Well, it’s a new year which means I’m kicking things off with a monster post with (as the title would suggest) a shit-ton of goals for 2022.
As per usual, these goals are broken up into three categories: writing, health & fitness, and other. Listed here will be the big, bold goals with a due date of December 31, 2022. Not listed here will be how these big, bold goals will be broken down into monthly, weekly, and even daily goals. So, I guess, just know I’m doing it?
I like setting goals for myself. Even if it seems like I never make much progress on them, I think it helps to have set them in the first place. I shudder to think what my day-to-day life would look like if I didn’t have them. Darkness, chaos and probably some dragons… (Name! That! Reference!)
The Writing Goals
—Edit/Revise Full Circle and send to the beta readers
So, last year I finished the first draft of this project. It’s been sitting in the metaphorical drawer since about September, which means it’s about time to print out this monster project (though at 236k words, it’s not my longest manuscript ever) and rip it to shreds.
January goal: Print this puppy out, find some red pens, and let the shredding commence.
—Complete the first draft of the Terrible Romance Sequel
Yeah…this is a carryover from last year. Though I did make some progress on it during November’s NaNoWriMo event, I didn’t finish it. So I’m going to try to do it this year.
January goal: Nothing. I need to think about some things, so this project’s on the back burner for now.
—Participate in all three NaNoWriMo sessions (April, July, and November)
I’m still doing the ML thing, so…yeah. It’s on the list. Please note how this goal states ‘participate in’ but not ‘win’…
January goal: Nothing. I won’t have much to do for NaNoWriMo until we get closer to April.
—Attempt to make some attempt at marketing at least once a month
This goal went pretty poorly last year—although there were only two months where I did absolutely nothing (like a CHAMP!), so it definitely could have gone worse. To be honest, I don’t have particularly high hopes for this year magically being better, but if it’s not on the list at all, I definitely won’t try. So here’s to trying!
January goal: Come up with an idea to try and, you know, try it.
Health & Fitness
—Stop drinking so much damn soda and drink more damn water
I tried to do this last year and ended up going in the complete opposite direction (like a CHAMP!). Now I shall attempt to correct that.
—Walk, run, or bike an average of three miles per day
This goal is slightly tweaked from years past. Some days aren’t conducive to walking three miles for whatever reason. Instead, I’m aiming for the average. Three miles a day for an entire year comes out to 1095 miles. So basically that’s the goal. 1095 miles by December 31st.
All The Rest
—Declutter
I think this goal makes the list pretty much every year, and every year I pretty much do the opposite. But this year, the significant other and I have started to bandy around another ‘D’ word…Downsize. If we go through with it, I will definitely need to declutter. But even if we don’t go through with it, I should still probably declutter. I’m not a hoarder or anything (unless you’re talking about books or notebooks or pens or post-it notes or Funko Pop! figurines or…maybe I should be quiet now.) but I’m guessing there’s still a lot with which I can and should part.
January goal: Take that bag of books that’s been sitting in my office for two months to the Free Little Libraries in the area and donate them already.
—Read a damn book at least once a month
I have NOT done well with my reading goals lately. One book a week has been too much to ask, so this year, I am scaling back and going with one book a month. You may be saying “that’s not a challenge” but you should know that I only managed to read eleven books last year. Total.
I hate how long this slump has lasted. It’s just getting sad now.
January goal: Finish reading that Janet Evanovich book I started reading at the end of last year. There’s only, like, fifty pages left to go, so I think even I can finish them by the end of the month.
So, on that note, I’m outta here. Thanks for stopping by. I hope you had a great New Years, and that 2022 is kind to you all.
Did you set any goals in 2022?
I set easier goals for myself this year, hoping for some early “wins.”
We downsized in 2020 so did some decluttering then but there’s more to do.
For your reading goal – have you tried audiobooks? Maybe for when you walk? I can’t seem to pay attention to the story but so many people enjoy them.
Good luck, MJ!
Audiobooks don’t seem to work for me unless I’m following along with a physical copy of the book. My mind wanders way too much, and I end up missing so much of the story.
I’m really not looking forward to the downsizing/decluttering experiment, but it’ll be good to do all the same. Or so I’m told… 🙂
Good goals! You’re much better off than myself. I think eleven books is more than I finished reading/listening to. I feel bad that I didn’t keep track. I’m an audiobook girl–I actually retain what I consume when I hear it–so I tried picking up the first Janet Evanovich book but I couldn’t do it because of the narrator. She gives like a 2 second pause between each sentence. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but I tell you, it makes for a jarring listening experience. I might have to skip to later books to see if the narration improves before I give the first book a chance again.
I’ve never listened to one of the Janet Evanovich audiobooks, but a lot of her reviews on Goodreads mention how much they enjoy the narrator. I more hate-read her books than anything else lately (I have issues, I know) so I probably wouldn’t enjoy the narrator either way.
