I like to begin each year with a list of goals and milestones to work toward. This year, I've compiled 10 goals that follow a unique theme: 25. Committing to doing something 25 times in a year means aiming for once every other week, with one skip (since (25+1) × 2 = 52, the number of weeks in a year). Alternatively, committing to do something 25 times a month adds flexibility—you can skip a few days when busy and still achieve your goal.
1. Spend 25 days each month reading one blog post
Reading one blog post might not take a lot of my time, but doing it consistently would enable me to broaden my knowledge, stay up to date on topics I'm interested in, and discover new perspectives.
2. Find 25 new blogs to add to your list
This one goes hand in hand with the previous goal. Whenever I read an insightful blog post from LinkedIn, Dev.To, HackerNews, Reddit or any of the mailing list I follow, I'll add their RSS feed to my reader. This is also a good opportunity to start gathering RSS feeds of blogs you enjoy. It's a safer and easier way to follow blog posts than following the author's social media.
3. Spend 25 hours on a project in which you're the least experienced member
One of my mentors taught me this excellent technique. Spending time as the least experienced member in a project is a great way to build hard skills. Study how others contribute to the project and try to get them to review your contributions as you're doing this.
Note that you can always contribute to free software and open-source projects if your place of work doesn't let you do this!
4. Spend 25 hours on a project in which you're the most experienced member
The other side of number 3, this one helps build soft skills, improve communication, and give you a perspective on how cognitively involved things you take for granted are.
5. Watch 25 lectures
And I mean classical, 90-minute or so lectures, and no, the courses you're taking don't count. If you can, try to attend one in person. Academia and industry have their own events throughout the year where people give talks about what they have been working on, but if you can't attend one physically, there are a lot of live and recorded lectures on the internet. If you want recommendations, I often enjoy strange loop conferences.
6. Write 25 blog posts
... and I'm counting this as one of them! Even if no one reads it, writing helps polish ideas and improve communication skills. Additionally, you can read your previous blog posts to reflect on your own growth, revisit old ideas, and discover patterns in your writing!
7. Spend 25 days each month on journaling
Similar to number 6, yet different enough to merit its own goal. Journaling is a great tool to help with mindfulness and reflection.
8. Spend 25 hours volunteering
Volunteering towards a cause you're passionate about is a meaningful way to give back to the community while gaining new insight and experience. Whether mentoring, contributing your skills to a nonprofit, or just helping out at a local soup kitchen, spending 25 hours a year is a great opportunity for personal growth, building connections, and making a difference.
9. Read 25 books in 2025
An achievable goal if you don't try to read epic fantasies. I usually read more than 25 books in a year, so secretly, my number will be higher than this, but I'm going with a theme here!
10. Create a list of 25 lessons learned by the end of the year
Life presents countless learning opportunities through successes, failures, and/or unexpected challenges. Try to consciously reflect on these moments and compile a list of 25 lessons learned by the end of the year.