2014 was a good year. I started flying solo on more projects, became more confident in my own abilities, had an awesome Dreamforce, and began to get a bit more comfortable in my own skin. Largely in part due to me finally saying to myself “screw it, just do what you’re gonna do and don’t worry about what others think of you” — I’d like to say that I’ve held on steadfast to that mantra, but like any new years resolution I had my moments :)

I released two original Salesforce related songs, one of which found quite a following due the the existence of a well established “ThatWhySFDCAdminsDrink” hashtag, the other — not so much. However, I did it. I put myself out there and just said “to hell with it” and I had fun doing so, and plan to do so again (so you may get sick of me).

Since we’re on the subject of what I hope to do this year, maybe this is the perfect time to talk about the traditional “New Year’s Resolutions” — these are probably more “goals” than anything else, but I’m stalling so:

Salesforce/Career:

Since I already have my developer cert, and since @KevinSwiggum wants me to get my admin cert, I suppose I should focus on getting that taken care of this year. It really was supposed to happen during my “employment year” so I technically still have until May and I’d like to meet that goal, but when you are part of a small company — priorities shift. I may not make May — but I want to have it done this year.

While we are speaking of certifications, if I indeed make the May timeframe, I’d like to move on to my advanced admin certification. It just seems like something I should do and its something I may not need, but I want. Its the first time ever I’ve actually *wanted* to get a certification.

I want to be more present in the Success Communities. Not just with the music that I hope to continue writing, but in answering questions and being more present and available overall. This will likely prove to be the most difficult for me as hanging out in the Success Communities during work hours is something I don’t want to make a habit of, and being a family man, doing so after hours isn’t ideal either. However, I think I can add value and will continue to figure out a way to do so.

Lastly, I want to find a way to get through the workday with less distraction. Often times I’m coding away and I’ll notice an incoming message or notification of some sort. These notifications are very rarely “important” for work so the less I give them notice during the day, the better. That may mean only checking my email at specific intervals during the day, turning off Twitter desktop notifications, etc. The really important things will fall through to my phone from those people that really need me.

Personal:

Get back to the gym. I was a three-day-a-week gym rat for a good part of the year, however since I was going over the lunch hour it began to feel as if I was taking too much time away from work. I’m not one of those people that can get up and work out a 5am — my body just doesn’t respond during that time. My mid-day workouts feel better. In April my contract with my current gym is up and I can switch to the gym that practically shares a parking lot with my employer. That will make the lunch hour workouts easier, so its just a matter of getting “something” done between now and then.

Try to write a new song a month. These won’t necessarily all be SFDC related, but I truly enjoy the process. However, I don’t expect this one to stick as I tend to run hot and cold with my creative streaks. I’m also very picky and if it takes me more than 30 minutes to get lyrics down on paper I usually toss the whole thing. Words should just flow and if I’m struggling to make things fit I feel like you can tell in the final result.

Try to play my trumpet on a weekly basis. The trumpet was my primary instrument for 14 years of my life and then apartment life began and I had no place to practice without making neighbors angry. I’ve since lost whatever it was I had back in school. Nowadays, when I hear a Maynard Ferguson tune, or any other trumpet player for that matter — I find I miss it. I’ve got quite a bit of work ahead of me for this but am looking forward to it.

Lastly, blog. I missed a couple weeks at the end of this year due mostly to workload, but hitting a deer with my truck and lack of content that I thought would be actually “something worth saying” were major factors.  I think coming off of Dreamforce with a high level of excitement like I did set me up with some high expectations for myself in this arena. It wasn’t much “work” for the first couple of weeks, but now I’m feeling the true “burden” of coming up with something worth writing. All I can do is try.

In closing, I know some of these things will slip but if I can at least find balance between work, home and my first love music then 2015 should be a good year.

What are some of your hopes for the coming year?

 

:wq!

 

In keeping with my concept of copping out wrapping up the previous month’s events that I found interesting, or mentioned here on the blog, I copped out present to you the latest edition of the Wednesday Wrap-Up. *cough* cop out *cough*

Personal Happenings:

• I released a Salesforce Christmas song titled “Christmas in the Cloud” — Consumption has been really low though. Hey they can’t all be awesome its not like I’m Taylor Swift or something! (note to self: never release on the day before a holiday during a short work week…#duh)
• Thanksgiving happened, we hosted — ate too much, then had Thanksgiving Part Deux at another relative’s house where nobody quite understands what it is I do exactly.  “I do computers” thanks @Michaelforce
• I was given way too much credit for helping Sarah Deutsch write this parody. #Awesomeness — I maybe added three or four lines, but it was a blast to be involved even that much.

Industry Happenings (that I actually cared about):

Okay, confession time: I was very disconnected this month from anything that wasn’t project related. I’ve been living in a self-absorbed worldly mix of jQuery, Visualforce and Apex for several of my clients. Apple could have released the next big thing and I’d have missed it. Throw in the holiday on top of that and for all I know, we’ve invented teleportation, space elevators, and consumer-grade flying cars. To be honest, anything that did catch my eye I forgot to bookmark, except for this: (hint, someone hooked up their car to Salesforce).

So to make it up to all four of my readers — I have some Ello invites hanging around here somewhere, if you want one, let me know.

 

:wq!