2023 Goals

Past goal posts (uh, not soccer, haha), are as follows: 2020 (2020 goal review) and 2022 (apparently I skipped 2021 altogether? Not surprising...). 

My main goal for 2022 was to survive til 2023. Yay, I did it! And, somehow, mysteriously, without knowingly getting covid (knock on wood). So I call that a total win.

For 2023, I'm just copying & pasting a pared-down 2022 goal list, with tweaks to suit my plans. Everything is still a mess, but honestly? I feel like I'm starting to perk up just the teensiest, tiniest bit compared to 2020, 2021, and 2022...that is a not-so-small miracle.

General Goals

1. Research ADHD time, energy, & motivation hacks, make list of 25 hacks to try, and experiment with them within my PhD work flow.
2. Try using Notion to organize my life.
   
3. Plan meals weekly, grocery shop, and cook for the week. This and flossing are about the only habits I've been able to keep up over the past 5 years! It really saves me time and is so nice to have delicious food for dinner on hand most work nights. I also now kind of enjoy putting on a podcast and cooking a meal I know I love to eat.
   
4. Dr appointments -
   
1. 2023 Optometry appt - reading glasses prescription, dry eyes treatment - US doc Nov 8
   
1. order new computer reading glasses from Zenni
2. order new anti-fog reading glasses from Zenni
2. 2023 Flu shot DONE! 6 April 2023
3. Bivalent COVID boosters every 6 mo: April DONE! 6 April 2023; NEXT: Oct 2023 - Novavax
   
4. Book check up for blood test, thyroid & ADHD scrips w/ GP (Jan 2024). Ask about HPV vax & pain in left inside shoulder.
   
5. Blood test every 3-6 months for hypothyroid, depending on TSH stability:
1. January 2023
2. July 2023 - too busy - not done.
   
3. October 2023 - too busy - not done
   
6. 2023 Dentist
   
1. May check up
2. Oct check up
   
3. Floss every day
4. Use new electronic toothbrush every day
7. ADHD/Therapy
1. Psychiatrist appt: make once I can afford it again. Appointment for diagnosis renewal scheduled for Jan 2024.
   
2. Therapy appt: make once I can afford it again
3. Look into ADHD coaches.
   
8. Research dermatologist & make appt for early 2024:
   
1. Mole map, treat anything suspicious
   
2. Treat eczema 
9. Use meditation/hypnosis youtube (I like Michael Sealey) to fall asleep at night. It really works wonders, esp if you listen regularly!!

 Finances

1. Keep track of spending.
• Update net worth every month
2. Track peer to peer lending.
3. Keep track of airpoints for travel.
4. Apply for cc's strategically: see here.
5. Stay out of debt. 
6. Finish saving $5K for 2023 US Trip. DONE! March 2023
7. Renew 2023 renter's insurance. 
8.  File US taxes.
9. File state taxes.
10. File FBAR. 
    
11. File/check NZ taxes (June/July).  I got a refund, yay! But only because I've been on the wrong tax code all year (I was on the cusp and barely squeaked over the $24K minimum to earn the Independent Earner tax credit of $520/year - apparently they do count interest towards that minimum. Hurrah! I need to be on the ME tax code instead of M.
    
12. Continue to check in on my scores quarterly via CreditKarma. (Note for future years: Equifax made me call in: 877-322-8228 to order my report--they refused me online.) 
13. When I am in the US in Nov, check Experian and Equifax credit reports from the US. 
    
14. Create and fund new medium-term savings goal of $5K to explore new hobbies and re-diversify my life, post-PhD. DONE: August 2023
15. Figure out where to put monthly overages now that I've saved for as many short-term and medium-term funds as I can think of right now. Answer for the interim: move to my savings account, and then move to term deposits / a CD ladder.
    
16. Review where is best to park my $50K House Down Payment Fund. I've already set a transfer date of 30 Aug for the whole $50K (I have it in a 60 day notice saver account). Good options so far:
    
1. I'm considering creating a CD ladder or investing a large chunk in a long-term CD (~5 years?) because of recent interest rate hikes. As of Aug 1 2023, term deposit rates at my online savings bank are 6.15% for 1 year and for 15 months. I'll need to keep a close eye on interest rates. 6% for 10 years nearly doubles this fund!
   
