[throwaway86861]

Out of that list, I only feel comfortable talking about personal growth but that also gets tiring. My personal growth goals don't change every week.

Promotions & salary increments, maybe when the time come but it's a once a year talk?

And inter-personal issues, I get along fine with my coworkers. Should I complain about them more often?

[abhikhar]

Nope don't wait for last minute. have an agreement in 1-1 that this is what you are planning to do this year and then have a regular follow-up with him on progress(once every month for ~15 minutes). Normal manager needs clarity on what exactly you are doing with quantifiable data. If you can present that to him , it make his life much easier ...then yon can negotiate that with some perks.. i know we(as engineers) feel very uncomfortable with these discussions but fact of matter is this is what needs to be done in any company where there is a "manager" title.