Tag Archives: Goals

January 16, 2024 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish Goals for 2024


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

 

A photo of the word “start” painted in large white letters on an otherwise empty country road. The road is brown and dusty. The grass beside it on both sides is dead. The sky above is blue and partially cloudy. Here are my goals for 2024.

1. Visit coffee shops more often. There’s something so delightfully bookish about them, don’t you think?

2. Submit a Top Ten Tuesday theme to Jana that she ends up using. Yes, I’m reusing this joke from last year, but I would also be thrilled if it happens someday. Ha!

3. Meet more bookish people and maybe become friends with a few of them if it works out?!

4. Spend less time on the Internet. I’ve been using it heavily these past few years as it was often one of the few covid-safe things to do, especially when the weather outdoors was smoky from wildfires or icy because it was the middle of winter and even here in southern Canada it is not a tropical place then by any means. While I’m grateful for all of the entertainment the Internet offers, I’d love to find more ways to socialize in real life that are mindful of Covid precautions, too.

5. Read more books about history. I read very little of it in 2023.

6. Patronize independent bookstores. I didn’t do this last year but would like to try again this year.

7. Try some new caffeine-free teas. I love drinking tea while I read, so any suggestions are would be appreciated if you know of a good one.

8. Read more novellas and short stories. I love how quickly I can finish them.

9. Avoid reading when I wake up in the middle of the night. Sometimes I have trouble falling back asleep, and I’m wondering it that would be easier if I tried something other than reading in those moments.

10. Spend less time on social media. My hope is that I’ll be able to meet some more folks in real life if I reduce Internet and social media scrolling.  (This one is going to be almost as hard as cutting back on my Internet usage in general, friends! Wish me luck).

 

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October 3, 2023 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Reading Goals I Still Want to Accomplish Before the End of the Year


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Today’s topic made me feel like I was back in college and a professor just gave us a pop quiz. Luckily, I was generally pretty well prepared for such things, and, of course, Jana would never hand out grades or anything.

A drawing of a black question mark inside of a yellow circle. The yellow circle is on top of a white circle, and the white circle is on top of an orange background. In addition, there are about a dozen slips of white paper floating around the question mark. Here are the goals I set last winter. My progress on them will be noted in bold.

1. Read more classic novels this winter. Accomplished.

2. Submit a Top Ten Tuesday theme to Jana that she ends up using. Not Accomplished, but hope springs eternal.

3. Enjoy lots of ghost stories. Accomplished, but I always want more.

4. Attend more library and other bookish events either virtually or in person. Accomplished.

5. Read more nonfiction. Accomplished. 

6. Patronize independent bookstores. Not Accomplished.

7. Eat more food featured in books. Not Accomplished, but working on it. 

8. Try poetry again. Accomplished, but I didn’t find anything I liked. 

9. Buy bookish socks. Not Accomplished, but I have my eye on a few pairs that could work. 

10. Convince the entertainment industry to make excellent film or television adaptations of all of our favourite books. Hehe! Not Accomplished, but hope spring eternal.

5 out of 10 isn’t bad.

Maybe I’ll get up to 7 or 8 out of 10 before the new year?

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January 11, 2023 · 1:00 am

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: What I Think of New Year’s Resolutions

Hosted by Long and Short Reviews.

Click here to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and here to see the full list of topics for the year.

Seven paper airplanes are flying over a dark grey surface. The first six are white and flying in straight perpendicular lines. You can see white lines shooting out behind them. The seventh is read and flying in a zig-zag line with a white zig-zag line trailing behind it. I believe New Year’s Resolutions, as well as goal setting activities in general, are a fabulous starting point.

In my experience, longterm change is most likely to happen when you set a goal, make incremental changes that guide you closer to it, and then gradually build on them over time instead of trying to fix all of your habits at once.

For example, an hour of vigorous exercise will be extremely difficult at best for someone who hasn’t exercised in years. They might be so sore or injured the next day they will be scared off from trying again.

