Happy Update Day!
Today is a special day because . . .
I managed to return to the Got Gaols bloghop which is basically the same as winning at life.
Today is a special day because . . .
I managed to return to the Got Gaols bloghop which is basically the same as winning at life.
If you don't know what the Got Goals bloghop is it is an ingenious blog hop hosted by the lovely Misha Gericke, author of Twisted Earths, Mayhem in the Air,, Ghosts of Fire, and Endless and Jen Garrett. Once a month writers with goals post about how they are proceeding with said goals. It's a beautiful opportunity to share with and encourage one another as we plunge down the long and winding road of writerdom together.
Check out THIS LINK if you are interested in joining.
My ultimate goal is to make a living off of my writing. (For me that would be around $40,000 a year). I'm starting with baby steps though.
Let's see how I did with my goals in February, shall we?
- Reconnect with myself. Feed my soul. Find my drive
---- Mindfulness. Weekly visits to the monastery (Ongoing) CHECK. I did miss one week but I'm still going to consider this one completed
---- Gratitude journal (Ongoing) FAILED. I did not write in my gratitude journal once.
----Improv class (Complete-able. I intend to take a total of four classes (seven weeks each) throughout the year) CHECK. First seven week class completed!
---- Progressive Relaxation (Complete-able. I want to do this every day for three months) FAILED. I did not do progressive relaxation once.
---- Physical therapy exercises (Complete-able. I want to do this every day for three months) FAILED. I did not do my physical therapy exercises once.
----- Yoga (Ongoing.) CHECK. It took me until the month was almost over to get back in the swing of yoga but I DID eventually renew my membership at the yoga gym I go to and I did start going regularly again
-----Meditation (Ongoing.) I'm going to give myself a half check for this one. I started out really strong and then started hitting snooze on my alarm instead of getting up for that extra fifteen minutes of mental check in.
----Go for walks, specifically on my break at work (Ongoing.) Another half check. I did go a few times throughout the month but not every day as I had intended.
---- 50/50 vegetable/ not vegetable ratio (Complete-able. When I've done this every day for three weeks I will move on to my next dietary goal) CHECK
--- Keep house clean (Ongoing) CHECK
---Write in my dream journal (Ongoing) FAILED. I did not write down a single dream
- Find True Love. Because it exists
--- Look for and appreciate evidence of love around me
---- Spend quality time with those who value me
There were actually some surprising developments on this but I don't want to say too much just yet.
- Finish writing and publish NIGHT BRIARS
Specific tasks for February to move me towards this goal are:
--- Carve out time to write. Six hours a week. My production schedule says that the first draft needs to be typed (It's mostly in hand written at the moment) by the end of February. FAILED. I'm not even going to give myself a half check on this one even though I did get SOME writing done. I still have a whole chapter before I'm done with the hand written draft so I'm veeeeerrry behind schedule.
---Read at poetry readings. I'm going to attend four before next update day. Half Check. I only read at one poetry reading.
--- Post poetry and writing updates I'll give myself the goal of fourteen writer related posts before next update day. Half Check. I didn't actually count the writing related posts but it was more like six. It's still a start but not the goal I had set for myself.
---Participate in Do You Have Goals bloghop This is to say I will actually return next month. CHECK! Here I am, doing this one now. Yay!
---Organize and attend one Crit Group CHECK
7 Checks
4 Half Checks
5 Fails
Not as bad as I thought but still a long way from where I wanted to be. I'm particularly disappointed that I didn't get much actual writing done. I want to change that this next month so that's where I have to make the difficult decision.
Am I going to double down on my efforts for March or ease up on my expectations of myself?
A little bit of both.
In improv class they talk a lot about "Yes and" and the power of saying yes. It's a beautiful reminder to be open with the world and always be ready to create new possibilities where you didn't expect them. There's a nuance to the concept though that I think is not always fully recognized.
Because saying "Yes" to one thing often means saying "No" to something else. If you're saying "Yes" to healthy skin, for example, you have to say "No" to the donuts your coworkers bring into the office. And you have to KEEP saying "No" or you will never get that clear, beautiful skin.
So if I want to say "YES, OH YES" to a finished and typed draft of Night Briars I will need to start saying "No" to some of my other goals and habits.
7 Checks
4 Half Checks
5 Fails
Not as bad as I thought but still a long way from where I wanted to be. I'm particularly disappointed that I didn't get much actual writing done. I want to change that this next month so that's where I have to make the difficult decision.
Am I going to double down on my efforts for March or ease up on my expectations of myself?
A little bit of both.
In improv class they talk a lot about "Yes and" and the power of saying yes. It's a beautiful reminder to be open with the world and always be ready to create new possibilities where you didn't expect them. There's a nuance to the concept though that I think is not always fully recognized.
Because saying "Yes" to one thing often means saying "No" to something else. If you're saying "Yes" to healthy skin, for example, you have to say "No" to the donuts your coworkers bring into the office. And you have to KEEP saying "No" or you will never get that clear, beautiful skin.
So if I want to say "YES, OH YES" to a finished and typed draft of Night Briars I will need to start saying "No" to some of my other goals and habits.
So, with that in mind, here are my March goals:
- Reconnect with myself. Feed my soul. Find my drive
---- Mindfulness. I have registered for a five day retreat at a Monastery. I'm super psyched about it. Hoping I learn lots of useful things about myself.
----- Yoga. The goal is to attend five classes a week like I used to
-----Meditation. Fifteen minutes a day. No snoozing this time!
----Go for walks, specifically on my break at work. Every work day unless it's raining.
----Actually use my sit-stand for at least two hours every work day.
----Actually use my sit-stand for at least two hours every work day.
---- 80/20 vegetable/ not vegetable ratio.
--- Keep house clean.
- Find True Love. Because it exists
--- Look for and appreciate evidence of love around me
---- Spend quality time with those who value me
----Practice telling people what I need from them
----Practice telling people what I need from them
- Finish writing and publish NIGHT BRIARS
--- Carve out time to write. Eight hours a week. My production schedule says that the first draft needs to be typed (It's mostly in hand written at the moment) by the end of February so I"m already behind schedule. If I have to bribe myself with brunch out every Saturday and Sunday to get it done, so be it!
---Read at poetry readings or storytelling events. I'm going to attend four before next update day. That's about one every week.
--- Post poetry and writing updates. I'll give myself the goal of fourteen writer related posts before next update day.
---Participate in Do You Have Goals bloghop.
--Participate in The Insecure Writer's Support Group bloghop
--Participate in The Insecure Writer's Support Group bloghop
---Organize and attend one Crit Group
