2024, I didn’t hit my goals, but it’s fine

It’s no surprise that as the year winds down, we all start reflecting on how it went. For some people, the year flew by like a breeze—gone before they could blink. For others, it dragged on, feeling more like ten years packed into one because of all the challenges they faced.

For me? I’m not sure where to place it. But one thing I know for sure is that I’m grateful—grateful for God’s unfailing love, good health, gradual growth, financial blessings, a stable job, so many side gigs, peace, friends, and family.

In this post, I’m going to lay it all out—document my missed goals and setbacks. I’ll share where things didn’t go as planned—not to dwell on them, but to hold myself accountable. If I don’t, I might end up sitting here next year writing about the same mistakes. And that… well, that’s not happening.

That said, let me clarify—it’s not like I sat around doing nothing all year. But here’s the thing: for things to work the way you envision them, you need structures. Without structures, even the best intentions can fall apart. Anyway, let me stop before I turn this into a full-on lecture.

As someone who dreams big (don’t we all?), I sometimes struggle to appreciate the present. It’s easy to see today as just “normal” or to think of it as delayed progress that should have happened already. But this year taught me something important: even in what I’ve called a “slow” year, a lot of progress still happened.

Over the years, I’ve seen tremendous growth and blessings from God. But here’s what I’ve learned: it’s one thing to grow, another thing to maintain that growth, and yet another to grow even further. One mindset I’ve worked hard to avoid is thinking of the present as the ultimate future. Gratitude for the present is key while still keeping my eyes on what’s next.

Okay, that’s enough rambling for now. Lol.

Areas I fell short

Exploring a new area in tech

I started this year with the goal of learning something new in the tech space—Cloud Engineering. I wanted to understand the DevOps space and gain a solid grasp of Cloud technologies. Honestly, it pains me to admit I didn’t meet this goal. Not that I didn’t try, but let me be blunt with myself: I didn’t achieve it the way I had envisioned.

One thing I’ve realized is that life comes at you fast. You spend so much time learning to reach a certain level, then you land a job, and the job itself becomes all-consuming. You get caught in this loop where you’re learning just enough to keep up with work, but stepping outside your current focus? That takes an extra level of dedication.

Now, I wouldn’t say I didn’t learn at all. My job constantly pushes me to read, watch tutorials, ask questions, and stay updated. But learning something outside your immediate lane? That’s a whole different ballgame, and this year, I couldn’t give it the dedication it needed.

That said, I made some progress. I solidified my understanding of CI/CD tools, got comfortable writing pipelines, and even grasped Docker and containerization to an extent. But this? It’s just scratching the surface.

This year (2025), I plan to tackle this head-on. For every course I take, I’ll be sharing updates on LinkedIn (I’ve already started one on Docker and Kubernetes, which I plan to finish before mid-February). The goal is to track my progress, document what I’ve completed, and by the end of next year, proudly say, “Here’s what I achieved.”

My YouTube channel

Late in 2023, I revived my YouTube channel with big plans to release at least one video every month in 2024. That would’ve meant 12 videos by now, but guess what? I only managed to create one—and that was towards the end of the year.

The funny thing is, despite my lack of consistency, the channel still grew! This year, it gained 52 new subscribers, over 3,500 views, and more than 37,000 impressions.

— Code with Joel YouTube channel

That just makes me wonder: imagine how much progress I could’ve made if I had carved out even a little more time.

This is definitely something I need to fix this year, 2025. Truth is, it’s not like I didn’t try, but I had some sound issues that got in the way. I remember recording a few videos only to realize they had background noise. I got frustrated and just left the whole thing. But not anymore!

I’m putting it out here: in 2025, I must push out at least one video every month. I just have to! I’ve already ordered a mic on Jumia, so I’m taking away any excuse to procrastinate.

Community contributions

Another area where I fell short this year was in my contributions to the community. I’ve always believed in giving back because, honestly, it’s the community that carries us and gets us to where we are.

Back in school, I led the Okitipupa chapter of the Open Source Community Africa (OSCA). It was easier then because I was already part of existing communities, so setting up a chapter came naturally. But after leaving school and handing over the chapter, I had plans to start a new one in Ibadan when I was posted there for NYSC. The goal? To organize workshops, events, and activities that promote open source in the Ibadan tech community, furthering OSCA’s mission of empowering Africans to be creators—not just consumers—within the open source space.

But things didn’t go as planned. Being new to Ibadan, it was hard to connect with people, especially since I’m a remote worker. There were so many constraints, and the chapter just didn’t come together as I hoped.

The good news? Towards the end of the year, I managed to rally an inactive community. At DevFest Ibadan, I spoke to over 30 people about open source and started building a community. I got them to join a WhatsApp group and even shared links for people to join the GDG community. This was in late November.

