Preface Link to heading

Opinions expressed are solely my own and do not express the views or opinions of my employer(s). The same rule applies to rest of my blog posts. This is going to be one of those self-help blog posts, so please close this one if you’re not into all that.

Intro Link to heading

Quite a few people struggle with making and achieving their goals. The reason I’m writing this blog post is to share my way of making and achieving goals. It’s quite simple and flexible overall, so hopefully you’ll learn something from this.

Long-term planning Link to heading

We can work towards any goal we want, however, details and short-term checkpoints are important. For example, goals that sound like this have a high chance of not working out:

  • I will go to the gym and lose weight (Where and in how much time?)
  • I will get better at cooking sometime this year (Are ya sure about that?)

If you don’t know which gym to join, then you’ll be gaining weight this year; if you don’t practice cooking daily, then you’ll be eating the same frozen meal next year(this is still me btw) and if you’re not serious about something, then don’t bother planning for it to happen.

My philosophy (TLDR) Link to heading

My philosophy is quite simple:

  • Make detailed goals that are achievable at your current level
  • Do not waste time on things that you cannot control
  • Have a clear separation of work and play time
  • Focus on one major goal at a time

Let’s break it down.

Make detailed goals that are achievable at your current level Link to heading

I’m gonna talk about technical goals in this section, but the same goes for any other kind of goal. This is a tricky one if you’re new to the field of tech/cyber. My recommendation is quite straight-forward. If you’re brand new, you have a couple options:

  • Go to a university
  • Study for MCQ certs like the ones from Comptia
  • Make a website
  • Deploy said website on your domain
  • Try learning different things (cybersecurity/game dev/programming/statistics) and see what you like
  • Basically have a strong foundation

If your basics are clear, then you have some more interesting options:

  • Study for practical certifications like the ones from HackTheBox/Linux Foundation/Whatever you can afford
  • Create projects that solve some problems that you actually have
  • Attempt to find security vulnerabilities in things that you use (fun way to kill time imo)
  • Deploy and host stuff from your own homelab (password managers, photos, backups, try new software)
  • Try out kubernetes in your own environment (this can eat through time, tread carefully haha)
  • Participate in CTFs / coding competitions

Do not waste time on things that you cannot control Link to heading

Life is short, the way that we spend our time on a daily basis affects who we become in the future. One way to save time is to not spend it on things that you don’t have any control over. For example: No matter how much I worry about the current state of the world, me worrying about it won’t fix it. No matter how much I agonize over my lack of motivation (hey it happens to the best of us), the agonization itself will not help me complete the task at hand. Smartphones are the number one culprit behind this type of non-essential time spent. A lot of this comes down to how much you’re willing to sacrifice things that you deem are non-essential. The time and energy that you will save can then be channeled into achieving your goals.

Have a clear separation of work and play time Link to heading

I think that it is important to have a very clear distinction between work and play. My work should not meddle with my play time and my need to play around should not overpower my willingness to work. Planning your day in a manner where you set hours for each activity can save you a lot of mental stress. So, whenever you wake up (night shift people, I see you), make a mental list of things that you want to do on that day and plan your day around it. Work is one of the sections of your day that you have no control over, but it is good to account for the time that you will have remaining on your hands after work.

Relaxing properly is also quite important. There are some activities that take away your mental energy and some that don’t. You need to figure out the kinds of activities that either don’t consume too much mental energy or bring you more of it. For me, playing some non-competitive video games before a study session helps me focus better. Meditation or a quick nap might also do the trick, so figure out what works for you.

Focus on one major goal at a time Link to heading

In video games, we can have several small side quests, but we are always supposed to be working slowly towards the main story line. Goals work in the same way. If you create multiple goals for yourself, then you cannot focus on any of them. It is okay to have small side-quests, but time-boxing such activities is important. For example, right now, I am studying 2 hours daily for another certification (my long term goal), however, I practice my penetration testing skills on the weekends with HackTheBox. This is fine because at most I’m spending 6 hours in a week on a side-quest. If it takes any longer, I will try it again next week.

Conclusion Link to heading

Having a clear goal of who you want to be in the next couple months can be really empowering. Your goals don’t have to be technical, heck they don’t even have to make sense for others, but trying to be a better version of yourself is one of the coolest things that you can do. So, just do it.