A 10 minute walk every day (or every other day, or what have you) is a much easier goal to accomplish for someone in that position, and it can be gradually increased or replaced with more strenuous workouts as you grow stronger and figure out what other types of exercise you actually enjoy doing.

So I like the idea of New Year’s Resolutions, but I think it’s better to keep your expectations reasonable when you’re trying to change something about yourself. Many incredible things are possible in life, but they rarely if ever  happen overnight.

I also believe in celebrating effort and partial success. If you didn’t reach your goal but you did make progress towards it and built up healthy habits along the way, that’s still counts as a win in my opinion.

 

 

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December 14, 2020 · 1:00 am

Why You Should Commit to Your New Year’s Fitness Resolution Today

top view of person holding a red and white striped umbrella and walking on a thick layer of snow. Only their footprints and shadow are visible, not the person themselves.I find it interesting how we are all encouraged to over-indulge during multiple holidays from October to December only to be bombarded with weight loss and fitness ads come January 1.

To me, it makes so much more sense to continue on with the same healthy habits I follow the other nine months of the year and to build new ones than to throw everything out of the window between Canadian Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve.

I still have treats, and there are days when all of my exercise comes in the form of long – or even not so long – walks. With that being said, I do my best to stick to my regular habits as much as possible no matter what the date on the calendar says and to start my New Year’s Resolution a few weeks ahead of time for the following reasons.

Building Habits Takes Time

scrabble bricks that spell out the word "resolutions." Any lifestyle change takes time not only to turn into a habit but to preserve as a normal part of one’s routines.

Starting (or continuing) now will give you a head start on everyone making similar resolutions in a few weeks.

I don’t know about all of you, but I find it easier to stick to small changes in my daily habits if I begin them a few weeks before everyone starts talking about what they want to change about themselves or their lives in the new year.

Fitness isn’t a competition, but there’s something motivating about starting early to me. I like the feeling of already settling into the rhythm of a new habit before it becomes a common topic of conversation in my social circles. It’s not about winning. It’s about having the self-discipline to think about these things in advance and seeing what I can accomplish early on.

Many Different Types of Exercise to Try

black and white photo of woman dancingWill you be dancing? Lifting weights? Walking in a winter wonderland? Riding a stationary bike? Jogging? Playing sports? Something else?

What equipment will you need to purchase or borrow, if any?

What special workout clothing will you need to purchase or borrow, if any?

Which part of your home, yard, or neighbourhood will you be exercising in? If it’s property you own, does anything need to be spruced up or organized beforehand?

I prefer to keep things as simple as possible, especially when I’m trying something new out and have no idea if I’ll stick with that form of exercise in the longterm.

Whether you have a long list of things to accomplish before your first workout or you’re like me and prefer to wing it, these are considerations to start thinking about now.

It’s Great Stress Relief

woman sitting in lotus pose on a yoga mat at home

The holiday season can be a stressful time of year for many of us no matter what we’re celebrating.

One of the things I enjoy the most about sticking to a workout plan as much as possible and trying new forms of exercise when I can is the sense of relief I feel from these activities.

Working out is a chance to turn my brain off and live in the moment. Nothing else matter except that next dance move, yoga pose, kilometre walked, or set completed.

My goal is to get at least thirty minutes of exercise a day, but sometimes I extend a session or go out for another walk simply for the chance to focus on the way my body feels in those moments.

It’s often exhilarating.

If you make fitness-based New Year’s Resolutions, what goals will you be setting for this winter?

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July 29, 2020 · 1:00 am

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Stuff on My Bucket List

Hosted by Long and Short Reviews.

Click here to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and here to see the full list of topics for the year.

Some of topics over the last several weeks have been tricky ones, but this one is easy.

Red sandstone cliffs and red beach at Prince Edward Island.

