2024: Goals and Challenges

Ricardo Vargas -

Today I share some of my goals for the new year, 2024. More than mere resolutions, these are my commitments for the upcoming year. Bear witness, and at the end of the year, let's assess how I responded to these challenges.

Personal Goals and Discipline

I am no longer as young as I think I am. Being a parent means someone is following my example. This should be a constant reminder to be consistent in what I say and do. This commitment leads me to reassess my habits and be more cautious when making decisions.

Therefore, I understand that I must commit to reorganizing crucial aspects of my life. Here are some priorities:

  • Maintain a healthy lifestyle through a balanced diet and regular, consistent exercise.
  • Address my sleep issues. Sleep is vital for concentration and overall health, is crucial for managing the time needed to fulfill my schedule this year.
  • Read regularly as part of my habits. Reading is essential for holistic development, enhancing skills that can't be acquired in any other way.
  • Soak in the morning sun and meditate on things I am grateful for.
  • Tend to personal matters of great importance, which I won't share here, hoping to have the necessary divine wisdom to overcome these obstacles.

Travel

I love to travel and explore new cultures. While I haven't finalized my list of destinations for this new year, I will update this entry with its additions. Immediately, I know Colombia will be one of the destinations to visit this year.

Reading

I'm not an avid reader, so unlike my previous aspirations, I like the idea of not complicating the goal with an excessive book list. My goal is five books, focusing on quality over quantity.

The books to read will be:

If I complete the list ahead of schedule, I will add new books and share them publicly.

Supporting Others

One of my ongoing commitments is to add a project to support others with whom I have some form of relationship, be it personal or friendship. This year, I hope to support two projects:

  • Felipe Gavilán Diputado: Felipe is a young candidate for deputy in the National District in constituency number 3. His unique approach to his campaign, coupled with his consistency in words and actions, motivates me to support him. I hope fellow Dominicans back such initiatives for a better country for future generations.
  • CAMINANTES: This board game project is on development by a talented Dominican Designer and Pastor whom I admire. Having heard about this project years ago and initiated the first version of an idea I couldn't complete, this time, with more experience and a clearer vision, I hope to actively support this project to fruition.

SEISIGMA - Projects and Businesses

CONTABLE v.2.0 (SaaS)

My first SaaS and part of the projects I take pride in. But a product is not a business. This is a significant lesson from 2023 and the reason I must ensure this new version has what it takes for success. This second version focuses on a mass consumer product that can be used in various sectors, converting a recurring and time-consuming task into a simple and attractive process for its users.

Technologies: PHP (Laravel) ∙ MySQL ∙ Vue.js ∙ TypeScript ∙ Hybridly (Replacement for Inertia) ∙ OpenAI Whisper

CONDOMERA (SaaS)

This idea has matured for 7 years and is yet to be concluded. It's time to close this chapter and complete it once and for all. I've always said it's the project of my dreams, but I haven't put in enough effort to make it a reality. It's time to change that.

Technologies: PHP (Laravel) ∙ MySQL ∙ Vue.js ∙ TypeScript ∙ Hybridly (Replacement for Inertia)

'ToyEnCine (Website)

This is not a business project per se but rather a project that symbolizes my love for the Seventh Art, as well as the desire to take a hobby to the next level. At the same time, it symbolizes a commitment between my best friend and me. Let's see if 2024 allows us to conclude this cherished project we've procrastinated on.

Technologies: Nuxt/Vue.js ∙ TypeScript ∙ Supabase

The list goes on, but I believe being honest is about setting limits. Let's first aim to close at least two items on the list for this new year 🙂. If I achieve all three, I'm content.

Professional Goals

Consolidate my Personal Website

I currently have two portals under one domain. I use Joomla as the main website and Ghost to manage my blog. I want to handle everything on a single platform to simplify maintenance tasks and improve the SEO of my personal brand. So, I've decided to use Ghost as the final solution to unify both projects.