Like a CHAMP! lol
I like the goal of reading one book a month. One a week would be tough for me if it was a novel. That’s why I love graphic novels so much. I am a true fan of those now. 🙂
And you know me…I will be rooting you on with all of your goals.
I love graphic novels, but I was having a hard time getting through those last year, too. I mean it when I say it’s really getting sad.
I have slightly higher hopes for one book a month. Emphasis on ‘slightly’…
Love your goals!
I’m hoping to get at least 3 books out this year – with at least 2 in the new series.
I need to add a movement goal in – that’s definitely an area I need to work on!!
All the very best for 2022!
You’re AMAZING! Three books out in a year boggles my mind! I can’t even put out three books in a decade.
I’m not reading much faster than you are. Madeline’s suggestion of audio books is good.
More water! Get flavor packets if you have to. You can do it.
Sadly, me listening to an audiobook would be the same as me not reading it at all. My mind wanders way too much.
I seldom set goals. Possibly why I never reach any…But I do have lists, like the list of books I’ve read and sometimes seeing it get longer does motivate me (sadly, the TBR list only gets longer). I would like to read at least a book a week but I’m ok with the three a month I did last year.
In regards to water. I hate it. It’s so…tasteless! So I drink flavored water which I can tolerate but all those plastic bottles are not good for the environment so lately I’ve been drinking tea. I don’t like it a lot, but I think it’s better for me and the environment.
Best of luck with your goals and if you read nothing else this year, read the Murderbot novels 🙂
I do drink tea from time to time, but I don’t like it a lot, either. I’ve never been a fan of flavored water, but perhaps I should look into it again? Maybe it would help?
A writer friend recommended the Murderbot books to me last year, so they definitely sound like books I should read. I know some are shorter than the others, so maybe that would help me get out of my slump?
I’ll just copy your list. That will save me so much time. Thank you, and we can compare notes in December…or not, depending on how well we do. 🙂
Have a great 2022! But I know you will. You’re already off to a flying start.
Sounds great. Let me know how it goes with my manuscripts. They’ll probably be much happier in another author’s hands! 😉
You’ve got this! I’m cutting soda out from my regular diet too. Not that I drink a lot, but I felt I indulged too much over the holidays. Water, even if I flavor it, is going to be my future. I have loose goals. I say that because I don’t want to absolutely hate myself if I don’t do something. I loosely want to publish two books this year. Three would be fabulous. I loosely want to exercise 3 days a week, but any exercise would be grand. I’ve been sitting way too much!
The hating-myself factor is why my goals are worded the way they are. It’s an effort to be just slightly kinder to myself, but we’ll see how it goes…
Good luck with all your goals this year. I’m 100% sure you got it. 😉
Thank you!
Ha, Friends reference. That one I got at least.
I love that you have January plans for your goals. I should probably do that. Though I’m sure I won’t.
Decluttering will really make you feel good. I organized and got rid of so much these past two months and now I can’t believe how much space I have.
Is there an opposite of champ? Maybe you should aim for that. LOL
Love your goals! I didn’t post any today because I felt like survival might be on the top of my list this week.
Then, wellness, creativity, book writing, story writing, and… there’s always more.
Happy Writing!
I might like some dragons and I already have chaos, so…why not?
Survival is already a great goal. Hope things are going all right for you these days! <3
Fun fact: April and July are the same month. Well, I mean one’s in the summer and one is not. And then there’s my birthday (which doesn’t appear in April). But, every other day is on the same day of the week. Both April 4th and the 4th of July will be on a Monday this year. I don’t think that’s going to help with NaNo, but just something to consider.
Good luck with your goals. I’m sure you’ll achieve some of them.
Interesting. So it’ll be like April is a dry run for July. Or something. Of course, now I’m trying to figure out how I can use that in a story.
These are some fantastic goals, and I think they balance pragmatism with pushing yourself. Best of luck! @samanthabwriter from
Balancing Act
That’s what I was hoping for, so we’ll see how it goes. 🙂
Happy New Year, M.J.
Solid monster post with a great set of goals!
I’m so glad to see a sequel for the Terrible Romance.
Reading goals? I pledged a small number, 12 books, on Goodreads this year. If I read more, then it will be a bonus.
May your words flow freely and swiftly. May your paper be endless and your pen never run out of ink.
I’m also trying to get fit. I’ve been doing so since August. I drove ten hours to go and pick up an exercise machine I really wanted (and got a tremendous deal on), and now I’m using it almost every day. The difference in this stage of my life (from previous ones) is that I’m throwing out most of the cardio and just hitting the weights. It seems to be making a difference.
Nice set of goals by the way. I wish you luck on the marketing one. Do a Kickstarter. I think those are great ways to get the word out and round up money for your project.