Tag: 2020

Carving out Goals (pretty bold for 2020)

Gee willikers, Radioactive Man, we are already halfway through 2020. While I am tempted to sit and wallow in my little pit of denial a bit longer, I suspect I have a better way to deal with this mini-existential-crisis-in-the-making. While it’s true that this year holds the record for worst played game of Jumanji in recent history, there’s still six months stretching out before us. Now, granted; there is the distinct possibility that next month a well-intentioned scientist will bring back tyrannosaurus rex (but with longer arms and an insatiable taste for human flesh), or not-so-friendly aliens in search of their next home world will invade (and they won’t be susceptible to water or the common cold), or we will discover that those monsters in Tremors have finally woken up from a long hibernation (and they are pissed). In spite of the possibilities, I would still like to hold out hope that this dumpster fire of a year might be turning around. Ha- I know, I may have just jinxed the entire human race. My bad.

Let’s not be too harsh, this was literally a couple of how-to-draw youtube videos cobbled together in about 20 minutes by a girl who has never been known for her artistic abilities. But still- kind of fun to play with. Creativity Challenge: check! (side note: that is supposed to be the Space Needle, although it kind of gives the impression that it’s a sandwich being offered to the aliens on a very large platter. Be that as it may, I stand by my work. yay for beginners!) Side-side note: I have named the alien Snoot-Snoot, and our T-Rex is Terry.

The point that I’m very slowly meandering towards (sorry, it was way too fun coming up with different end-of-the-world scenarios) is that the past six months have made for an extraordinarily painful year for the vast majority of people. But here’s the silver lining: oftentimes the painful moments lead to the most growth. We’ve been given a glimpse of a future we don’t want to continue towards. We’ve been given a time out to reevaluate what we want from our lives, our employers, our neighbors, and our countries. I could go down the political rabbit hole right now, but I’m going to pump the brakes on that one for today. Right now my focus is going to be narrowed considerably. I think most of us have come to a impasse where change is going to be a requirement moving forward. We want to change society as a whole and the systems we live our lives within, we want to change the working environment that has not prioritized us as human beings. We want to change our role in the spaces in inhabit. But change starts with us before it can ripple out and take over the rest of the world.

It’s been a while since I’ve done any in-depth goal planning for my life. Primarily because when the world hits the proverbial pause button and you don’t know what your new normal will look like a week from now, it’s difficult to plan much farther than ‘today.’ But at the moment, I can see my personal trajectory a little bit better (and also: I’ve become a black belt in the art of pivoting when life throws a punch, so bring it June, I’m ready for ya) so I’m feeling a little bit more comfortable with this whole ‘planning’ thing. Which leads me back down an old path: monthly goal planning sessions- that’s right, time to get pumped.

It’s become abundantly clear to me that I am not particularly happy with my day-to-day routine. While I work in a field that I enjoy, the actual tasks in my wheelhouse are not things that I find rewarding. The pandemic has changed some of that; I’ve delved into creative problem-solving that will have a long-term impact on my organization, and I am very proud of that. But I know that once the dust settles, I’ll be given a thank you and shooed back to regularly scheduled programing. I think it might be time to start winding down this clock and looking for opportunities that will allow me to be a better person than I am right now. I’m worried that I’m getting jaded, and I don’t want to be that snarly woman who is afraid of change. So what now? What can I do this month that will allow me to walk into the apocalypse with a clear mind?

For starters: it’s time to make arrangements to get back to school. I need to wind down my work hours so that I can accommodate night classes again. I need to save up enough money and register for a realistic course load. This is a road I have been down before, and it’s time to finish what I started. Bonus: most campuses are focusing on e-learning, which is something I am actually pretty good at, so that’s awesome.

