We’re just about a quarter of the way through 2019. Feel free to stop reading at this point for some existential screaming if you need to. I’m right there with you. How is it almost April? I’m still accidentally writing 2018!
However it happened, it is in fact almost April. I set some pretty ambitious goals for myself for 2019, so I thought now might be a good time to check in on my progress and course correct if I need to. So let’s go.
- Don’t freak out:
I have a lot of things going on this year. Last semester of law school, graduation, studying for the bar, taking the bar, moving somewhere, starting a new job, actually becoming an adult. My goal is to not panic as all this happens. I’m doing okay with that, all things considered. I’m not 100% calm by any means. Lately I’ve been having some days where I am very much a ball of stress, but I’m getting everything done that I need to get done, and I’m moving forward.
1a. Get a job:
This still hasn’t happened yet, but I have some good leads I’m working on. So here, too, continuing to move forward is good progress.
- Get in shape:
This has not happened. A wonky schedule during J-term, then a variety of illnesses in February meant I’ve just this month started going to the gym, and that’s been interrupted by spring break and traveling for job interviews. But I am going to the gym as often as I can. As long as I keep doing that, I’m making progress.
- Read 100 books:
I’ve read 25 books so far this year. If I read 8 books a month, I’ll hit 100 for the year easily, so even though I haven’t read as many books in March as I did in January and February, I’m right on target for this goal.
- Finish the next draft for three projects: the middle grade sci fi novel, the memory-wiping academy novel, and the WWII Italy novel.
I am nearly done with a first draft of the middle grade sci fi novel. I will almost certainly have finished a draft before I graduate. The rest of this goal is going to have to change slightly, because guys I got an agent! And we’re going to be working on revisions to my middle grade fantasy project. I don’t know how long that will take and how many drafts that will require, so I want to allow myself some leeway here. I still want to finish three drafts this year, but what they are can be flexible. And with that flexibility, I’m well on my way to meeting that goal.
4a. Get an agent:
Yes! I did this! And I am still screaming about it!
4B. Set achievable weekly writing goals:
In January, some friends and I did a mini NaNoWriMo, because November is the worst month for writing a lot if you’re a student. I set a goal of writing one chapter a week. If I finished the chapter early in the week, I had a stretch goal of writing an additional chapter, and if I did that, I got to reward myself in some way. I only ended up meeting the stretch goal once. My reward was renting The Hate U Give movie when it came out, and wow! While I only made the stretch goal once, I did write almost five chapters that month (the flu stopped me from finishing the bifth chapter), and this is a big reason I’m so close to finishing the middle grade sci fi project.
My various sicknesses in February, as well as the start of the semester and my renewed job hunting efforts, meant I didn’t get as much done in February. I had a hard time maintaining the weekly goal system without the structure of the group. But I have been moving forward. I liked the weekly goal strategy, but I also think that I have so much going on right now—finishing the semester, applying for jobs, applying for the bar, studying for the bar, revising my book with my agent—that if I try to add specific weekly writing goals on top of all that the sheer amount of things might paralyze me into not writing again. So my goal right now is to write as much as I can. When things settle down, I can be more ambitious on a weekly basis. See? Achievable writing goals.
- Blog more:
Okay, so, so far this hasn’t happened. We can all agree on that. But as you’ve probably noticed, I’m working on redesigning my website, and I have plans to most more regularly. I’ve already finished and scheduled a number of posts for April. So while I haven’t made much progress on this front so far, I’m turning that around now.
So that’s where I’m at. It’s a quarter of the way through 2019, and I’m making good progress. Better progress than I expected in some areas, actually. I’d like to focus on getting in shape, doing more with this blog, and of course continuing with the not panicking, the reading, and the writing in the same way I have been. And I’ll check in on these goals again in three months.
In the meantime, happy April!