Happy New Year’s Eve!

As I did last year, I decided to take a look back at my resolutions and see how I did. Not to lament the goals I didn’t reach or get down on myself, but celebrate the ones I did and look forward to the new year (new decade!)

So! Here we go:

Goals I have accomplished:

• Write 10 hours per week (In a fit of optimism earlier on in the year, I changed this goal to 12 hours per week, then in a fit of self-preservation, switched it down to 11. I’m 16 hours shy of my 11 per week goal and don’t expect to fit in the time by New Year’s Eve, but since I exceeded my 10-hour goal, I’m going to check this one off as goal accomplished)
• Finish editing my second YA contemporary
• Finish the YA fantasy/dystopia draft 1
• Finish the YA mystery draft 124,364,565,765
• Sign with a literary agent
• 120 minutes cardio per week
• While on maternity leave, get out of the apartment 3 times per week
• Stay on budget
• Maximize commuting time. 
• Maintain a community of excellent humans by texting one every day and seeing one every week
• Limit booze to 7 drinks/week or fewer
• Get on a sleeping and feeding schedule with bébé
• Plan and go on a family trip
• Figure out anti-aging skincare routine
• Continue charitable donations
• Frame wedding and travel photos and hang them on the wall
• Find a local therapist who deals with postpartum. Found and then lost, so I need a new one
• Get new glasses
• Whiten teeth
• Breastfed for a year (this wasn’t on my list as I had no idea at this time last year if it was something I could do, but I DID IT!)

Goals I almost accomplished:

• Stay involved in politics but don’t let depressing social media take over my life. Do this by limiting scrolling on my phone. I could always do with less phone time
• 5 adulting/chore things per week. I reduced this number to 3 things and nearly accomplished it
• Keep my apartment clean by cleaning and decluttering every day. “Every day” was a stupid addendum to add to this, but I’m doing decent job of not letting our stuff overwhelm our lives.
• Write (positive) book reviews on Goodreads, Amazon, and Litsy. Must really post the reviews to Amazon.
• Start a journal for my daughter and write in it once a month. More like every three months. To improve upon next year.

Goals to work on next year:

• Drink 10 glasses of water every day. Nope. To work on.
• Draft 2 new books. I almost finished drafting one new book … and started drafting five others. I had some trouble choosing which one to pick, but I think I know which one I’m doing next
• Cultivate my online brand more by posting more to social. Eh.
• Read 52 books! 12 books short :0
• Be a great mother. Not sure how to measure this, but suffice to say it is a thing I will be working on for the rest of my life.
• Get back to pre-pregnancy weight. now 10 pounds to go. Stupid holidays.
• Visit my sister in North Carolina. We’re planning a trip in February
• Stick to an anti-inflammatory diet during the week. Damn you, work snack table!
• Post to this blog 4 times per month. LOL*
• Work on posture with that posture harness thing + exercises from my massage therapist. Working on it.
• Journal for myself once per week. Once every two months is more like it.
• Be entirely present when spending quality time with my baby. I try.
• Take photos with my DSLR every week. Or every month?
• Continue praying with intention. When I don’t fall asleep right away.
• Keep anxiety under control by noticing when I’m entering a spiral and consciously trying to stop it. I try. I don’t always succeed.
• 180 minutes of yoga/strengthening per week. I’ve been better this past month but I must do this more.
• Something surprising (a museum, a park) every week. Every month is more realistic.
• Make photo albums of wedding, honeymoon, and years of life. Nope
• Get a new TV console. Not yet
• Start an email newsletter for this blog. LOL
• Revamp wardrobe once back to pre-pregnancy weight
• Visit friends and family in Seattle
• Do a yoga headstand without needing the wall. Hahahahaha

Goals I have put off:

• Buy a house. The market is not great. My job is up in the air. I’m not sure where we’re supposed to live. If it happens, it happens. If not, we’ll deal.
• Meal prep on Sundays. I just don’t think I will ever do this
• Host a dinner party. Need more space!
• See a physical therapist in particular to work on my pelvic floor. Not sure I need to do this anymore.

So! How’d you do? Despite not meeting many goals, I’m optimistic heading into next year. The point, for me, is in the striving; shoot for the moon and if you miss you’re still among stars, etc.

Now on to 2020!

*Despite my posting schedule being abysmal, I was shocked when I looked at my end of year stats to see I got more traffic to my blog this year than ever before, even back when I was posting several times a week. Then I looked into why … and saw that all the traffic was going to this blog post. They recently turned that book into a TV series (which I haven’t seen yet as it can’t possibly live up to the book) but I’m guessing they ended the show on the same ambiguous note as the book, which led to people looking for answers, which led them here!

Photo by NordWood Themes on Unsplash