Next: double down on the things I love because maybe, just maybe, I can turn them into something. I need to figure out why I don’t have faith in some of my dreams. Why don’t I believe my career goals are worth anything if they don’t include a 9 to 5 and a desk I’ll repeatedly bang my shin on. So perhaps this summer is the chance I need to reinvest in myself and my creative endeavors. Furthermore, even if these passions of mine never strike gold- I know without a shadow of a doubt that I am a better person when I invest in them. They light a fire in my soul that is not easy to quench.

It’s a given that I will keep pursuing my Creativity Challenge, but I can take it one step farther. We live in a unique time where you can do just about anything if you have a decent internet connection and some drive. So for June I will challenge myself to create, to dig deep and push harder with my writing, with my arts, with my creative endeavors (see silly pencil drawing above). Because who knows if this was the key all along and I was too scared to trust it. The goal is to stop being afraid of imperfection in your art, in your creations: hence why I am going to post the beautiful right next to the ugly. You never know embers are going to catch until you let them fly.

I’ve always been a pretty liberal thinker, and I have never shied away from sharing my opinions with those in my life. That being said, I tend to avoid certain topics on this blog, and I don’t really have a reason why. But I think enough is enough. I can’t be honest with my work if I’m not fully open as well. So June is going to be a time to amplify the causes I care about. And if I offend anyone…well, then that happens. I’m not really at a place where I am willing to apologize for that anymore.

The key to any decent goal setting is actionable steps. If you have read a single self-help or motivational book, you will know exactly what I am talking about. Overarching ideas are pretty, but they don’t get the job done. So. Actions to be taken in June for this little bug:

  • Take care of yourself in order to take care of others
    • drink 70 oz of water a day
    • 30 minutes of movement a day
    • journal at least twice a week
    • daily gratitude: write it down, say it, scream it for the neighbors (actually, don’t to that, they wouldn’t like it)- spend 5 minutes listing out 10 things you are grateful for in that particular day
  • Career and Education
    • Make a back-to-school plan and budget for the fall
    • Complete one online course (Masterclass, Coursera, Udemy- there are a hundred)
    • Read 1,500 pages (audiobooks also acceptable): I’ll talk about reading lists later this week
  • Creating
    • Minimum of 3 new blog posts per week (reintroduce old segments, such as Lush-Us Lessons, Mimosa Musings, Reading Challenge Spotlights, add a weekly Signal Boost)
    • Creativity Challenge: pick a weekly theme and complete one small task every day, plus one larger challenge each week. (example: drawing/painting one week, needlework and sewing another week, plotting how to take over the world can be week 3)
    • Finish editing Fan Fiction piece and upload it at the end of the month
    • Work on WIP for 30 minutes every day (even when you don’t feel like it)
    • Plot for July Camp Nano

So, my bookish allies, raise your favorite beverage (or the one closest to you at the moment). Cheers to us, to this new adventure, to making plans at the end of the world. May the remainder of 2020 not be a dumpster fire, and may this year wind up becoming the most important one of all.

2020 Reading Challenge

The pile of books I own but haven’t read would astound even the most astute hero. Hermione Granger, Belle, and Rory Gilmire might all hesitate before attempting to climb my particular TBR mountain. To give you an idea, I could start a new one every single day for the next 4 years and still not reach the bottom of the stack. I know: it’s one part impressive, one part startling, and two heaping spoonfuls of overwhelming.

Every year I make my pledge to Goodreads and write out my own little reading challenge for the year. For those who don’t feel the need to obsessively track every book they have ever read, Goodreads let’s you set a personal challenge every year and keeps track of it throughout the next rotation around the sun. I am a diehard, I will admit it. There is something so satisfying with watching your total tally tick slowly upwards knocking down my mountain one paperback at a time.

And yet, every year there is a single glaring issue with my plan: I continue to collect more than I read. This past year, for example, I bought twice as many books as I was actually able to finish. And then in December I gave myself a panic attack realizing how long it would take me to even find the halfway point of my current pile. How large would it grow to next year? And how many gems were stagnating in my personal catacombs, forever waiting for me to grace them with my attention? It was time for a change.

