 720 km (?? +270 km). I cycled to work and daycare more often, involving my kids whenever possible.
• Running ??: 1,030 km (?? -56). My goal was 1,000 km, which I met, so all cool.
• Long Walks ??: 99 km (?? +24 km, tracked via Strava).
• Total Time Spent on Physical Activities: 229 hours 17 minutes (?? -1 hour 47 minutes). My own goal was to have 15 hours of monthly physical activities. I exceeded my goal by 4 hours 6 minutes. Still there were three months where I fell below 10 hours a month, but also several where I exceeded 30 hours.
• Push-Ups: 1,980 (?? -960). Could do better than that.

Other notable activities for supporting health and longevity:

• Relaxation: I visited spas five times with my family, including one visit with my wife to celebrate our wedding anniversary for the first time in four years. The next opportunity will likely come in 2028.
• Blood Pressure: 134/78. I worked to stabilize my previously fluctuating blood pressure.

Second Major Goal: Expanding Horizons and Gaining New Experiences

Life becomes exciting through both small and big experiences. Curiosity and new knowledge keep the mind sharp and fresh. One of the biggest contributors to broadening my horizons last year was changing jobs. After nearly seven exciting and challenging years at my previous workplace Mooncascade, I felt the need for a new environment and different tasks for personal growth. Beyond this, I also gained new experiences in other areas.

• Books Read ?? 40 (?? -3) totaling 11,763 pages (?? +553). I met my goal of 40 books, although the last weeks of December required some effort to finish everything as planned. Of these, 3 were non-fiction, 7 were aimed at youngadults, 29 were sci-fi, horror, or fantasy, and 7 were other fiction. The book The Sound and the Fury and series The Chronicles of Narnia, were part of my goal to read classic literature.
• French Practice: Spent 1,653 minutes (?? -1,541 minutes) or roughly 28 hours improving my French skills in Duolingo.
• Dining Out ???: My wife and I visited 11 restaurants (?? -1). Despite the slight drop, we enjoyed memorable meals, including at Oiu Sadamarestoran and Kampus, as well as events like “Maitsev Tartu” and “Uma Mekk.”
• Beer Tasting ??: I tried 64 different beers (?? -38) from 45 styles (?? -17), with 47 of them being totally new to me. My favorite style for the third year in a row was Sour Fruited, and my top-rated beers were Pühaste’s Made in Singapore and Crimson Kiss, Pihtla’s Leivakali, Mikkeller’s Limbo Riesling, and Brouverij Mort Subite’s Kriek Lambic (all rated 4.25/5). Beer tasting usually happened on weekends, though Tuesdays stood out as well. The beers were from 38 different breweries.
• Concerts: Attended 2 major events—Sting’s concert and the Tartu Song Festival.
• Travel: A highlight of the summer was visiting Vormsi Island, fulfilling my 30-year-old dream to go there.

Third Major Goal: Financial Stability to Support Other Goals

Financial stability is a foundational "hygiene factor" for me—if I don’t take care of it, no one else will. Neglecting finances would make it challenging to achieve other personal goals. Since I work as an employee, my financial well-being is closely tied to my performance at work.

Here’s an overview of my financial and work-related progress and facts in 2024:

• Slack Messages: Sent 8,585 messages across four Slack environments (?? -7,226). The drop is likely due to changes in job responsibilities and switching workplaces. At my new job, face-to-face communication with the team has become more common due working in office environment.
• Jira Tasks: Created 35 tasks at the new job (data from the old job wasn’t recorded).
• Holidays and Payd leave: Took 61 leave days, largely influenced by paternity leave following the birth of my child (?? +22 days).
• Investment Portfolio goal: Achieved 116.88% of my portfolio growth goal (?? 87% in 2023), thanks to strong stock market performance, disciplined investing, and compound interest.
• Third Pension Pillar: Fully achieved my contribution goal for the third consecutive year ??? 100% (?? consistent with past years).
• Savings and Investments: Reached 97.5% of my savings and investment goal (?? compared to 100% in 2023).
• Passive Income: Achieved 96.66% of my goal for generating passive income ?? through dividends and interest (?? 57.75% in 2023).

