The goal review does two things: check my progress and check if my goals need to be changed.
[2023 Goals ~ Let’s Go!] [Publishing Decisions]
So I mentioned on Friday that I am revamping my publishing goals. However… It’s not really revamping. Let me show you my list again:
- Practice Korean every day
- Do marketing every day
- Turn the collection ebooks into paperbacks
[Fall in Love, Autist, If Non Humans Could Talk…, Non Human Best Friend, New Jersey Favorites, Just a Little Bit of Life, Be Mine] - Publish at least 3 novels/novellas
- Weekly blog posts
- All or Nothing Vol 2
- Visit the gym weekly
- 365+ poems
- 12+ new short stories
- Get at least proof copy going for collections
[Cookbook, Troubled Royals II, The Prin, Captured by Grief, Hopelessness, Dynamic Equilibruim, Unstable Footing, Natural World/Stormy Skies, Nothing Quite Like Family, Rainbow Life, Just Life, Writer’s Stuff] - Improve house/conditions for living
- Read 12+ books
Number 3, 4, 6, and 10 are my publishing goals. I may not be aiming to publish my collections, but I am still planning to work on them. I want to have them ready to publish next year. Or at least reevaluated before next year. I’m still going to pull off three novels/novellas. The Prin contains two novellas and Dragon Rider 10th Grade needs to happen (a preorder for Sept 13th 2023 will be up soon). All or Nothing vol 2 will be worked on, I assume. I already have enough for 3 now. I’ll be working on poetry for the fourth volume this year. I really need to push forward to get the volumes done, but I’m not pressing myself. The proof copies are for my unknowns and they will lead me to next year’s publishing goals. I just don’t know what I will work on or when. I’m letting myself push it off.
The rest of the options.
My daily goals: Korean and Marketing. So far, I’ve managed more than half the days working on marketing and Korean. That’s better than before. If I can get 5/7 days a week working on marketing and Korean I’ll call it a success. I really need to work on them consistently and often. Until I can have a full conversation with 지용 in Korean, I need to practice Korean often. That’s really the goal for Korean, be good enough to converse with 지용. I’ll need to be consistent with marketing until other people start being consistent about my marketing. Someone has to.
For both Korean and marketing when I stop needing daily action, I’ll still need to work on it. Just not as often or as extensively.
Weekly blog posts. I had this month scheduled. I need to schedule out the entire year. I have the poems for it. I’ll need Mondays, Fridays, and Saturdays done for the entire year. I have the stuff, I just need to create the post, decide on the day, and schedule. It’s easy over all, but time consuming. I’ve been too ill to pull off such a piece. I’m still within the scheduled zone luckily. I’m nearly out. I need to get on this.
Just like with the weekly blog post, my weekly gym has also seen nothing. I believe I went twice this entire month. I want to aim for more than weekly and perhaps my average for the year will be more than weekly, but given my conditions (and the fact the gym had electrical issues), I had to postpone going. I regret it most because Cyro didn’t get to go either. Cyro is far behind with gym. I can’t let this go on as is.
365+ poems and 12+ short stories. I am not done with either. But. If you look at my Instagram [Cat’s Insta], you’ll notice I’ve written a lot of poems. To hit 365, I need daily poetry. My average is closer to three a day. I’m doing well. So well, I may aim for 1000 poems this year. Not that I’m changing my goal. I want at least 365, not only 365. I’ve written a short story as well. Idol Dreams will go into Fall in Love. It’s another familial love story. I won’t be posting it here. Some stuff needs to stay hidden.
Improve the house/conditions for living. I’ve done this. I’ve tried my best to stay on top of my chores – which is a bare minimum for this one. But I have also done serious fixes and boosts to the house. Like I did the lighting in the kitchen and living room. It push me over my limits, but the end result was worth it. (I also electrocuted myself because of it, but I lived.)
Read 12+ books. I’m already in the plus category. I should’ve known how easily I’d pull off 12. But the question would be if I would read 12 not my books. I read my books for comfort normally. This made me read not my books. (I still read Idol’s Gaze and With U this month, which don’t count.) Now I’m really on the hundred+ books, not that I’ll change my goal. I mentioned before I have a challenge for reading. I may have pulled off the 12 minimums, but the challenge needs about a hundred. Can I check off everything? Excluding my work, of course. It doesn’t matter how many of my books I read.
How is everyone else doing goal wise?
It’s important to take a moment and weigh if the goals suit your new situation or not. Don’t push yourself too hard, but also don’t refrain from pushing. You want to step beyond your comfort zone, but have some time relaxing within it.
Don’t be afraid to revamp a goal if it feels too easy or too hard. Don’t be afraid to revamp the deadline you give yourself. The future isn’t set. What future do you want?
Cat Hartliebe 