Ah...summer. Since my husband is a teacher, I still live the whole school year schedule thing, and I have to say I like it. Well, most of the time. Last year it meant moving in with my parents for a month while Jason and I did some major work on our own home.
As you probably know, I love to make lists. And...fortunately or unfortunately...it doesn't kill me if I don't get to cross everything off.
My summer project list is up to 14 so far. I have some decorating I need to finish, a collage I want to make (scary, eh?), a gift I need to put together, a conference to save for, a new blog to work on (details coming sooner or later, maybe), a class reunion to attend (sort of), a shower (probably) to plan, some research to do, some organizing of files, a ton of writing...ah, the list goes on.
Do you have a summer project list? What's at the top? What's the just-for-fun item on your list?
Showing posts with label Goals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Goals. Show all posts
6/7/10
4/1/10
March Madness Fail
So...my husbands brackets for the real March Madness weren't exactly what you would call accurate. He ain't gonna be winning the jackpot, that's for sure.
As for the writing March Madness...I keep moving my word count status down on the sidebar so no one notices it. :-) No, I did not make my 50k goal. Not at all. My excuses, because you know I have to give them...
1. I did a lot of research looking for options for our Spring Break trip.
2. My latest ms got rejected, which kind of killed any momentum I might have had going.
3. I did a lot of brainstorming for a new project and turned in a quasi-proposal to my editor.
4. I did more brainstorming on a few other project options.
5. And frankly, I just need to do better, don't I?
But now it's April. A new month. A new goal. This time I'm going for 100k. Right. April Fools. So how about I get back with you on the word count. Maybe at the end of the month, when I can make sure I've surpassed the goal. :-)
You did notice I blogged, right? Like once a week? Come on, I need kudos here for something, right?
As for the writing March Madness...I keep moving my word count status down on the sidebar so no one notices it. :-) No, I did not make my 50k goal. Not at all. My excuses, because you know I have to give them...
1. I did a lot of research looking for options for our Spring Break trip.
2. My latest ms got rejected, which kind of killed any momentum I might have had going.
3. I did a lot of brainstorming for a new project and turned in a quasi-proposal to my editor.
4. I did more brainstorming on a few other project options.
5. And frankly, I just need to do better, don't I?
But now it's April. A new month. A new goal. This time I'm going for 100k. Right. April Fools. So how about I get back with you on the word count. Maybe at the end of the month, when I can make sure I've surpassed the goal. :-)
You did notice I blogged, right? Like once a week? Come on, I need kudos here for something, right?
3/11/10
Goal Check
So it's March. Three months into the new year, and I'm still writing '09 when I date things. I figure it's time to glance over my resolution list and see how I'm doing.
1. Blogging ~ Well, that's easy enough to check. Not quite accomplishing my 1 blog a week, but it's slightly more regular. Maybe.
2. Weight ~ I can honestly say I don't know, since I haven't gotten on the scales in a while. But I have a bad bad feeling...And exercise? Well, does it count when I walk outside to check the mail?
3. Reading ~ I have a cute little notebook where I'm keeping track of the books I read as well as a line or two saying what I thought of each one. I have a couple books I haven't entered yet, but I'm doing pretty good there. AND I've completed two non-fiction books. I'm counting them toward my goal of 6, even though one was started last year. :-)
4. Decorating ~ Well, I figured out what I want to do, at least. And part of it is spread all over my dresser...as it has been for the past week or two. But at least I have a plan. :-)
5. I reorganized all but two cabinets. Patting myself on the back.
6. Still haven't taken the games off my computer. I'm blaming that on my husband. Because I don't know how. And if I accidentally delete the wrong thing, it could be trouble. Right?
Okay, so I missed some. I'm doing okay at some, haven't started working on others. But the year isn't over yet! Maybe I'll print them off and put them by my computer.
Or better yet, make them the background on my computer instead of the picture of the guy who's supposed to be my latest hero.
Nah. :-)
What about you? How are your goals coming?
1. Blogging ~ Well, that's easy enough to check. Not quite accomplishing my 1 blog a week, but it's slightly more regular. Maybe.
2. Weight ~ I can honestly say I don't know, since I haven't gotten on the scales in a while. But I have a bad bad feeling...And exercise? Well, does it count when I walk outside to check the mail?
3. Reading ~ I have a cute little notebook where I'm keeping track of the books I read as well as a line or two saying what I thought of each one. I have a couple books I haven't entered yet, but I'm doing pretty good there. AND I've completed two non-fiction books. I'm counting them toward my goal of 6, even though one was started last year. :-)
4. Decorating ~ Well, I figured out what I want to do, at least. And part of it is spread all over my dresser...as it has been for the past week or two. But at least I have a plan. :-)
5. I reorganized all but two cabinets. Patting myself on the back.
6. Still haven't taken the games off my computer. I'm blaming that on my husband. Because I don't know how. And if I accidentally delete the wrong thing, it could be trouble. Right?
