It
feels like only yesterday I was writing out my goals for 2015. There is just something about starting a new
year that inspires us to make goals. A
new year beginning just seems like a great time to make positive changes. The challenge is to actually stick with those
goals. Some years I do much better than
others.
With
2016 only days away, I began cleaning off my desk and opened up a notebook with
my list of 2015 goals:
1. Read 100 books
2. Blog post at east two times
a week
3. Publish two fiction books
4. Organize and scan Mom’s
photos
5. Drink more water
6. Make an inspiration board
It’s
a pretty good list, ambitious but not extreme.
I can happily report that I made pretty good progress, some items were
much more successful than others.
1. I didn’t quite make it to 100
books, so far I am at 82 books, and I do have a couple more days to read but I
doubt I will get all the way to 100. I
am still very impressed that I made it all the way to 82 books. If you aren't on Goodreads yet, you really should be. Their reading challenge is a fun way to keep track of your reading.
2. Regarding my blog I am
amazed to say that I have published 94
blog posts this past year. A few of
those were guest posts, but I came very close to my goal of two blog posts a
week – and I am incredibly proud of that.
3. I did not manage to publish two fiction book so I didn't get nearly as far
with this goal. On the bright side, I did publish one short
story, The
Locket, in February. I have one
fiction story that I began during Nano of last year (2014) but I am still not
happy with it, so I have not published that one yet. I started a fun chick lit book, but I am not
sure if that is really the genre for me, and I still have two young adult
historical fiction stories that I have begun, but not finished. I feel like I am close to a big writing
breakthrough – so maybe 2016 will be my big year.
4. I spent a great deal of time
going through my mom’s old photos, and I did manage to scan a large portion of
them, but there are still several albums and boxes to go through. It is a big task, but it is also fun. I made good progress, but it's still a goal,
and once I scan all the photos – I need to organize them and add info that I can (names and dates). I have enjoyed sharing some of the photos on social media.
5. I still have a challenge of
drinking enough water, but this year I gave myself permission to drink flavored
water without guilt. Yes, I know plain water
is better, but I am just not good at drinking water so I had to find something
that worked for me. I prefer drinking Propel,
and I have made a conscious effort to keep my fridge stocked with plenty so I
stay adequately hydrated. I still need
to work on increasing, but I am doing better.
Giving myself the gift of drinking Propel guilt-free was a big step.
6. Despite my good intentions,
I did not manage to make that inspiration board last year. I still think it’s a really good idea, so I
think I’ll just roll that into this years goal list.I like the idea of getting an old picture frame from Goodwill and using that.
Overall
I feel like I did fairly well, especially considering the fact that this year; my
husband had surgery, my daughter got married and I broke my foot. Somehow we all survived and I was even able
to accomplish at least some of my goals. I wonder what 2016 will hold in store.
