Today I'll be sharing a few of my goals for 2020. No, this isn't all of them. xD But here are some of the things I want to accomplish this year. Hopefully it'll give me an extra boost to stay on top of them AND maybe motivate you guys in your goals!
READ 45 BOOKS.
I read around 40 in 2020, and I wasn't reading as much as I could have. So I want to intentionally make time to read more this year, and I think 45 is a pretty reasonable goal.
FINISH TWO FIRST DRAFTS.
Namely, Once Upon and Fall Into Time.
As you probably know if you've been here for more than a minute, Once Upon was my NaNo novel this past year, and I wrote 50k of it this past November. I think once I get back into it I can finish it pretty quickly.
And then Fall Into Time is from a few NaNos ago, and I'm also pretty close to finishing draft 1 of it. I think. I really don't know, to be honest. xD But after finishing the first draft of Roots to Claim in 2019, I just want to finish allll the drafts. They've been sitting too long.
KEEP WRITING AND SUBMITTING FLASH FICTION.
It was AMAZING being published in Havok last year (and spoiler alert: I have another story coming in February!!), and that's definitely something I want to keep doing. Not necessarily just with Havok, but other places as well. Maybe even magazines. (My, what a nostalgia trip that would be. The first time I was published was in a magazine and it would be amazing to hold a physical copy of my work in my hands again.)
GET MORE SLEEP.
I am both excited for and dreading this one.
Isn't it weird how sleep is an enemy and a friend at the same time?? I can't get enough sleep, but GAHHH there's just not enough time in the day to get the amount of sleep I want and also do all the things I need and want to do.
BUT lately I've also been terribly exhausted. It's not fun at all and definitely doesn't help with productivity. So as much as I wish I could sleep for like two hours and use all those extra hours around it to read and write and pet my dog, that's just not possible.
SO. I'm going to try to get a solid eight hours of sleep every night. THAT PHYSICALLY HURTS TO SAY because that means that if there are things I wanted to get done but didn't get done when it's time to go to bed... I HAVE TO LEAVE THEM UNDONE AND GO TO BED. It's terrifying. But I'm also looking forward to allowing myself the rest I need and hopefully upping my productivity and also just my wellbeing that way.
PRIORITIZE PRAYER.
Once upon a time, I made time to pray almost every single day and it was lovely. Then I started working and I just haven't been able to get back in that habit the same way since.
I'd like to pretend I'm going to make special time every day for prayer, but me and God both know that's just not going to happen. (Maybe someday I can get to that point.) But I DO want to work on actively putting prayer above all my other priorities and feeling closer to God again.
DO THE SPLITS.
I never thought that I would actually think I could really do this. But this past spring or summer, I got serious about stretching and I was SO CLOSE TO LEGIT DOING THE SPLITS. I was SO proud of myself and I have no doubt that if I had kept stretching, I would have made it. But, well, I stopped stretching. The end. xD So this year I plan to get back on that and DO THE SPLITS ONCE AND FOR ALL!
START COLLEGE.
Yeah... this still hasn't happened. But I'm planning to make a go of it this summer. Pray for me!!
STOP PASSING TIME ON MY PHONE.
In 2019 I got a new phone, after using a TracFone for the past five years. Which means that I now have access to Pinterest, Instagram, Google, you name it, in the palm of my hand. And I've gotten into the habit of carrying it around with me at home and zoning out on it when I have a few spare minutes, or just sitting down and wasting a little time on it. That's okay sometimes, and I still don't consider myself as attached to my phone as I could be. But this year I really want to focus on stepping away from it more, using those extra few minutes to read instead. And I've also been trying to read on my breaks at work, too, instead of being on my phone. It's so much more fulfilling.
GIVE OF MYSELF MORE.
Lend a hand when it's needed. Help around the house more. Just be a blessing to those around me when I can.
GO TO ACFW CONFERENCE.
This miiight be happening this year and I'm excited. I've really been wanting to make it to a Christian
writer's conference. (Realm Makers is still my dream, but that's for another year!)
Yeah, I have a lot of goals this year. (And I'm pretty certain I forgot at least one that I was going to put on this list, so don't be surprised if another one pops up. xD) But I feel really good about them and I'm pumped to make 2020 amazing.
I actually haven't started any writing yet... and I need to, because my, I have missed my stories and my characters. I can't wait to go all in and hopefully get some major work done on them.