   My annualized return in my Kiwisaver is only 4.18% per year according to this calculator, 4.6% in my US brokerage account, 10.4% in my US Roth account, and 7.1% in my US Traditional IRA accounts. Anything that gets me close to that 7% number is great, and I'll likely throw a lot of $$ in a CD if it goes higher.
   
   
2. I can invest ~$32K more NZD in my US brokerage before hitting the NZ FIF limit, but I'll want to dollar cost average that instead of just dumping it all at once.
   
   
17. Rebalance Kiwisaver (postponed til 2024).
    
18. Look at asset allocation and diversification in my US accounts (postponed til 2024)
    
19. Investigate alternate internet and electricity plans. Consider calling up my current provider to ask questions & see if they can offer better rates than I'm getting now. Consider switching if not. Update June 24 2023: DONE. Have decided to stay with Contact on their Low User, Good Nights plan where electricity from 9 pm to 12 am is free. Will continue to monitor usage and costs to ensure I'm still getting the best deal.
    
20. Review retirement plans & create new medium and long-term goals. Update May 2023: have reviewed plans and made new goals. The goals have been added to this list and are detailed here, here, here, and here.
    
1. Set up auto-buy of $50/mo of US stocks in US brokerage account to take advantage of low stock prices at the moment. I can invest ~$30K NZD more before FIF rules kick in and NZ taxes get really complicated. Update May 2023: DONE!
   
2. Set up alerts for a good NZD-USD exchange rate - approximately 0.80 USD per 1 NZD. That is about the best rate I've seen in 15 years. If it ever hits that level I'll transfer a lot of my NZD to USD. Update May 2023: DONE!
   
3. Transfer $4500 to LendingCrowd NZ to bring total investment up to $10K. Update May 2023: DONE!
4. Move all but 2023 short term goal funds ($5800 NZD) to higher interest rate buckets of savings in Rabobank. Update May 2023: DONE!
5. Ask for a raise. Update May 2023: DONE! raise and promotion secured, but I'm still at 0.3 FTE. I need to be at the new salary rate *and* at 0.5 FTE to earn $3K/mo (after taxes and 3% Kiwisaver contributions), which is the income range where life starts to get comfortable for me.  
21.  Apply for 2 fee-free NZ cc's in late July (or after one full paycheck cycle): 
1. AMEX no fee cc. It offers 1 Air NZ airpoint per $100 spent, with a bonus 50 airpoints with a $750 spend in the first 3 months. This is a BETTER RATE than the cc I currently have, which offers 1 Air NZ airpoint per $110 spent!! and the fee is $150/year. Why? DONE: was rejected due to having too much credit with ANZ.
   
2. SBS no fee cc. For those retailers that do not take AMEX. Again, no fee, and you can earn cashback - $1 per $150 spent. Good stuff. DONE: approved + card received w/ $3.5K limit.
   
3. No fee, no foreign transaction fee cc: Westpac.
   
4. After using up air nz airmiles, cancel ANZ credit card and get rid of $150 annual fee. 
5. Re-apply for AMEX no fee cc again. AMEX no fee cc. It offers 1 Air NZ airpoint per $100 spent, with a bonus 50 airpoints with a $750 spend in the first 3 months. This is a BETTER RATE than the cc I currently have, which offers 1 Air NZ airpoint per $110 spent!!
22. Cancel United Explorer card by end June (see here: http://sensetodollars.blogspot.com/2015/06/master-travel-cc-plan.html).  DONE.
23. Apply for US cc's in early-mid-Oct to use on Nov-Dec US spending: Alaska Air & Jet Blue.
24. Research buying options / put calls as a way to buy US ETFs as a US-NZ dual citizen (mentioned here and here) - this just may be the way to invest in index funds from NZ using NZD!!
    
    

Travel/Experiences/Social

1. Talk to family at least once a week. 
2. Text or email friends at least once a week.
   
3. Travel to US in November 2023. 
1. Decide how long I'm staying in US & book flight back to NZ when flights open up. Update May 2023: flights are booked through New Year's Eve. 
1. Can I work from the US in that case? Yes, I should be able to if needed, but I plan on submitting my PhD prior to my flight back to the US.
   
2. Make eye doc appointment for that month. November 8. 
3. Make plans to see family & friends: 
4. B (mid Dec. maybe Dec 7-10?)
   
