Twelve days of my 20s - Day 12


I don’t usually go for making lists of achievements/goal setting, as I think it constrains one, but possessing a sense of direction is never a bad thing, so I am compiling a list of things I want (or have already achieved) by the time I am 40:

  1. Have a stable job, earning 6 figures;.
  2. Learn to fly a glider;
  3. See HucklowNet LTD to become a stable company;
  4. Grow more of my own food;
  5. Have more fun, basically stop worrying about the future.

For number 1, I’m almost there, but I’m learning tax reasons mean I probably shouldn’t move up anymore anyway - what a stupid system.

Number 2 was on my 20’s list (not that I have that anymore), but never achieved it.

Number 3 is probably also done, as we have been going 10 years without significant issues, and we’re now making a small profit.

4 I’m actively working on growing lots of fruit and vegetables in my Aunt’s patches. This is also helping with number 5.

Although 5 sounds reckless, I have often had the balance between enjoying myself now and retirement not quite right. I’m setting some detailed finance-based goals whilst seeking professional support for these. My hope is that I can chill out a little; hey, the future may never come. On recommendation from the FT Weekend, I tried Guiide to calculate what my pension prospects looked like - the result: not good! Basically, I need to increase my pension contributions by 4-8% if I want to retire at 55 (which is one long-term goal), so I guess the balance is between working harder now or working longer later.

Aside from the list, I have been thinking a lot about AI, as anyone in technology will have. I’m not one of these AI fanatics, but I see we’re at the beginning of an adoption curve that I want to be a part of. Some ideas are brewing about how one might certify or accredit AI models and how this could be commercialised.