Annual Year in Review 2022

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2022 was a great year for me. I thank God for the gift of life and good health. At no point did I visit the hospital, plus God was faithful and kept my cup overflowing with blessings. 

Nevertheless, as a tradition, I have to reflect on what went well and what didn’t and look at what I will do better in the coming year.

Health and Fitness

Despite not being sick, I still had deliberate plans to improve my physical and mental health. I initiated the 22 minutes walk per day to my team. Checked my weight ( Currently at 70 kg) which needs to be improved.

I started meditating and was encouraged to cook food other than buying ready-made food.

However, I needed to be more consistent with walking and meditation and occasionally eat semi-healthy foods. Health will come first in the coming year.

I will start cooking healthy meals with lots of fruits and veggies and also plan to start eating real food in the morning. I will also block time for meditation, preferably early in the morning. Engage in walks and join physical health clubs over the weekends.

Work and Business

2022 was alright in terms of work. I thank God my team had something to write all year round.

I was able to train them in copywriting skills. 

We did a BIG dog food project reviewing different dog food brands, breeds, and different human foods that dogs can eat. I feel more like a vet who knows in and out about dogs, with over 250 published dog food-related articles.

We got 2-3 consistent clients on SaaS, solar panels, and e-commerce.

However, I bought the copywriting course by Henneke and another by Elna Cain, which still needs to be completed. I’ve done less in branding or simply implementing what I’ve learned from the two courses.

In the coming year, I plan to have a better work-life balance. Embrace the total Shutdown on Saturday.

I will finish the course plus draw implementation work plans on what I’ve learned since knowledge without action is useless.

My greatest business goal will be branding and niching on SaaS, e-commerce, and B2B. Looking to have a big name there.

I also plan to publish 200 plus dog food-related articles in the coming year, mostly informational posts on how-to, why, and tips.

Personal life and Family

In terms of my personal life: I thank God for my family, who has been supportive throughout.

We bonded with our son and visited places and parks, the most memorable being the Nairobi Showground and the Naivasha- Soysambu WRC Safari Rally championship.

Despite the ups and downs of a young family, I thank God for what I have, although not any near-perfect. I plan to bond more with my family, take them to places both in Nairobi and mostly outside Nairobi and enjoy every moment together. Remember, we don’t have a planet B, so enjoy while you are here.

To my online family, I will love you more in the coming year.

Friends and Community

Being an introvert, I’ve very few physical friends.

I look forward to tightening my current friendship with my current team members. And look for physical friends with whom we have similarities. 

Plan to rejuvenate my friendship with mentors like Gabe from BME and be active in the Ness Labs community, plus the Elna FB group. 

Plan to start friendships and networks within my SaaS and pet nutrition niche.

Learning and Knowledge

In 2022, my goal was to read at least a book a week. Learning was part of my biggest goal as a knowledge worker. 

I managed to read  25 books, mostly non-fiction. I’ve been reading blogs on mindfulness, habits, mental toughness, business, productivity, and motivation.

To achieve this, I deliberately incorporated them into our morning routine, plus our weekly review, where my team and I share what we’ve learned over the week.

In the coming year, I want to do more, read at least 52 books, mostly non-fiction but also still sneak in some fiction.

I will also purchase more courses, at least one course per quarter.

I will also rejoin the Ness Lab community, book review programs, and pay audible for audiobooks.

I plan to buy a Kindle reader, which will give me unlimited books. I joined the National Library and plan to visit there occasionally to read.

I will read more productivity, meditation, motivational, business, and mindfulness blogs. But I need to structure it this time to have a monthly theme. Then take notes. I plan to learn to use Roam or Notion for note-taking purposes. I’m currently doing it in a notebook, which is a bit cluttered.

Finally, I will share what I’ve learned in our weekly reviews.

Travel & Culture 

I did more travel in 2022 than any other year. I’ve visited parks within Nairobi: Nairobi National park, animal orphanage, Ngong hills, snake parks, museum, Nature trails, Karura forest, Ostrich farms, mamba village, bomas of Kenya, Giraffe center, Paradise Lost, among others. My goal was to reconnect with nature.

I realized that visiting parks is very cost-effective. The much I paid was 500 bob. And travel need not be expensive. I’ve gone to Nyeri, Naivasha, Giggil, and Nanyuki.

In the coming year, I will visit more places outside Nairobi. My goal is to see all 64 national parks in Kenya. I will intentionally block my weekends for travel and experience other cultures.

I also plan to visit the beach and the coastal part. I will not do much booking or preparation but move and explore.

I can even do an out-of-country visit to Tanzania, Zanzibar, Uganda, and Rwanda around East Africa; why not.

I plan to explore and join a touring group that will enable me to visit all these places.

I will watch documentaries about places I can’t visit to get a feeling of their culture.

I also plan to test different foods, Ethiopian foods, Indian foods, and Chinese foods.

I will also taste local cuisine, mostly traditional foods, looking to attend cultural events like the Somali cultural festival. Kalenjin festivals, among others.

I also plan to meet and learn with the indigenous people, including the Elmolo. Okiek, Bushmen, and what have you.

Soon, I plan to explore the earth in totality.

Hobbies and creativity

I did little to explore my hobbies and creativity.

I started my balcony garden, but some flowers are drying up.

I plan to explore my hobbies, painting, and cooking, in the coming year. I’ve already bought an art therapy book and crayons.

I will plant more flowers and add different flower pots and vases, artificial grass, a static bike, and antic curvings.

I plan to listen to more music, different genres, and from different counties.

I will cook more and try new recipes last year; I perfected Chapatis.

Emotions and Spirituality

I was more spiritually connected than the previous year.

I shared bible scriptures and prayed with my team in our morning routine.

This has been one of our strongest pillars where we commit all our plans to God.

In the coming year, I plan to have more prayer weeks, a prayer room, prayer retreat, prayer chain, prayer seasons, prayer walks, prayer watches, fasting, and have a better connection with my creator.

I will reinforce our morning routine prayer section. Do bible reading together and pray more and more.

Journaling and meditation have been part of our morning routine, and I look forward to exploring them further. Making it deliberate and routine.

Money and Finance

I made more sales than the previous year at 77% more sales.

I made a monthly saving to my Sacco and encouraged my team to do the same.

I donated to NFSS ( rehab program), friends, and family members.

However, I still have small debts here and there. My money management skills are still wanting.

I need to separate business money and personal finances. 

I plan to save more in the coming year and encourage my team to double their savings if things go well. We’ve started with a merry-go-round.

I will reduce my “Chama” table banking and have one or two strong ones. No need to have many.

I plan to have a buffer that will be able to sustain the business during hard times.

I will be frugal, save and shop in bulk, and my family will be the priority. I will avoid debt at all costs and borrow wisely.

I will avoid being extra generous to my extended family, who will borrow and never return.

I also plan to build my first house and move away from renting.

Finally, I will adopt the NFSS rehab center and support its rehabilitation services all year round.

Wrap-Up

2022 has been a tremendous year; I’ve seen the much I can do in a year. The numbers are outstanding, and I thank God for that.

However, this is just 20% of what I can do. 

Yes!

I believe I will keep improving daily if I give my best.

Believing in hard work over luck.

In 2023, I will be up over the moon.

So help me, God.

Looking to hearing your thoughts 

Cheers