Happy New Year!

My goals and whatnot.

Once upon a time, I never did yearly resolutions. I even mocked them...stealing people's joy for no reason. I've grown, and honestly, I like growing as a person so much that setting goals is a fun time for me. 

I enjoy seeing my progress and anything that can be gamified will be gamified -- Housework, reading, writing, playtime (wait...is play already a game?), travel, adventures, everything! 

The older I get the more I wish I had done and the more I hope I will do.

But, let's keep this short and sweet. 

I have four areas of focus: Home, Family, Writing, and Self.

Home

My focus on Home means my house and everything involved to help it run smoothly. 

1. Budget Reset 

2. Save $[censored] by year's end. 

3. Low Buy Year 

4. 3 Small Renovations

Family

My family is my priority everyday. It's often hard for me to find a healthy balance in this area, but that is another post entirely. 

1. TN trip (x4)

2. Beach vacation

3. Send Birthday Cards (First one needs to go out tomorrow!) 

Writing

I'm a writer. I would like to have readers and maybe earn income someday, too. To do this I must actually share my work and/or publish it. I've progressed toward this life goal each year, with finishing drafts being a new thing in 2022 and sharing my work being a focus in 2023. 

2024 is the year of publishing (I think? I hope? Oh gosh, used confident language!)

1. Draft and publish Project Lucky on Vella, one episode at a time. Strive for good enough, not perfect. 

2. Revise and Query Project Fairy World. 

3. Draft and publish Project KC (Short romance). 

4. Write 100k words

I very recently started using 4thewords - and though I don't focus much on quests and battles (the game parts), I do love the timer feature. It tracks how long I'm writing, and stops counting if I am not writing. This is so amazing for my brain, because I'll tell myself I write quickly and can do nothing for so very long before I start (IYKYK)...and well, time blindness is real and 4thewords is going to help keep me on track. The above goals will get help with the intentional habit of writing for X amount of time each day, starting where I am (no lofty goals) and improving over time. 

It's day 1.  I'm aiming going to finish drafting Episode One of Project Lucky. 

Self

I am a believer of toxic self-care (and toxic productivity), but I live my life with a goal of comfort and recreation often. I don't dream of work; I dream of relaxing and enjoying the present. This is hard, many times, as a mother, as a writer, as a human living in these times. These goals are to remind me that it's okay to do things just for me. For no other reason. Not as a reward, not as a coping mechanism, not as content. Just because. 

1. Write Poetry (I have a poetry journal)

2. Read 10 Books (I have a reading journal)

3. Arts (I have a sketch/doodle journal)

4. Journal

I have swapped my daily journaling to digital. This is due to some hand mobility limitations combined with wanting to create and maintain a reading journal and to sketch more. See updates bout these journals on Instagram @just_another_eva

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And that's that. I have other things swirling through my mind...like do I want to set a goal for cycling miles? But there's always Q2, a new month, or Spring. Resets and revamps are fun - for me at least. Do you have goals for 2024? Share them with me!