Fourth Major Goal: Giving Back to the Community and World

Beyond ensuring the well-being of myself and my loved ones, I aim to give something back to the world. Whether through my own time, financial contributions, or other means, my goal is to help the world progress in a way I’d like to see.

Contributions in 2024:

• Biggest Contribution: Welcomed a new family member—my daughter Marie was born in October, adding +1 to the world.
• Volunteer Work in Defense: Dedicated 489 hours (?? -236.5 hours) to the Estonian Defence League (Kaitseliit). The reduction was due to choosing to spend more time with family and also there were fewer large-scale exercises where i could participate (e.g., one overlapped with my daughter's birth). Despit this I still participated in 4 reserve training assemblies. Other notable contributions were:Assisted as an instructor for the Junior Non-Commissioned Officer Course at the Defence League School, Served as an evaluator for Western and Northeastern District NCO courses. Acted as a supporting judge for a checkpoint in the Pitka Recon Challenge.
• Blood Donations: Donated blood ?? 4 times (?? +1). Fell short of my 5-donation goal due to illness and a tick bite that delayed eligibility.
• Charitable Giving: Donated €790, distributed across three causes: Childrens fund (Lastefond), NGO Mondo, and the Ukraine Armed Forces fund — last ones both supporting Ukraine.
• Student Fraternity Activities: Actively participated in Fraternitas Tartuensis as a philister. Key efforts included: Leading the alumni council and contributing to the publication of a new songbook. Participated in 14 major events, including guest evenings, anniversaries, ad-hoc beer gatherings, Indipendance Day celebrations, cleaning day, summer days, shooting tournaments, and Christmas party. Took part in internal competitions, such as the Sinililler?nnak and visits to Estonian War of Independence memorials. Over the summer, I visited 18 additional monuments, completing 97% of all known Estonian War of Independence memorial sites. Remaining sites include:Two monuments in Helsinki. A plaque in Paide, now housed in a church. Memorial plaques at Hugo Trefner Gymnasium and in Long Island, USA.
• Fraternity Communication: Sent 4,484 messages in the fraternity’s Discord channel (?? +1,028).

Additional Highlights from the Year

Beyond the main goals and activities, many other exciting and memorable things happened. Here’s a brief overview:

Interesting Facts from the Past Year:

• Rainy Days: Out of 366 days, 178 were rainy ??? (?? +6 more than the previous year). A particularly memorable rainy day was during a visit to Vormsi Island with my spouse, where we ended up taking shelter with Highland cattle in heavy rain on a hiking trail.
• Sunny Days: Despite the rain, there were also 25 completely sunny, clear days ?? (?? +8 more than the previous year).
• Anniversary Celebration: For the first time in four years, my spouse and I got to celebrate our wedding anniversary—on February 29th.
• Daily Mood Rating: On a scale of 1 to 10, my average daily mood was 7, the same as in 2023.
• Instagram Activity: Posted 89 times on my personal Instagram (?? -3 posts compared to 2023).
• Trello Task Completion: Resolved 18 tasks on my home Trello board (?? -15 fewer tasks).
• Bolt Rides: Used Bolt 21 times (+3), including: 14 car rides ?? (+6). 7 e-scooter rides ?? (-3). Covered a total of 126 kilometers (+34), spending 162 minutes on rides (?? -66 minutes).

Final Thoughts:

As I’ve said before, my goals must always be F.U.N. — Fantastic, Unique, or Nice. These numbers and facts shouldn’t be taken too seriously but simply as a fun and interesting review of the year. If you have any thoughs or ideas on your own - what to track or how to track, you are welcomed to share them with me.