The bad news? I ghosted. It’s been over a month, and I haven’t sent a single message to the group. The good thing is, I’ve now drawn up a solid plan for workshops and activities for the first quarter of next year. So, this one will sail—I’m committed to making it work.

That aside, I still managed to do some community work this year. I contributed to the Inventors Developer Community, attended some open-source-focused events like the Leads Summit and Sustain Africa, and connected with amazing people doing great things for the African tech ecosystem.

Some positives

Looking back, I realize there were plenty of wins this year for which I’m truly grateful.

Work highlights

I learned a lot this year and got to do some really cool things at work. One standout achievement was creating guides (now part of our company’s documentation) that helped the sales team onboard specific types of clients. These guides simplified deployment processes using CI/CD tools to integrate with our platform—pretty essential in today’s world where DevOps and automation rule.

I also joined Gabbi Health, a health tech startup building a product with the ambitious goal of advancing healthcare in Nigeria and Africa through tech. It’s exciting to be part of something with so much impact.

Beyond that, I worked with various companies and businesses to create resources that simplify their tools for developers, encourage adoption, and drive engagement.

Altogether, I published over 60 technical resources online this year—something I’m proud of.

Family first

As the firstborn and only boy in my family, I’ve always prioritized my parents’ comfort and well-being. In 2024, one of my major goals was to settle them to a great extent and ensure they lived comfortably. By God’s grace, I achieved this to a very large extent, and I couldn’t be happier about it.

Academic achievements

Sometime March 2024, I convocated as the second-best graduating student in computer science with a CGPA of 4.38/5.00—a second-class upper. It’s not the absolute best, but considering I balanced being a hustler in school and a full-time employee during my final year, I’m deeply grateful for this accomplishment.

Gym life

Towards the end of August, I realized something needed to change. Now that I had my own space, it wasn’t healthy to just sit at home all day.

I have this bad habit of sitting in one spot for hours—seriously, I can stay glued to a chair for the entire day. Funny enough, when I was a kid, I was the definition of a “busy body.” I was that kid sneaking out of the house to play when everyone else was reading or resting.

Now? Lol, I’m the complete opposite—I can stay still for hours! So, it became important to start gymming. And good news: I was fairly consistent! From September through December, I hit the gym regularly. On a bad week, I went twice; on a solid week, I managed three times; and in September, I was crushing it with five days a week.

— Joel at the gym

The results? I dropped some weight, started looking fit (to an extent), and even built some muscle. Let’s just say I can now intimidate some boys. Lmao. Next year? Oh, I’m definitely going harder! Amen!

Church

This is something I truly love. This year, I explored quite a few churches, but I’m glad to have settled down at Davidic Generation Church, led by Pastor Lawrence Oyor.

The Word of God here is raw and undiluted, and being surrounded by young individuals who are so hungry for the things of God just makes you want more. It’s inspiring.

Next year, I’m looking forward to solidifying my membership and becoming more active in the church.

Conferences

2024 wasn’t packed with conferences for me, but I still made it to four DevFests (Lagos, Akure, Ibadan, and Ogbomosho). One of the highlights was speaking at DevFest Ogbomosho, where I delivered a talk on How Giving Back in Tech Unlocks New Opportunities.

I shared my journey of landing various gigs and my full-time job through community involvement. My talk focused on three key benefits of giving back:

• Learning new skills, improving coding standards, and building a public portfolio.
• Connecting with like-minded people.
• Gaining community visibility.

I also shared actionable ways to give back and received so much amazing feedback from attendees.

— Joel speaking at DevFest Ogbomosho

Another notable event was Sustain Africa, where we discussed topics around open source and sustainability for the African tech ecosystem.

My space

One major highlight this year was renting my own apartment and creating a simple yet functional space for myself. I didn’t want too much—just what I needed—and it’s chill fr. I even set up a little corner for my workspace, which keeps me motivated and makes work feel easier.

— Joel's workspace

I plan to create a "uses" page on this website so you see all my tech gadgets and possibly also attach links to where I got them.

Looking ahead: 2025

Let’s be real—doing so many things at once isn’t easy. Between working to earn, learning for the future, building solutions, contributing to the community, helping others, staying fit, applying for opportunities, doing side gigs, and yes, taking time to play (because it’s very important), 24 hours often feels like a blink. And bro, we haven’t even started life yet!

This is where discipline, schedules, and structures come in clutch. I’m revisiting my "missed goals" from 2024 and making sure that in this year 2025, every month shows measurable progress.

Taking more risks

This year 2025, I’m also planning to step out of my comfort zone and take more risks. 2024 felt like a “norm” year—steady but safe. I didn’t take many emotional or calculated risks, and honestly, that needs to change. Life itself is a risk, and sometimes, you just have to take the leap.

Here’s to more progress, more lessons, and more wins in 2025. Let’s go!