My Strategy to Make 2025 My Best Year Yet

2024 was one of the most fulfilling years I've had in a long time.

Two key factors made it so impactful: I started using OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) to track my main goals, both for projects and personal life, and I focused solely on completing those objectives.

If you're unfamiliar with OKRs, they're a simple yet powerful goal-setting framework used by individuals, teams, and organizations to focus on measurable outcomes.

Fun fact: OKRs were introduced by Andy Grove, the co-founder and former CEO of Intel.

Here’s how I’m setting myself up for success in 2025, and how you can, too.

How to Write OKRs

Step 1: Define the Objective

Objectives are short, qualitative statements that describe what you want to achieve. They should be:

• Clear and easy to understand.
• Aspirational, but still realistic.
• Focused on the value or transformation you're aiming for, not tasks.

Examples of objectives:

• Build a strong professional network in my industry.
• Improve financial fundamentals and implement an investment strategy within three months.
• Launch a fitness e-commerce store and generate $10,000 in six months.
• Secure a software engineering role at a Fortune 500 company within nine months.

Step 2: Write the Key Results

Key Results measure progress toward achieving the objective. They are:

• Specific, measurable, and time-bound.
• Focused on results, not tasks or actions.

Examples of Key Results:

Objective 1: Build a strong professional network.

• Attend three key industry events in the next quarter.
• Connect with 20 new industry professionals on LinkedIn by the end of the quarter.
• Hold one-on-one conversations with five potential mentors or industry leaders.

Objective 2: Improve financial fundamentals.

• Complete two personal finance courses within two months.
• Save $500 each month for three months.
• Open an investment account and invest $1,000 within three months.
• Reduce monthly expenses by 15% within two months.

My 2025 OKRs

To inspire you, here’s how I’ve structured my OKRs for the year, divided into three categories: Professional Development, Projects/Entrepreneurship, and Personal Growth.

Professional Development

Objective 1: Advance Professional Expertise

Focus on professional growth and knowledge-sharing through education, certifications, and AI.

Key Results:

1. Complete 7 MBA classes with a minimum GPA of 3.5 or higher by dedicating 10 hours per week to study and coursework.
2. Earn the AWS Cloud Certification by completing the training and passing with a 90% or higher score on practice exams.
3. Study 5 hours weekly about AI, including foundational concepts and practical applications.
4. Read 12 books about tech, marketing, professional development, personal growth, or storytelling.

Projects/Entrepreneurship

Objective 2: Build an Online Presence and Create Scalable Projects

Integrate personal branding, audience-building, and small entrepreneurial experiments.

Key Results:

1. Launch a YouTube channel and post 20 videos by the end of the year, focusing on documenting learning and personal growth.
2. Relaunch your newsletter with consistent weekly posts to engage your audience.
3. Develop and test one small project or MVP per quarter, using audience feedback to iterate.
4. Dedicate 1 hour weekly to studying digital marketing and growth strategies.
5. Define 3-5 content pillars for your personal brand and create one lead magnet or free resource by Q2 to grow your subscriber base.

Objective 3: Master Writing, Storytelling, and Filmmaking

Hone writing and storytelling skills to create impactful content and improve communication.

Key Results:

1. Write one blog post for each MBA class, AWS certification, key AI learnings, and the books you read, documenting insights and takeaways.
2. Publish one weekly blog post aligned with personal growth, professional expertise, or creative projects.
3. Write five tweets weekly, focusing on concise storytelling, thought leadership, or audience engagement.
4. Publish a monthly retrospective blog post reflecting progress and challenges.
5. Dedicate 2 hours weekly to studying writing techniques through books, courses, or feedback sessions.
6. Dedicate 2 hours weekly to learning filmmaking techniques, including scriptwriting, editing, and storytelling.

Personal Growth

Objective 4: Cultivate Physical, Mental, and Linguistic Growth

Focus on intellectual growth, language learning, and creativity through structured challenges.

Key Results:

1. Close activity rings 300 days this year doing tennis, workouts, soccer, etc
2. Reach a 1200 chess rating on Chess.com by practicing 3 games daily and completing 3 hours of tactics training weekly.
3. Achieve conversational proficiency in Italian (CEFR A2) by completing 50 Duolingo units, attending 10 conversation sessions, and watching 10 Italian-language videos with subtitles.

While this may seem like a lot, these goals are spread across the year. My primary focus will be on entrepreneurship, as my ultimate aim is financial independence. However, hobbies and health are equally important, they provide the energy and resilience needed to avoid burnout, something I’ve faced in the past.

Why OKRs Work

OKRs aren’t just about setting goals, they’re about staying aligned with what truly matters. Here’s how I stay on track:

1. Review regularly: I check my progress monthly to ensure I’m staying focused and avoiding unnecessary distractions.
2. Be flexible: If an Objective or Key Result no longer aligns with my priorities, I let it go. I may rewrite it, postpone it, or remove it altogether.
3. Keep it simple: I used to write my OKRs in the IOS notes app, but now I am using Notion. Pen and paper work just fine, too.

2025 is all about alignment, growth, and balance. This year, I’m even tracking my hobbies, something I’ve never done before, and I’m excited to see how it turns out.

Over to you! What are your thoughts on OKRs? Are you planning to try them for yourself? Let me know!