For the last two or three years I have been in a kind of progress limbo. Various time and financial commitments have forced me to side line my own personal projects more than I would have liked.
2017 marked a turning point for me. A year of extracting myself from things I no longer wanted to commit my time to and finding new creative support structures for the things I do.
We completed post production on Carnival of Sorrows, I joined and became an active member of North Bristol Writers, secured a better day job, and set up my own creative space in my new house. This all helped me finish the first draft of Mime which was a big step towards completion.
Now 2018 will be the year of committing myself to finishing and making a success of my own projects and goals.
“Project 2018” as I am dubbing it, will have four parts – Writing, Personal, Household and Other. The challenge is to try, as much as possible, to commit all of my time to achieving these goals and avoid straying outside my plan. To track how I get on I’m starting a diary.
WRITING GOALS
It has been a long time since I published anything substantial. Though I have been working hard on my writing and made great progress in 2017, I want 2018 to be a year of finishing and publishing things.
W.1. Mime – Though I’m behind schedule on where I wanted to be, I’m still well on target to get the book released before the end of the year.
W.2. Hunters – Following on from Mime I want to make substantial progress on my planned sequels so that by the end of the year I will be well into the editing phase on book 2, ready to plan for completion and publication in 2019.
W.3. Short Stories – I have two short story projects to complete in Q1 of 2018 – one for North Bristol Writers and one for Hellbound Media. It would be great if I could do at least two more in the rest of the year.
W.4. Annabelle Blue – I’m setting myself the extra goal of completing edits on a romance novella project I have had on the back burner for ages, with the aim of submitting it to publishers.
W.5. Write, Write, Write – Time spent on writing or publishing projects is never time wasted!
PERSONAL GOALS
P.1. Crafting & Etsy – For me crafting is self care – relaxation and enjoyment. Getting more products up on my Etsy store will help to give me a focus and outlet for my urge to make things.
P.2. Live Healthy – Everyone says this in January. I do it every year and rarely make progress. This year, instead of setting myself a diet, exercise or weight loss target I’m simply setting myself the challenge of building healthy routines into my life in all aspects – food, exercise, relationships, mental health and so on.
P.3. Remember Birthdays – My 2017 new years resolution was a bit of a disaster. So I’m trying again.
HOUSEHOLD GOALS
H.1. Organise our finances – My family financial situation has improved several times over in the last 18 months and as a result we’ve gotten lazy with our spending habits. This year I want to get organised and take advantage of our improved situation to help secure our future.
H.2. Home improvements – We have lots still to do on the house but top of the list is to get the bathroom done using the left over money from our moving pot. I’m looking forward to showering in a proper shower again! There’s also plenty of DIY and gardening to keep us busy, not to mention housework!
H.3. Get a cat – I think this one is self explanatory.
OTHER
O.1. Follow through on Project Exit Strategy (2016/17) – I’m still committed to extracting myself from commitments which distract from or don’t align with my personal goals. This means doing whatever I need to do to wrap up outstanding commitments and steering clear of new ones.
O.2. Travelling – We finally have enough disposable income to seriously consider taking some of our dream trips over the next few years.
So that’s the plan. Wish me luck!
What are your 2018 plans and goals? Share what you’re doing to make 2018 an amazing year for you in the comments!