Okay, so I missed some. I'm doing okay at some, haven't started working on others. But the year isn't over yet! Maybe I'll print them off and put them by my computer.
Or better yet, make them the background on my computer instead of the picture of the guy who's supposed to be my latest hero.
Nah. :-)
What about you? How are your goals coming?
3/1/10
March Madness
Some writing friends have decided to do a March version of NaNoWriMo. (Which is the National Novel Writing Month, in November, just in case you didn't know. There. Don't you feel educated?) So this month we are picking our own word count goal and are going to try to do it all in one month. A few are finishing up manuscripts. Some are going to try to write from beginning to end.
This can be partially blamed on the NaNoWriMo thing, and the fact that many of us are too busy in November to concentrate on cranking out 50k words. But mostly we can blame Susan May Warren. The Writing Maniac. Seriously. She sat us down at dinner during a My Book Therapy Retreat and proceeded to tell us how to write a 60k (the equivalent of a Steeple Hill) book not in a month, but in 10 days. Write and edit, no less. Ready for submission. And it wasn't just a theory. She actually did it at least once. Think about that. That's Double Take and a few thousand extra words. In ten days. I won't tell you how long it took me to write it...
Anyway, so that's one reason we're doing this. We're going to try out her 10 day model...and stretch it into 30 days because we're wussies who like to get on Facebook every once in a while. :-) But I am taking steps to get ready for this. I'm blogging ahead of time so that I have something to post, since I am still trying to be a better blogger. (Hey! I saw you snicker. Take it back!)
So, my own version of March Madness is...well, I have two different goals. Some of you may be aware I sent in another submission to my editor a while back. Well, it got lost in the mail, so I still haven't heard back. I've decided that was a good thing, because I got a horrible cold which crashed my brain for about a week. Plus I attended a writing retreat. So if the novel had been accepted and I was on a tight deadline for revisions, well, that would have been a bad thing. So that's my way at looking at the bright side of things. If you have a dissenting opinion, keep it to yourself. :-)
Anyway, back to the goals. If my editor accepts the story, my goal will be 30k words on Brogan's story, plus whatever revisions I have to do on the submitted manuscript. If I don't hear back in March, or if they aren't interested in publishing it, then my goal on Brogan's story is 50k words. Which should be ALMOST enough to type The End.
Don't hold your breath.
But don't be offended if I don't call or email you, either. :-)
This can be partially blamed on the NaNoWriMo thing, and the fact that many of us are too busy in November to concentrate on cranking out 50k words. But mostly we can blame Susan May Warren. The Writing Maniac. Seriously. She sat us down at dinner during a My Book Therapy Retreat and proceeded to tell us how to write a 60k (the equivalent of a Steeple Hill) book not in a month, but in 10 days. Write and edit, no less. Ready for submission. And it wasn't just a theory. She actually did it at least once. Think about that. That's Double Take and a few thousand extra words. In ten days. I won't tell you how long it took me to write it...
Anyway, so that's one reason we're doing this. We're going to try out her 10 day model...and stretch it into 30 days because we're wussies who like to get on Facebook every once in a while. :-) But I am taking steps to get ready for this. I'm blogging ahead of time so that I have something to post, since I am still trying to be a better blogger. (Hey! I saw you snicker. Take it back!)
So, my own version of March Madness is...well, I have two different goals. Some of you may be aware I sent in another submission to my editor a while back. Well, it got lost in the mail, so I still haven't heard back. I've decided that was a good thing, because I got a horrible cold which crashed my brain for about a week. Plus I attended a writing retreat. So if the novel had been accepted and I was on a tight deadline for revisions, well, that would have been a bad thing. So that's my way at looking at the bright side of things. If you have a dissenting opinion, keep it to yourself. :-)
Anyway, back to the goals. If my editor accepts the story, my goal will be 30k words on Brogan's story, plus whatever revisions I have to do on the submitted manuscript. If I don't hear back in March, or if they aren't interested in publishing it, then my goal on Brogan's story is 50k words. Which should be ALMOST enough to type The End.
Don't hold your breath.
But don't be offended if I don't call or email you, either. :-)
1/24/10
Resolutions Round 3
Here are some more odds and ends. If I stretch blogging about my goals over a long enough time, maybe I'll keep them longer. :-)
1. Finish listening to The Bible Experience audio Bible.
2. Exercise three times a week.
3. Lose 15 pounds. (Of course.)
4. Blog once a week at least. (How many years has this been on my list?)
5. Organize our favorite recipes into a cookbook.
6. Finish decorating the rooms we repainted last summer.
7. Organize my emails. (I'm overwhelmed just thinking about it.)
8. Reorganize the files, cabinets, etc.
And I think that's the last of it. So much for keeping the list short and focused, as someone suggested. Maybe with a bit of accountability, I'll be able to mark most of these off this December.
