I’ve often done some analysis of my year in different ways. Last year I had a series of posts (health, music, reading,  speaking, travel). This year, I took last week off, and it’s been busy up until then, so I decided to get back to a wrapped post with a few more numbers and less writing around the important data.

Speaking

I do a lot of speaking, so here are the numbers.

• 28 events attended
• 36 presentations
• 5 keynotes
• 12 Simple Talks podcasts
• 11 Redgate events – most of my year
• 3 SQL Saturdays (only 3 )

This was a year that a lot of my time was spent with customers. I did some training and speaking for them, including at customer events, but not as much publicly. I can’t decide if I need to do more in 2026, but it’s something to consider.

I have already submitted to 3 SQL Saturdays in 2026.

Travels

A big year of travel. Only two rough stretches, but otherwise I didn’t feel too stressed or burned out.

• 74 flights (70 on United)
• 110 nights in hotels
• 5 nights on airplanes
• 5 trips to the NYC area
• 5 trips to the EU
• Visited 5 different countries (plus the US)

A quick look at my year plotted as distances from home. Looks a bit like Seattle (I’ve been re-watching Frasier).

A good year with lots of vacation as well. I had a few breaks with my wife in these places, either for Volleyball or vacation.

• New York
• Greeley
• New Orleans
• Dallas
• Cancun
• Big Sur
• Milan/Turin/Barolo

Health

I try desperately to keep myself healthy. A decent diet, not great, but I try for fresh foods and proteins/veggies more. I don’t track the diet well, but I do track activity with my watch. I also got a Peloton bike this year, which has helped. A quick graph of activities for the year:

It’s mid December as I write this, but I’ve done a good job of doing cycling early in the year and a bunch of yoga as well. I’ve been battling tendinitis in an elbow, so much less weight training than I’d like. A few numbers

• Yoga – 66 sessions (once a week on average)
• Cycling – 113, including 76 on the Peloton as of Dec 12
• Swimming – 5 times, which sucks. Too much travel and not enough effort here
• Weights – 42 sessions, mostly as I bailed in the middle of the year with the elbow. Trying to at least get back to legs regularly.

I fell fairly healthy. My weight is slightly up, as I’ve fluctuated a bit with travel. My avg for the year is 228lbs, with a low at 224 and a high of 235.

My heart rate averages 51 at resting and 122 at a high, mostly from exercise. Not bad. I had hoped for a sub 50 resting rate, which I see a lot of days, but not for the year. I think some stress from travel and long days likely keeps it from falling more.

Music

I love music and look forward to my Spotify Wrapped every year.  A few stats

• 37,820 minutes listened
• 364 genres
• Pop Rap, Classic Rock, Alternative Country, and R&B where my tops
• 4,200 songs tops were
  • Like Ida – Zach Bryan
  • Charleston Girl – Tyler Childers
  •  tv off – Kendrick Lamar were at the top
• 57 Albums (Death of Slim Shady was tops)
• Top Artists: Zach Bryan, Tyler Childers, Eminem, Beatles, Kendrick Lamar, Jay-Z
• 933 minutes of podcasts

I didn’t get as much guitar or play as much as I’d have liked, but I did learn some new songs. Not great, but I did enjoy working through fingerpicking versions of The Sounds of Silence, Something (Beatles) and While My Guitar Gently Weeps. Those and a few Zach Bryan songs. I think I know as many from him as The Beatles.

One interesting thing was my music age was 78. Apparently I like listening to older songs more than newer ones.

Reading

I spend a lot of time reading, especially on airplanes. I don’t consume a lot of visual media. Reading is a great escape for me. I tend to read a few non-fiction/career/business books each year, but those are work, so it’s usually just a few. I might add in some biographies, but mostly I love fiction.

This year, as of Dec 19, I have read 148 books, which is a rise from previous years:

• 2025 – 148
• 2024 – 136
• 2023 – 111
• 2022 – 105
• 2021 – 118
• 2020 – 82
• 2019 – 128

A few stats from this year:

Most read authors, which were mainly from series that I devoured on airplanes.:

• Mathew Rief (29)
• J N Chaney (26)
• Gerald Kilby (14)
• Jason Kasper (12)
• Janet Evanovich (9)
• Lee Goldberg (6)

I had a number of re-reads as well from Jeffrey Deaver, John Sandford, Lee Child, and a few others that helped pass the time.