These are more goals than resolutions, because most of them are not measurable, and that’s okay. Goals are a little more fluid, in my mind. These are my goals for the upcoming year!
Personal/Professional:
Less fast food, more meal prep
I have a small problem in my diet – and that problem is fast food. I ate way more than I’m comfortable with, and I’d like to get my diet back to being some kind of healthy. So, I’m going to be doing more in the way of meal preparation and leftovers-for-lunches in the coming days. I’m starting that tomorrow, when I’m having someone over for dinner and making an extra two portions to feed myself during the week at work!
Get to know more people in my community
Journalism is all about the people in the area, and I feel like I’ve barely gotten to know the people here. Now granted, there are some people in this area I don’t really want to get to know, but there are so many people here that I haven’t spent time with yet. I want to fix that in the coming year.
Write better & spend less money
These are self-explanatory. I want to get better at the craft that allows me to pay my bills, and also have less bills in the coming year so I can maybe save some money.
Books/Writing:
Read 100 Books
This is less than I read in 2016, but more than I read in 2015. We’ll see where 2017 lands me, but the number really isn’t important to me this year because I blew through my goal for last year.
Read the books I own
I’ll be using this for #beatthebacklist hosted by Novelknight, and also to just clear out my house. I have 29 books on my shelves that are mine that I haven’t read. I specify that they’re mine because I mixed my bookshelves with Chris. My shelves are overflowing, and I either need to buy more shelves or get rid of some books, or both.
Read more books by Indigenous people, people of color, and LGBTQIA+ people – and books with good rep for those people.
I’ve been working on reading more diversely, but only 30% of the authors I read last year were not white. That’s unacceptable and I’m gonna fix that. I’m aiming for 50% of my authors to be diverse this year.
Minimal re-reading
I know myself too well to say that I won’t do any re-reading this year. I reread 24 books last year, most of which were by Tamora Pierce and Richelle Mead. I reread when I’m in need of a comfort read, or when I’m reading a sequel to a series I haven’t read in a while. We’ll see how this one goes!
Write some fiction
I participated in NaNo in 2016, and that went down the tube fairly quickly due to a post-election funk that lasted until mid-December. However, I’m more than a little in love with my story idea and plan to keep working on it throughout the year.
What are some of your goals for the next year? Link me to your posts, or talk to me in the comments!
All of these are great goals, and I should probably adopt most of them, myself.
You probably already know this, but crock pots are magic. Throw everything in, leave it alone for a few hours, come back and a whole meal is ready and waiting. Approximately 99% of the (non-take-out) meals my husband and I eat are from the crock pot.
Best of luck with all of your goals! I’ll be looking forward to hearing about your successes. Happy new year! =)
Crock pots are amazing! My partner does most of the cooking right now because he’s out of work, but I cook meals on the weekends when I have more time. We are big fans of pressure cookers in our house!
Three cheers for crock pots! And for partners who share in the cooking duties. Both are the best. ?
(Sorry if you receive three copies of this reply. WordPress is having some difficulties. *Shakes a fist.*)
Only got one! I hope you’re successful in your goals this year