It's been a bit since I last wrote, but I wanted to write a quick piece about New Year's Resolutions.

At the end of every year, many of us look back at the past year and try to come up with things we'd like to do differently in the coming annum. Dieting and exercise are probably near the top of most people's personal lists, of course, but I think setting some resolutions can also be good for your career.

Like any good goal, a resolution should be something realistic and achievable. Ideally it should be specific (e.g. "exercise at least once a week" instead of "exercise more") to allow you to measure your progress. And of course you should have a timeframe in mind. Often it's just "before the end of the year" but sometimes it's something different. But you should also allow yourself to adjust your resolutions, and give yourself a chance to redeem yourself if you mess up. Get someone else involved (friend/partner/coworker/accountant) so they can cheer/nag you on. And yes, the emphasized words above fit into that handy goal acronym -- S.M.A.R.T. -- that I discussed a while back on setting goals.

Resolutions should be something that are important to you. Think back about the missed opportunities over the past years. Think about what you wish you accomplished but didn't. Think about how good it'll feel to cross those things off your list, and look back, a year from now, feeling better about yourself and your career. Force yourself to consider the above reasons every day, and you'll be further towards making things happen.

Anyhow, in the spirit of resolutions, here are my techie resolutions for 2007:

1. Get a multi-exam technical certification
   I've been studying on & off for the MCAD but have always been "too busy" to get it and wasn't sure if it was even necessary. Well, I want to get it done. Maybe the MCAD, maybe MCPD, maybe something else. But some sort of Microsoft certification that involves more than one exam. It's possible that during the year I may do a non-Microsoft cert instead, but we'll see.
2. Publish something technical
   It can be as simple as publishing an article on a site like 4GuysFromRolla, or maybe authoring a column for a printed magazine. Or even being involved in a book. But I think it'll be good for my career and my personal development to push myself and publish something. Sure, blogging takes some effort, but writing a focused, clear, and useful article is a new level of contribution.
3. Speak somewhere
   I had a chance to speak at Portland's Code Camp 2006 this year. It was fun, a lot more work than I expected, and a great learning opportunity. I want to repeat that experience again in 2007.
4. Learn about and/or get involved in something new technology-wise
   I want to branch out and get some experience and involvement in something substantial in the technology world. Maybe it's working more closely with GData, or deeper experience with mobile development, or using Ruby on Rails for a few projects. But I'd like to spend enough time with something that you might call a niche so that I can talk intelligently about it, help others with it, and/or specialize in it if I wanted to.
5. Get a new computer
   I love my overclocked Athlon XP 2100+ dearly, but it's time to upgrade. Visual Studio is slow enough, and I'll be doing more and running more in the year ahead. I suppose I could scrap it all and go the Notepad + Mono route, but I really like strong IDEs. Plus who knows what new games are coming out in 2007. :)

That's all for now. There are other things I'd like to do next year, but they're smaller, less important (to me), and I don't want a huge list. You'll notice my resolutions are a bit on the generic side, partly because technology moves so quickly and I haven't 100% decided how I'd like to fulfill them yet.

Hopefully I've encouraged a few people to make some 2007 techie resolutions for themselves, and provided some ideas on some fun and useful things to resolve to. In case my list isn't for everyone's taste, here are some other good (IMO) techie resolutions that people might choose:

• Update your resume
• Start a blog and/or personal web site
• If you're not ready to write articles, post some code samples up on CodeProject.
• Attend a conference or trade show. See some presentations, talk to a few people, and hand out your business cards. Code Camps are good because they're informal and free, but anything that exposes you to people, ideas, and sunlight is good.
• Join (or start!) a local users' group and attend some meetings. It's a great way to network with others, get ideas and feedback, and snarf some pizza.
• Share your technical knowledge with others in need. Volunteer your services for a school, church, or non-profit. Tutor kids on computer skills. Teach or help out with a YMCA class.
• Clean out your basement and donate all those older computers, monitors, cables, and whatnot to groups that can refurbish them and put them to use. Check out Microsoft's Computer Donation Tips page for ideas and places to donate. You'll be helping others and getting a tax writeoff at the same time.
• Get involved with something technical outside of work, e.g. make your own mashup, contribute regularly to technical newsgroups, or help out with open source projects on SourceForge or CodePlex.
• Implement a backup scheme so your pictures, documents, and code don't get lost in case something happens to your computer or home.
• Be proactive about your career by learning a new system, using a new tool, or maybe even transitioning to a new position and/or company.
• Replace your ugly, power-hungry, eye-hurting CRT monitor with a nice LCD. You can find a 19 incher on NewEgg for $200 or less, and believe me, you and the environment will be glad you did it.