OH and I want to tell you something exciting: Until tomorrow, all the stories on Havok are free to the public!! So if you missed any of my stories, you can click HERE and voila-- all three of my Havok stories at your disposal. I hope you take advantage of this opportunity to read not just my stories, but a whole bunch of other amazing stories on the website, too! And leave a comment while you're over there! :D
What are some of your goals for 2020? Do you have a focus word for this year? (I haven't thought about it, but I think it's an awesome thing to do!) What are you looking forward to this year? And... *whispers* What's your Goodreads goal? xD
Good luck with all these goals! I definitely should work on lowering my phone use too - this past year it's gone higher than what I want it to be. XD
ReplyDeleteThanks! Ugh, it's just so easy to spend soo much time on it when you think it's only been a couple minutes. xD
DeleteGood luck with all your 2020 goals! I don't have a ton of goals for 2020... My big ones are to publish the rest of my St. Croix Falls series, get better at marketing and get my driver's license. (Also my Goodreads goal is 45 books too haha). :)
ReplyDeletewww.melodypersonetteauthor.blogspot.com
Thank you! Ooh, publishing?? That's so awesome and I wish you the best of luck! And with your driver's license too!
Delete(Ha, 45 must be the lucky number ;D)
I want to be able to do the splits, too! I always an doing a good job on stretching then am distracted by something. Good luck on all of your goals!!
ReplyDeleteYES! I'll be doing so well stretching consistently and then I'll just stop and it's so frustrating. xD Thank you!!
DeleteI love your phone goals! I still use a tracfone because of the addiction fear -- I KNOW I would get addicted so bad and already find myself on my phone more then I should at work or out and about where free wifi exists. :/
ReplyDeleteI hope your new year is amazing!
That's actually really smart! Yeah, I definitely didn't even come close to being addicted to my TracFone because it didn't do anything. xD It's nice having all the cool features but sometimes I miss when I didn't think about it so much. Which is why I'm trying to leave it in my room like I used to, instead of carrying it around.
DeleteThank you, I hope yours is as well! <3
Best of luck with your goals! I hope you meet them all. :))
ReplyDeleteThank you, Gray! :D
DeleteI feel exactly the same about sleep!!! Like I KNOW that I need it, and I desperately want to make time for it! But there's just so much I need to get done and want to get done in a day and if I commit to that time for sleep... how do I FINISH EVERYTHING? Still, I'm trying to make a goal of 8 hours every night as well (and possibly 9 hours on weekends? We'll see how that goes). but yeah, it is so hard to put just put all of your tasks and to-do lists away when bedtime comes, when I know that there are still more things I wanted to get done. But I'm also learning that I don't have to do everything right now, and that a lot of the things I feel are necessities aren't nearly as vital as I think they are. So. I think it will help me to commit to sleep and it'll shift my perspective to the things that are actually 100% necessary.
ReplyDeleteAlso, what stretches are you doing for the splits? It's something I've always kind of wanted to do, so I'm curious. :)
Good luck on all of your goals!!! I hope 2020 is a fantastic year for you! <3
Alexa
thessalexa.blogspot.com
verbosityreviews.com
Oh my goodness, YES! It feels so wrong to waste time sleeping when I could be doing a million other things. But the rest is soo important and actually, the past few days when I've been committing to proper sleep time more, I've actually been more productive. It's funny how we panic and try to do allll the things, but then when we relax a little it's actually more beneficial. Guess God knew what He was doing when he set the example of resting on the seventh day. ;)
DeleteHere's the link for the stretches I do: https://www.blogilates.com/30-days-30-stretches-to-splits-journeytosplits/
These pretty much alone got me super close, so if you stick with it you might be surprised how much they'll help you! I never ever thought I would be able to get close to doing the splits. xD
Thank you!! I hope you have a lovely 2020 as well! <3
Haha, definitely true!
DeleteAnd thanks!! I'll check that out!
<3
I really want to do the slips this year too! I'm also hoping to get 40 or so books read. :) hope you accomplish all your goals!
ReplyDeleteastordetective.blogspot.com
Oh, awesome! Good luck- on the splits AND the reading! :D
DeleteThese are all great goals! It would be awesome to see you at Realm Makers one year!
ReplyDeleteYess! Hopefully someday soon :D
DeleteHullo, Emily! Pleasure to meet you *^ - ^* This is an amazing list of goals! Best wishes to you in accomplishing them!! And WOW! I love all the stories I've read on Havok (& hope to one day submit one of my own)---I'm definitely going to check out your pieces. Congrats on being published with them!
ReplyDeleteHope this year is a fantabulous one!
Hiya, good to meet you too! Thank you!! Ooh, you should totally submit to Havok. :D Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteGood Goals! Get more sleep, I should add that to mine. XD
ReplyDelete