5. H
   
6. N/J/A in DC - book dates and accommodation
   
7. local aunt and cousins
8. mom's side of family in Wisconsin for wedding
1. decide timing with family and book flights
2. book house
3. book car
4. Research/fantasize about future trips when I need a pick me up: e.g. Cook Islands, Hawaii, Iceland, England, river cruise through Europe with my mom and aunt.
5. Find something fun and social (but safe) to do for Xmas 2023 and New Year's Eve 2023-24. I will be in the US then, so those are covered.
   

Work / Computer Stuff:

1. Back up personal laptop computer several times a year: April / July / October.
   
2. Back up personal laptop when at home in November/December.
   
3. Finish moving all Google work files to DropBox.
4. Look into getting new work laptop that does not freeze every 10 minutes if two applications are open or I make a change in Excel.
   
5. Check work back up system is working to back up work separately every week, month, and quarter on the first of each month. 
6. Complete drafts of: 
1. Paper 1: Code
2. Paper 2: MS
   
3. Paper 3: MA
   
4. Paper 4: GE&F's
   
5. PhD thesis.
   

That all seems sort of doable! I now need to move this list to my Master To Do list in Notion, with reminders in my Outlook calendar. Let's see how organizing my life goes...

A New Life Planning App, Notion, & 2023 Resolutions

There is just something so magical about a New Year, isn't there? Many people post about this opportunity for a blank slate every year, especially on "Productivity YouTube," but in 2023 I have gotten a bit more serious, because my main aim this year is similarly serious: I have exactly 1 year to submit my PhD thesis, or I'm just not going to get it. And if I don't get it? That's a decade of my life down the drain, extremely stressed out and earning pennies when I could have been full time at work instead and living my dreams.

That's a lot of pressure. And with pressure comes me trying to organize my life a bit more so that this serious goal is actually attainable.

I wish I had an actual plan, but every single work plan I've made thus far in my PhD over the past 10 years has gone awry. Big, unforeseen events have just caused failure every time I thought I was gaining momentum (colleague stole my samples, a pandemic, my dad got cancer, I was diagnosed with ADHD but can't take medication to treat it, my newer samples broke/disintegrated due to a fridge malfunction in the lab, my sister was diagnosed with congestive heart failure, my supervisor sabotaged me, my mom needed eye surgery)...the list never ends. When I say I've had a bad time of it...I really mean it. I feel PhD-cursed.

This year my resolutions are the normal financial and life goals (go to the dentist, do my taxes, and all that), but where I'm going to put my focus is understanding the intersection of my ADHD and time, energy, and focus management, and diving deep into the whys and hows of my motivation. I figure, if I can understand how my brain works a little bit more (instead of just beating myself up for failing at every turn), I can harness the power of my good days and treat myself with more understanding on my bad ones, thereby saving myself some time that I can use to make progress on my PhD. Maybe that will help make me more productive in my PhD? And maybe I can actually finish? And the ancillary (one could say overarching, life-altering) benefits could be that I learn how to work with my ADHD brain rather than against it going forward. In any case, I don't see a downside to this goal (other than perhaps throwing myself into a life planning method and wasting time on that instead of working on my PhD!). 

This past 12 days of mandatory work vacation days over the holidays I've taken time off for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, but the rest of the days I've thrown myself into figuring out a way to use Notion to manage my days and weeks. So far, I'm still a little bit overwhelmed and daunted about learning a whole new app and someone else's work flow set up, but I have already seen how it can save me time and help me be more organized. There are a few more bits to sort out - mainly, how to take notes online and categorize them so that they show up where and when I need them, and also work out if I *really* need a "daily reset" or if a weekly reset is more my vibe - but I'm pretty happy with it so far. 

I even have given up my go-to, Evernote, because my notes are super scattered on there and very disorganized. I also HATE that when the page refreshes it moves the cursor up to the very start of the page and I have to scroll down again. I hadn't realized how much that annoyed me until I had an alternative! For now, I've transferred about half of my Evernote notes into Notion and know exactly where to find them on the web, desktop app, and my phone. I took it for a spin recently while doing errands and it was great. I've also used it for meal planning like I used to use Evernote and it was seamless. So far, so good!

OK, I'm off to update my 2022 goals for 2023 - they'll likely be the same as last year, with a few little tweaks here and there. What are your 2023 resolutions? And what do you use to organize your life?