Ghost

Since Ghost will be my main platform, I need to work on various projects related to extending the product. These developments will serve both as solutions to my issues and potential products for third-party sales. Among the requirements I want to work on within the platform are:

  • Custom Theme: Ghost is an interesting niche from which I can benefit, given my experience with larger CMSs like Joomla and WordPress. Taking a moment to learn how to extend this platform can be very beneficial in terms of additional income.
  • Build a Resend Plugin for mass mailings: Currently, Ghost is limited to working with Mailgun in its Self-Hosting version. I understand that an additional Resend plugin would reduce costs and simplify the email-sending process.
  • Automatic Article Translation to other languages: This would be an integration with the system to translate existing articles into other languages. This solution, besides solving my problem, can become a SaaS product for third parties using Ghost.

Open Source

Open source equals collaboration. So, this year, despite the challenges, I want to contribute my bit and share some solutions that may help other professionals. Here is the list of packages I want to develop this year:

GitHub / Packages

  • LemonSqueeze.php: I started this package last year during my most productive time. Unfortunately, due to various factors, I had to abandon the development abruptly and indefinitely. I think it's time to pick it up and complete it. This is a pending project I must finish. Don't give up.
  • dgii-tools: Package for Validation of Electronic Invoices and other services related to the General Directorate of Internal Taxes of the Dominican Republic. This is another project that has been on hold for quite some time but is a prerequisite to finishing some of this year's projects.
  • CybersourceSA.php: VisaNet/Portal Payment Gateway. This is a package that has been on my pending projects list for a long time. I think this year I must tackle it and fulfill this promise.

PHP Dominicana

I thank God for allowing me to be part of this valuable community where I have found invaluable friends who were a great support during my most challenging moments last year.

This year, I hope to fulfill an old promise and develop the long-awaited Professionals Directory that I promised to the community, aiming to serve as a motivation mechanism for its members. It's time to pay the debt.

Study and Professional Development Goals

Part of professional growth and longevity in any career is keeping the flame of learning alive. For this reason, I ensure to complete a list of short courses and certifications that will help maintain my relevance in the professional market in the short, medium, and long term. Below is my ambitious education list for 2024:

Laracast

Others of interest but not mandatory:

Spatie

VueMastery

VueSchool

Udemy

Others of interest but not mandatory:

Other Important Courses

The list may seem long, but the reality is that most of these courses are short and cover very specific topics. Since most of these topics are similar, it makes the learning process friendlier and avoids the frustrations of learning something entirely new. The goal is to solidify my knowledge in areas that will help me achieve this year's goals.

Certifications

This goal is critical for me; it has cost me a considerable investment 💰, and I believe it should add weight to the commitment. I have not completed certified academic courses for a long time, and the truth is, it requires the discipline to show up every day, whether I want to or not, to close the cycle. I accept the challenge.

The Linux Foundation

Others of interest but not mandatory:

Work

ZipDev has been a welcoming home for my professional life. Here, I have found a place where my professional development and love for the technologies I master converge. I commend the great work they do in placing each member alongside clients with similar qualities, values, and cultures, along with great professionals. I believe working on the project I'm involved in has been a blessing. This year, I hope to continue contributing to the project and increase my value within the team.

Other Possible Projects

Although I haven't clarified the action plan to tackle these projects yet, I share them, hoping they serve as motivation to manage my time wisely:

  • Take at least one online course on one of the following topics:
     - Vue 3. From Beginning to Ninja.
     - TypeScript for Vue.
     - From Vue to Nuxt.
  • Start a Podcast.
  • Improve my digital marketing and sales skills.

Fun Facts

Finally, I share three anecdotes that I find interesting and are the result of my experiences from the past year:

  • TypeScript, Vue, and PHP were the languages I used the most throughout the year. - See the Tweet
  • I haven't found an organizational platform that satisfies all my demands. I'm trying a new one called Ellie, which seems quite interesting. I've tried: ClickUp, Omnifocus, Microsoft ToDo, ToDoist, and a few more. ClickUp, Omnifocus, and Ellie are in the top three. I'll confirm my final decision.
  • I gifted a Platzi subscription to several people and family members for a year; none of them took advantage of it, not completing a single course. Either Platzi is not a good platform, or people don't want to study.

Well, that's all. It's been a lengthy article that took me several days to conclude. The goal was to send it on the first day of this month, but I simply rested. It was the right way to start the year before returning to the routine.

I hope my summary and list of new goals motivate you to take action on yours. Happy New Year, and let's go for it.

Carpe Diem.