… we’ve been expecting you.

2021 started with much hope of vaccines to bring an end to the COVID-19 pandemic, alas it wasn’t enough.

A year – and three vaccines later – and there is no end yet in sight. Although hospitalisations are steady, despite the rising number of cases of the Omicron variant, so maybe there is a glimmer of hope for 2022.

As I reflect on the last year, I’ve made some achievements I’m proud of – both personal and professional.

  • Both my kids are now in school. Seeing how well the youngest took to school after months of crying when he went to nursery makes me proud of how much he has grown and settled with James and myself.
  • Worked on the software and with the team at Smartbox that allowed this partnership between Premier Software and Smartbox (Buy a Gift/Red Letter Days) to form.
  • Read 22 books, and read for 34 weeks in a row (2021 was definitely the year I re-discovered my love of reading!)
  • Released a major new version of Simply Remind Me – my free e-mail and simple SMS reminders app.
  • Launched NodeBeagle – a centralised device management platform for Linux servers and workstations.

However, I’ve not written nearly as much new content for my website as I would like to.

So for 2022, instead of setting myself ambitious targets that I inevitably will not meet, I’m keeping the bar low.

In 2022, I pledge to:

  • Continue reading at least once a week, every week of the year.
  • Continually improve my software projects (Simply Remind Me, Solid Tools for Developers, NodeBeagle) by releasing one small improvement or feature for each project every month (or 12 per project over the year.)
  • Think more positively, with a “can do” attitude all of the time (I’d rather fail trying instead of not trying at all.)
  • Stop sweating the small stuff.
  • Let go of things I cannot change, nor control.

I hope 2022 brings you great joy for you, your family and friends.