I know, I know, I’m sure my 13 loyal readers were probably very worried about me in November. Don’t worry, I’m back and motivated to get busy working on this blog and a product I’ve got in development.
So where was I? Well, work was a tad bit busy and there was that holiday thrown in there but mostly I was busy writing like a mad woman. Um…Holly…we just discussed the fact that you didn’t post one single time in November. That’s correct and that’s because I was busy writing 50,000 words towards a novel.
NANOWRIMO
National Novel Writing Month, better known as NANOWRIMO to those of us crazy enough to attempt it, is held every November. The goal is to write a 50,000 word manuscript between November 1 and November 30. This year was at least my 3rd attempt (maybe 4th) and I’m proud to say this is the first year I accomplished it! Do I have a perfect manuscript ready to hand off to a publisher? Nope. I have 50,045 words of a really rough draft that still needs a lot of work and a great ending. I’m putting it aside for a week or two and then I’ll go back to it.
Goal Setting and Resolutions
I love the idea of setting big goals. Achieving big goals is even better. It’s probably why I set New Year’s Resolutions every single year without fail. Guess what? I’m not going to meet the majority of the resolutions I set for 2019. Guess what else? The fact that I am not going to meet some of these goals doesn’t mean I’m a failure. Progress is progress, even if it’s at a slower pace then you’d like to see.
I certainly did not double my emergency fund this year, in fact I had to dip into it a few times. Emergencies happen though and I was grateful to have funds to help out.
Pretty sure I’m not going to meet my goal of $4,000 in extra income earned. I was diligent in working my side gigs to come up with extra money when I could. Also, I’d have met this goal if I hadn’t given up my 2nd job but I decided I needed a break, even if it’s temporary, from working two jobs.
Not sure if I read 36 books because I got lazy about tracking the titles. I did read a fair amount this year despite a busy schedule.
Also didn’t finish my blogging course and I didn’t meet my goal of 3 blog posts a month. I did get an email list set up though. Still trying to figure out some of the logistics of it so be patient if you’re on there. The techy side and some of the business logistics of setting up and operating a blog have been more challenging than I expected. I decided I’d rather take my time and do it right then to rush through the course just to say I finished it.
Mid-life Crisis?
This year’s goals and resolutions will have some repeat goals from last year. There will be new goals this year as well. I’m going to continue to set big goals too, partly because I like a challenge and even if you don’t reach those goals, you’re likely to be leaps and bounds beyond where you were when you started.
It’s possible that I am approaching my mid-life crisis and that’s why I’m so adamant about growing and continuing to learn new things. Watching other people wallow about how hard their life is and doing nothing (that I can see) to change their circumstances might also be motivating me. Maybe it’s just the fact that I see my kids growing into their own adult lives and I realize it’s time to focus on me again.
What are you going to do in 2020 to stretch yourself? Do you want to learn something new? Do you want to go somewhere? Find a new job? Find a boyfriend/girlfriend? (Thinking about that one but dating is hard…)
Please feel free to share this blog post or sign up for my email list if you enjoyed this. Growing my blog and my writing portfolio remains at the top of the list for my 2020 goals. It’s my passion and I appreciate your support-all 13 of you!!