By Fundamentaldan – Own work, CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1550270

One of the biggest things still on my bucket list is visiting Prince Edward Island. My curiosity about this province began when I first read the Anne of Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery.

Someday I want to see their red roads, rocks, and beaches for myself.

Visiting the various real-life places that Montgomery fictionalized for her stories would also be amazing.

The interesting thing about this goal is that I rarely yearn to travel much in general! I usually prefer to stick close to home due to how easily I feel motion sickness on various forms of transportation.

I’d love to go back to school someday and get a Masters degree. My Bachelors degree was in Psychology, so maybe something related to that? I once dreamed of working as a therapist and still think that would be a rewarding line of work.

Learning how to enjoy jogging is something I’d also like to accomplish. I’ve tried several times and have never felt that runner’s high that some athletic people talk about. Maybe one day it will happen.

Becoming fluent in Spanish is the final big thing on my bucket list for the time being. Learning to speak a second language is a lot of work, so I dip in and out of practicing it as my time and energy levels allow for. I’d bet I could become fluent if I were more diligent about practicing. Can anyone recommend some good Spanish music or TV shows?

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January 8, 2020 · 1:00 am

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: My Goals for 2020

Hosted by Long and Short Reviews.

Click here to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and here to see the full list of topics for the year.

My goals for 2020 are simple.

Woman sitting on a bench in an art museum looking at large paintings. Visit More Museums. It’s been too long since I stepped foot into a museum. That needs to change.

Try New Things. It could be as simple as visiting a new restaurant or as complicated as having a full-blown conversation in Spanish. I want to stretch my comfort zone this year.

Study Spanish Again. Speaking of foreign languages, I stopped studying Spanish last year. I want to pick it up again and hopefully get to a point where I can have conversations in that language. Learning a new language is hard,  and I deeply admire everyone who becomes fluent in a new language.

Spend More Time in Nature. While I love living in a big city, there’s something incredibly relaxing about spending time in nature. I want to do that more often.

Reply to Emails Faster.  I wasn’t always good at that in 2019. Let’s see if I can do better this year.

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June 24, 2019 · 1:00 am

Update on Autumn Goals

Last autumn I blogged about four goals I wanted to accomplish. Originally, I was planning to revisit it in the winter, but it turned out I needed more time than I originally thought for a wide variety of reasons.

So much has happened in my life since last year. I’ve finally had the chance to sit down and write a proper update for all of you.

For anyone who hasn’t read that post yet, these were the goals I set then:

 

 – Spend one hour a week lifting weights. 

 – Meditate for 20 minutes a day.

 – Join new social groups.

– Write my second sci-fi novel. 

  So how did I do? Let’s go through the original goals one by one.

Spend One Hour a Week Lifting Weights.

Progress: Accomplished.

While I did need to take a few temporary breaks from weightlifting for medical reasons, I have been lifting weights for an hour a week as often as I could. I count this as a success!

For those of you who haven’t met me in real life, know that I’m a short, petite woman. People have often assumed that this means I’m not physically strong. There have been a few times over the last nine months when folks were surprised when I didn’t need help lifting something up or carrying it.

I do appreciate friendly offers of assistance. With that being said, there is something amusing about seeing the way people react when they realize that I’m stronger than I look. Their eyes grow wide for a split second, and they don’t know what to say next.

This definitely wasn’t my original reasons for getting into weightlifting, but the feeling of accomplishment and independence that comes from being able to rely on yourself to lift heavy stuff is a real perk of it.

 Meditate for 20 Minutes a Day.

Progress: Modified but accomplished.

Sitting meditation was a good idea during some of the medical stuff I dealt last year and this year. Walking meditation was more helpful at other times.

I have not been keeping strict tabs on how often I meditate, but I am doing it much more regularly and for longer periods of time these days. The only caveat to this is that much of it involves me going for a walk and drinking in my surroundings instead of sitting perfectly still every single time.

There’s something about the act of walking that makes it much easier for me to acknowledge and then release my thoughts as they bubble up.

