The attempts towards long term planning have been going well. After struggling through initial attempts in January, I now have Quarterly and Cyclical planning assigned for the time being, and I feel confident that the time blocked out for them is sufficient to advance their goals.

For the Q1 quarter (Jan-March) the goal is to apply for at least 100 jobs. I spend an hour, once a week, sending out applications to suitable spots. Placing the goal of getting a job in the quarterly slot implies that next quarter’s goal will remain the same, unless I am able to find a new job. Last time it took 200 applications to get an entry level job. If I assume that progressing to second rung might be twice as hard, I can assume that by the end of this year I ought to have the next job. That pace drags slightly behind what I’m planning with my wife, but stability wise feels ok.

For the C2 Cycle (Last week of Jan and first 3 of Feb) the goal is to caulk the kitchen countertops. So far I’ve established what steps I need to take, gone to home depot and acquired the materials, and this week will be cleaning the countertops, cutting away the old caulking, and applying the new. It will feel good to get some simple home maintenance finished. The following cycles will be used for career skill acquisition, probably getting certifications and practicing setting up a virtual machine.

So far we’ve really hit the ground running. Ending the year felt like an activity sprint, and this January was stumbling and catching ourselves. Figuring out these steps in the long term planning progress is like looking at the year with fresh eyes. I can see potential growth on a quarterly and cyclical basis aligning with the day to day activity trends. It looks like a solid life plan.