This year I’ve decided to try something a little bit different. Instead of following a pre-perscribed challenge full of obscure criteria surrounding colors, birthdates, or numbers of penguins on the cover (I can’t say I’ve actually come across this particular gem in my challenges, but I feel like it will be my personal mission to create it myself at some point this year). I’m making my own personal goals to follow through on. So without ado: the TBR-Crushing m
Master Plan of the book fiend.

Goal #1: End the Year with Less Books than I Started

Its a shocking concept, I know! Actually read the books I buy? What? I’ve never considered this before! I’ll be honest, I will never be able to stop getting new books. I’ve tried that path, and it didn’t work. I love being able to pick up the newest book in a series I’ve followed for years, or try my hand at a little nugget that alights my interest like an ember sparking dry grass. I don’t want to deny myself these small pleasures in a world that has so much to offer. So instead, I’m going to focus on actually reading books as soon as I buy them..if it seems worth reading right that moment, then I can get it. It jumps to the front of the line. No wasting time and money on things that look tangentially interesting- or even worse, things that I want to be interested in, but I’m really not. If I read every new book I buy, plus a few from my tombs- poof, I will end the year with less than I started. Even if it’s just one less- that’s still better than I’ve done for year.

Goal #2: Be Willing to Say Goodbye

I am a sucker for finishing what I have started. I can’t help it. I have slogged through books that put me to sleep, taken my headphones out without realizing I forgot to hit pause on my audiobook, and flat out didn’t care to go backwards before. I am learning that just because I own it doesn’t mean I have to like it. And if I don’t like it, I don’t have to waste the precious time I could be spending on one of the other hundred(s) waiting in line for their own chance to be seen. Not every book will light a spark in every person. I don’t have to try to be the right person every single time. I can say goodbye and set them down in the DNF pile to give to someone else who might appreciate their charms.

Goal 3: Quality Beats Quantity

I will admit- I have rushed through my share of books in an attempt to increase my tally, to make my little dent a bit more noticeable. I have picked out my quicker reads and left larger tomes locked away just to hit my numbers at the end of the month. I’ve turned reading into a task to be checked off of a list at the end of the day. I forget to find enjoyment in what I love. I commit the worst crime of all (even worse than bending pages to mark my spot). I don’t absorb or retain the words because I’m in such a hurry to get through them. So this year- I set my Goodreads goal low. I take breaks when I catch myself getting caught up in numbers. I prioritize other things: like my writing, or a bit of yoga to give my poor little brain a rest. No more distractions with books; it’s time to let them inspire me again with all of the beauty they have inside.

Goal 4: Variety is the Spice of Life

There is one goal that will not change: variety in my reading. I still want to experience pieces of the world that I wouldn’t normally, to learn about people with a very different perspective or experience. I want to soak up everything that books do best- teach us about one another and ourselves. But I’m not going to force myself into a rigid structure. I’m going to follow the flow of my interests wherever they take me- goodness knows I have enough fodder to keep myself inspired no matter where my imagination roams. This is the one thing that I always did right.

Goal 5: Share what I Love

I am not a huge fan of writing book reviews; I know, it’s a bit silly when you realize that I have a blog dedicated to creating and consuming books. But I have always hated the idea of being critical of another artist’s work, primarily because I know what it’s like to create. Book reviews and opinions are so subjective, and I wouldn’t want to turn someone away from a book that could wind up being their literary soulmate just because it didn’t speak to me personally. That being said, when I find something that sparks my interests, I am the type who will gush about it, yelling from the rooftops. So from now on: I will spend more time sharing the things that spoke to me, telling you all about the books that touched me, made me reconsider my life, or just plain taught me something interesting and new. After all, when you love something, the best thing you can do is give it wings to fly.

So cheers, my dears- to another trip around the sun. May we find inspiration and adventure beside newfound characters. Mau we find comfort in the tried and true friends of years gone by. May we explore and experience. But most of all- may we enjoy this journey.