 Join New Social Groups.

Progress: Accomplished and still ongoing.

Based on everything else that happened in my life over the past year, I’m proud of myself for working on this goal as much as I did.

I have checked out new social groups since last September and had a good time getting a feel for who they are and what they’re about.

There are other groups I still want to visit, so this goal is something I will continue to pursue in the future.

I believe in in taking your time when getting to know any group. Not every organization will be a good fit for everyone, but it’s also not always possible to know immediately if you should keep attending or find a different social outlet.

So I will continue to dip my toes into various meetings and events to see what I think of them.

  Write My Second Sci-fi Novel.

Progress: Ongoing but looking good.

Why is it so easy to knock out a 1,000 word blog post but so much more time consuming to write a novel? I mean, other than the fact that novels are generally at least 70,000 words long and sometimes much lengthier than that. Ha!

My second sci-fi novel is a work in progress. I did not mention the subject matter of it in last autumn’s post and will continue to keep most of it under wraps until I’m further along in the process. It’s been my experience that writing is easier when I don’t reveal too much ahead of time.

Let’s just say that it’s set somewhere other than Earth. If you recognize the red planet in this section of the post, you’ll have a clue about the setting.

I love all things connected to NASA and space exploration, and  I want to do as much justice to this story as someone from a non-technical background can do. There is a lot of research involved behind the scenes, so that is why it has taken me much longer than I originally thought it might.

Respond

What goals have you set over the last year or so? How are you doing with them?

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September 24, 2018 · 1:00 am

4 Things I Want to Accomplish This Autumn

There’s something about the autumn season that makes me want to write out lists and accomplish things. Maybe it’s because of how much I generally looked forward to school beginning again when I was a student.

A blank notebook can hold an endless number of possibilities. Several months from now they’ll be full of lecture notes, but there might be poems or little drawings scribbled in the margins. The smell of fresh paper is enticing, too.

An unread textbook is often full of interesting things that you never knew about the world before. Sometimes I even read parts of my textbooks – especially the literature ones –  that were never assigned to us for the sheer fun of it.

It’s been well over a decade since I took any courses, but I thought this year it might be helpful to set a few non-academic goals for myself. This post will be shorter than usual. My goals are fairly simple, and I see no reason to pad them out  since they don’t require a thousand words of explanation.

1. Spend One Hour a Week Lifting Weights.

I’m currently recovering from a minor injury that temporarily derailed my normal weightlifting routine. As soon as I’ve healed, I’m going to leap back into my normal routine of lifting free weights. I can’t tell you how much I miss that. In the meantime I’m trying to do some bodyweight activities that don’t aggravate my injury to keep up my strength as much as possible.

2. Meditate for 20 Minutes Every Day.

Honestly, my meditation habits have been pretty erratic these past six months. That needs to change.

3. Join New Social Groups.

One of the downsides of being a writer, and especially a full-time writer, is how much time we tend to spend alone typing on a keyboard. While I’m incredibly grateful for the many benefits of this career choice, I think it would be healthy for me to get out and socialize with other people at times.

Ideally, I’ll find at least one group that had nothing to do with writing so I can meet people from other professions and walks of life. I’m open to all possibilities, though, and hope to blog about my experiences once I find a couple of groups that suit my interests and schedule.

4. Write My Second Sci-Fi Novel.

This is by far my biggest goal for the autumn. A while ago I began a novel that was about a woman living in what used to be Arizona several generations from now after climate change permanently altered the landscape there and North America at large. I got stuck 30,000 words into it and have yet to finish it. I’m hoping I’ll be able to figure out how to do that one if I work on a entirely new story in the science fiction genre.

I’m tentatively planning to check back in with my readers in December to discuss how many of these goals I’ve reached and what’s happening with them in general.  My hope is that I’ll be very motivated to accomplish them now that everyone knows what I’m trying to do.

What are your goals for the next few months?

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