1. Finish listening to The Bible Experience audio Bible.
2. Exercise three times a week.
3. Lose 15 pounds. (Of course.)
4. Blog once a week at least. (How many years has this been on my list?)
5. Organize our favorite recipes into a cookbook.
6. Finish decorating the rooms we repainted last summer.
7. Organize my emails. (I'm overwhelmed just thinking about it.)
8. Reorganize the files, cabinets, etc.
And I think that's the last of it. So much for keeping the list short and focused, as someone suggested. Maybe with a bit of accountability, I'll be able to mark most of these off this December.
1/16/10
Resolutions Round 2
In 2009, my first published novel released in October. And I found out how slow my writing can be with the push to market my book, another writing project tugging at my creativity, starting a new job, helping my parents move, and a myriad of other things that distracted me. So this year, I want to do much better in my writing life. Here are some ways I hope to accomplish that:
1. I have a list of writing projects I want to finish this year. I need to go through and set deadlines on each, but those will kind of depend on if this manuscript I'm about to send in gets picked up or not.
2. I've decided how many words a week I want to get done and plan to train myself to reach that goal.
3. I'm taking the games off of my computer. Tomorrow. After I win another 20 games or so. :-)
4. I'm promising myself that I can get to those non-writing projects I'm itching to get done (like organizing my very-jumbled cabinets) when I finish a manuscript. It might seem like a warped reward for typing The End, but it does at least three things for me: releases me from stressing about getting it done RIGHT NOW, gives me an excuse to listen to an entire audiobook at once, sometime in near future, and keeps motivating me because my guilty conscience reminds me I need to get the writing done so I can address my other responsibilities. Like my poor house. Or my overflowing inbox. And all that probably doesn't make any sense to you, but I'm pretty sure it'll work for me.
5. I've worked up a schedule to try to get myself into a routine. Limiting my procrastinating and balancing out my writing with other responsibilities. I'm hoping this will also help me to be able to tell people, "No, I'm sorry, I have to work that day," because I will truly have a set writing time that I use effectively.
And that's it for this section...that I can think of for now. :-) What about you? Any work or hobby-related goals for the year?
1. I have a list of writing projects I want to finish this year. I need to go through and set deadlines on each, but those will kind of depend on if this manuscript I'm about to send in gets picked up or not.
2. I've decided how many words a week I want to get done and plan to train myself to reach that goal.
3. I'm taking the games off of my computer. Tomorrow. After I win another 20 games or so. :-)
4. I'm promising myself that I can get to those non-writing projects I'm itching to get done (like organizing my very-jumbled cabinets) when I finish a manuscript. It might seem like a warped reward for typing The End, but it does at least three things for me: releases me from stressing about getting it done RIGHT NOW, gives me an excuse to listen to an entire audiobook at once, sometime in near future, and keeps motivating me because my guilty conscience reminds me I need to get the writing done so I can address my other responsibilities. Like my poor house. Or my overflowing inbox. And all that probably doesn't make any sense to you, but I'm pretty sure it'll work for me.
5. I've worked up a schedule to try to get myself into a routine. Limiting my procrastinating and balancing out my writing with other responsibilities. I'm hoping this will also help me to be able to tell people, "No, I'm sorry, I have to work that day," because I will truly have a set writing time that I use effectively.
And that's it for this section...that I can think of for now. :-) What about you? Any work or hobby-related goals for the year?
1/4/10
Goals and Resolutions and Other Bad Words
Okay, I'm kidding about the bad words. And I'm such a list-aholic that I love this part of coming to a new year. Looking at the clean slate of the coming twelve months, thinking of all the possibilities...It's like a fresh notebook with a really cool cover. What should I fill it with? So of course I have some goals and resolutions and projects and whatever else--they all just kind of run together. I figured I'd share some and maybe that'll motivate me enough to actually do them, instead of just looking over that pretty notebook and tucking it away to use...sometime. :-)
So here we go. First, here is my reading-related list.
1. Keep track of the books I read this year. Write them down. Maybe do more reviews. I have no idea how many books I read on average in a year, so I'd love to find that out.
2. Read a one-year devotional. All the way through. One day at a time. Maybe this year will be the year I actually do that.
3. Read at least six non-fiction books. I know, I know. I'm such a shallow person. But seriously, most of them are hard for me to motivate myself to get through. And no, the one-year devotional won't count here. :-)
4. Do an inventory of the books I own. I've loaned out so many I don't even know what I have any more.
And I think that's it for this category. Any suggestions of things I should add? Books that are must-reads? Do you have any reading-related resolutions?
So here we go. First, here is my reading-related list.
1. Keep track of the books I read this year. Write them down. Maybe do more reviews. I have no idea how many books I read on average in a year, so I'd love to find that out.
2. Read a one-year devotional. All the way through. One day at a time. Maybe this year will be the year I actually do that.
3. Read at least six non-fiction books. I know, I know. I'm such a shallow person. But seriously, most of them are hard for me to motivate myself to get through. And no, the one-year devotional won't count here. :-)
4. Do an inventory of the books I own. I've loaned out so many I don't even know what I have any more.
And I think that's it for this category. Any suggestions of things I should add? Books that are must-reads? Do you have any reading-related resolutions?
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