because, seriously, wtf was 2014? not that there wasn't good last year (hubs was employed, we got medical through the a.c.a., we struggled but not as much as in years past), but it was mostly the year of wheel spinning. lowest word count since i started tracking in 2006, no weight or inches lost (and a couple inches went backwards). i literally tanked all my 2014 goals.
but we're moving past that. one of the biggest things i need to get a handle on again is time...either with more control over what i'm doing or trying to smash less stuff into the time i have, or maybe a bit of both. and learning not to procrastinate quite so much—behind this year precisely because i kept putting off getting things done i new needed to be done sooner rather than later.
some of my goals this year are pretty similar to last year; i just adjusted based on my lack of success and in an effort to take time constraints into account.
health :: last year, menopause kicked my butt big time. i have a few ideas on how to get back to losing, but one of the things i need to do is gain muscle, which means losing less actual pounds. i did get my steps last year from 10k a day to about 12k a day pretty consistently, some of which had to do with the makeshift standing desk i created (2 very large plastic file boxes on top of the seat of a chair) and the stability ball i now use instead of a chair when sitting (there are ways to work the abs and legs when sitting on that thing).
so, goals for this year:
» lose 15-20 pounds
» increase steps per day to 15,000 (consistently)
» learn to belly dance for an anniversary dance for hub's next year ;)
reading & writing :: only managed 121.6k words last year (my first year recording was over 175k) and i just missed my reading goal. publication last year just didn't happen...for anything, and i've had to reassess my goals a bit. the plans this year are about as busy as planned for last year, but i'm slowly getting a handle on my writing time again, so hopefully i'll actually meet one of them this time around.
» read 45 books
» get quest (assassin's book 2) v1 done, then set it aside
» get chosen (uncrowned book 1) to v3
» get shades book 1 to v3
» get demons book 1 to a completed rough draft
» learn the how to's for self-publishing assassin's and my other alden books
» revise and prep assassin;s choice for self-pub in 2016
while i plan to self-publish the alden books (all epic fantasy, which still has a hard time getting acceptance, especially the more traditional epic fantasy like mine), blood charms is currently being sent to a few straggling agents as i find them and is on the small press circuit. i still have high hopes for it, but it's obviously not my breakthrough to traditional publishing book that i hoped it was. the feedback on it has been good; there is apparently, nothing wrong with it—it's well written,t he characters are engaging, the setting gritty, and so on, it's just not getting enough love for someone to take it on at the moment. i'm not giving up on traditional publishing entirely—shades of reyn and demons rising (a trilogy based on a novella i never finished but that people liked) are the books i'll be working on to send to agents next—but i'm tired of the non-response rejections for assassin's and the "it really is good but..." rejections for charms. it's time to move on, and a few people whose judgment i trust agree with the assessment, especially for charms. i'm aiming for 2016 because i'll need money from the tax return to self-publish right (with an editor, a custom cover, and other costs).
other stuff :: i really tried to keep up online last year and really failed abysmally. still trying, but modifying just a little bit to hopefully make it a little easier. if i alternate blog updates, rather than try to do both each week, i'm hoping to manage it at least half the time. plus i really need to get on top of my other stuff at my author site. really, really. lol
» update whysper 2x a month
» update journeys 2x a month
» work out a new alden.nu layout to reveal when assassin's comes out
» do at least one other alden update 1-2x a month
money has the standard goal: get caught up and stay caught up. we'd like to move, but i'm not holding my breath on that. i am replacing my laptop this year, with a better brand, even if it means holding off on new clothes that fit again. we're also planning to go to dragon con again. we'd like to actually cosplay this year, but we'll have to see how things pan out.
and honestly, considering how past years have gone (even the really good ones), that's about as much as we can even attempt to plan for. we think we finally have a long term goal for hubs, but that's going to take a bit more time to sort out. we're not even sure if it's the route he definitely wants to go yet, but it does seem more promising than some of the other options we were looking at in both cost and effort (apparently it takes YEARS to get food trucks approved down here... o.O ).
as always, i feel like i can reach most, if not all, of these goals, but i really do feel like this year is promising. just got to a handle on that time thing....
so, let's try this again! here's to 2015! and may it be better than 2014. |
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