January Review and Quarterly Goals

I was sitting here thinking there are 5 Wednesdays in this month, but there are only 4. Then, I wondered how my last quarterly goals post was in the September but the next one isn't until March. Then, I remembered I take a break in December. Ooops. haha So here is a double dose of my monthly review and goals for the quarter.

© Creative Commons Zero (CC0)

January went by in a blur. I'm happy to say this new year, I entered with a much better mindset than last year. I was super depressed and grieving at the end of 2020, so I was very miserable January 1, 2021. After that, I started writing letters to my mom, and that really helped with my grief, and I moved on to the stress of a parent publisher that wasn't giving me any type of attention or support (except for the publicist. She was amazing).

Having requested to be released in December, I'm currently waiting for the official documents that confirm that, so I can focus on the road to self-publishing again. If all goes as planned, I want to start promoting at this year's Dover Comic Con, then release again on my birthday like I did the first time. It would be a nice little present to myself.

My older sister started a  group with a book called "Designing Your Life". We discuss what our life could be and how we might be able to get there. Our last activity, we created three jobs based on what gives us the most energy and engagement in our day-to-day life. All three of mine were far more creative than what I'm doing now. If I can get to do one of them, I know I'll be happier. One of my plans after my mom passed was to not get stuck in a job that drains the life out of me and do more things that I want to do. I need to start working towards that. That said...

My goals for the remainder of this quarter are:

Read 24 books this year (I'm already a book behind at this rate, but if I can read another book in the next 5 days, I'll feel like a wizard). I've had a couple of books that made me love sitting for an hour or so with some music and just reading again. I'm going to try to get back into the habit.

Write more. The other day, I wrote about 500 words while recrafting a scene in my sequel to FP. I was so excited. I've been opening that document up more, and I started recrafting another scene that I think will help push Jonnie forward a little more. I've also figured out the biggest plot in the story, just have to get to it. I'm squeeing inside just thinking about it.

Apply for more jobs. If I get added to one more task because someone else is retiring, I might implode. I understand my boss trusts me with stuff, which is always appreciated, but the bad thing about working for the State is that they like to pile stuff onto you when people leave, and of course you don't get paid extra for it. At another department, I spent almost a year doing another administrative assistant's job for free after they decided not to refill the position (sideways bitter smile). The one thing I know for certain is that I no longer want to do anything that resembles office work. I hate it. So I have to constantly force myself not to look at those openings so I'm not in the same place every 3 years at a new job. I need something more creative, and if that means taking a chance and stepping out to do something new, then that's what I'll have to do.

So, to sum up my results from September Quarterly Goals post, I'll say, things are slowly starting to move, and I'll say that's okay for now.