Better Late Than Never: My 2018 Recap and 2019 Action Items

Celebrating one of the first days of 2019 at a beautiful beach in Mahe, Seychelles

And just like that, we’re in 2019. Happy New Year everyone.

In honor of the tradition I started two years ago on my blog, Deserve Your Great Life, I’m sharing a recap of my 2018 experiences (with status updates) and action items for 2019, organized by key categories.

2018 ACTION ITEMS

TRAVEL

• Travel to at least 3 states within Nigeria I’ve never visited (1/3; Enugu)
• Travel to at least 2 countries outside of Nigeria (1/2; Sierra Leone)

MONEY

• Stick to a strict monthly budget (for the most part, yes; used the iSaveMoney app)
• Document weekly expenses & review monthly (did really well for the first half of 2018; dropped off in second half)
• Remain disciplined with tithing (fully on track and proud of it!)

FAITH & SPIRITUALITY

• Start and end my day with “thank you” (did really well for the first half of 2018; dropped off in second half and then picked back up in November)
• Give more empathy and forgiveness to others (for the most part, yes; I continue to work on this)
• Give less energy to worry (did well during first half of 2018; less stable in second half)
• Say ‘NO’ to toxic, waste-my-damn-time, not-good-for-my-blood-pressure relationships (I did pretty well on this!)

PURPOSE & PASSION

• Upload 48 posts onto my lifestyle blog(deserveyourgreatlife.com) in 2018 (FAIL on this; only uploaded 6 posts and most recent was in April 2018)
• Keep post topics diversified (Yes, managed get some variety into 6 posts :)
• Finally transfer from Blogger to WordPress (No)
• Finally hold a“Special Event” in January (YES! Held two intimate and wonderful Dinner, Drinks, and Discussions, ‘D3’, ladies events; stressful to plan however the outcomes included new connections and friendships formed — pictures below)

D3 Launch Event: Angel Adelaja (Founder/CEO of Fresh Direct Produce and Co-Founder/ED of We Farm Africa) speaking to the ladies about the ‘nitty gritty’ of starting up a company or organization

Delmwa Deshi-Kura (award-winning TV/Film Writer, Producer, and Director) providing insights and tips on how to effectively communicate in the workplace

Some of the lovely ladies at the D3 launch event

Dinnertime!

Speed networking session!

D3 Event 2: Registration time

Mrs. Dayo Benjamins-Laniyi (renowned MC and Media Entrepreneur) speaking to the ladies on how to effectively navigate through anxiety, depression, and stress

Speed networking session

Game time!

Ladies supporting Ladies :)

Boomerang fun with our beautiful event MC :)

READING

• Read MORE (Read quite a bit — mostly articles; Harvard Business Review articles, Gates Notes articles, McKinsey articles, Forbes articles; Seth Godin articles, ‘A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions’ by Chimamanda Adichie)

NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS

• Created a Tuesday Management & Leadership series on LinkedIn and kept it up throughout 2018
• Co-authored a scientific research paper in the BMC Public Health Journal in 2018 on an sms-based mobile health initiative implemented across Africa (‘AVADAR’)
• Got a promotion at work (resulted in a relocation to Sierra Leone)
• Reconnected with a friend from years past; it’s like we never stopped being friends — we’re still as in sync as ever (our convos are the best!)
• Gained weight: lost a lot of weight due to stress in 2017 which scared me; finally found more joy and peace in 2018 and got my “slim thick” back
• Courses: Grant Writing, A1 level French, and PRINCE2/PRINCE2 Agile certifications in Project Management (na God’s grace and St. Rita of Cascia. The exams were wicked! Images below)

I always said I wouldn’t be one of those people that obnoxiously shared their certifications online — I lied! After the sufferhead I suffered for these exams, you must see it live and direct…LOL

• Events: Attended the WIMBIZ event in Abuja and Women Founders Event in Freetown (can’t find the pictures for either one on my phone…hmmm)
• Listened to a lot of great music and danced A LOT
• In the spirit of saving the best for last, Ikechi and I tied the proverbial ‘knot’…he’s a GREAT man and I’m beyond lucky — pictures of some parts of our story below :)

Mr. and Mrs. :)

L: Hubby, I, my daddy-o (in mustard yellow) and the village elders R: My daddy-o saying a blessing over us and our marriage :)

Goofy much? :)

L: Feeding giraffes in Nairobi R: Easter Sunday celebrations

2019 ACTION ITEMS

TRAVEL

• Travel to at least 3 countries I’ve never visited

MONEY

• Stick to a strict monthly budget & review expenses month-end
• Remain disciplined with tithing
• Start investing in real estate

FAITH & SPIRITUALITY

• Start and end my day with ‘thank you’ to God
• Have daily conversations with God; NEED IT
• Give more empathy and forgiveness to others
• Give less energy to worry
• Say “NO” to toxic, waste-my-damn-time, not-good-for-my-blood-pressure relationships
• Read my Bible more and enjoy it more :)

PURPOSE & PASSION

• Upload at least 12 posts in 2019 (let us scale back on this one)
• Keep the post topics diversified
• Finally transfer from Blogger to WordPress
• Organize two “Dinner, Drinks, and Discussions” events
• Write my first book (a personal memoir of sorts)

READING

• Continue reading articles related to business, management, leadership, communications, and marketing
• Read more books (incl. Becoming by Michelle Obama)

ADDITIONAL

• Do LESS (focus on fewer goals at a time increases probability of achieving them in a shorter period of time)
• Continue LinkedIn series
• Continue French studies
• Improve communication in my most cherished relationships
• ‘Adaeze Body 2.0.’ (sustaining high energy throughout the day is proving to be a challenge; time to make exercise a part of my routine…gehn gehn!)

There we have it peeps — a summary of my 2018 and 2019 plans.

I wish us all a 2019 filled with even more genuine love, intense laughter, new learning, fulfillment, great music, a lot of dancing, delish food, and at least 90% of action items achieved :)