2018: My Plans For The Year Ahead
Firstly, Happy New Year! It is now officially 2018 and we have a whole year ahead of us. 365 days to fill with awesomeness. So have you thought about how you're going to fill them? I've been giving it some thought and that's what I want to share with you in today's post.
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My plans for 2018
Challenges
You may already know, I love a good challenge. Well, I have several planned for this year. I'll be updating you on my progress each week as I'll have a few on the ago at the same time. Some are reading related (2018 A to Z Reading Challenge, and Beat The Backlist), and some are writing related (several Camp NaNoWriMo's and the big one in November). You can also find my list of challenges at http://www.jolinsdell.com/p/my-challenges.html
500 words a day
I'm always busy. I have a lot of different projects going on, and juggle various jobs whilst being a mum, wife, and everything else. Needless to say I don't have much free time. I do plan to use my time better this year though, and make time for the things I want to do. One such thing is writing.
Every year I make the resolution to write more. I don't do too badly, but find I grab time when I can. This year I'm making time. I wanted to be realistic though and so have given myself a goal of 500 words a day. I'll be keeping track of this and the other habits I want to stick to this year in a habit tracker so I can clearly see my progress throughout the year.
More premades
Towards the end of 2017 my book cover design services launched, and I plan to add more happy clients to my portfolio this year.
Publishing plans
I have a lot of books I want to publish this year. Some non fiction, some children's picture books, and some novels. I also plan on finishing my serial fiction KOSMOS. It's going to be a busy 12 months.
Freelance writing
I used to do a fair bit of freelance writing in the past, but over recent years stopped. A big reason why I stopped was lack of time. I have even less free time now than I did back then so you may be wondering why I would consider starting back up this route now. The difference is that this time I have a plan.
In the past I did articles for low paying sites and so the time I spent writing them wasn't really worth it. This year I'll be targeting specific publications and websites, and higher paying markets. Again, I want to be realistic with my goals, and so I'm going to aim for one article a week (at least to start with). I'll be updating you on my progress throughout the year.
Blogging
As with every year I plan to grow my blogs. Both this one, and Writers And Authors. I'll be working more on marketing both, and building a larger readership. I'm also going to be looking into new ways to increase profits over at Writers and Authors, and will be adding some new services.
Promo Day
Promo Day will make it's annual return again this year on Saturday 5th May. You can find out more about the event at the Promo Day website. I would love to grow the event even more this year. I'm still working on ideas but already have some excellent presenters lined up for the webinars.
A healthier me
Not directly a work related goal but still an important one that will have an effect on my work. As some of you that have followed me for some time will know, I don't have the best of health. My immune system often shuts down due to allergies. Being ill is not only unpleasant, it also effects my work. It's hard to keep up with deadlines when you're stuck in bed with a temperature or a virus.
So my plan for 2018 is to be healthier. I'm going to be working out every day. Yep, work out is on my habit tracker too. I may share more insight into my work outs and the progress I make through out the year as I think it's important to take care of our bodies. It's also something a lot of writers neglect. We spend far too much time sitting around which can have a negative effect on our health. I won't be signing up for any flashy gym memberships. It will all be simple workouts that can be done from home with little or no equipment. The sort of stuff anyone can do.
What are your goals for 2018?
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2018 challenges
2018 goals
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Jo Linsdell
My Plans For The Year Ahead
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17 comments
Hi Jo!
ReplyDeleteI hope you succeed with all your goals, as I'm sure you will! :-)
My goals consist of:
1) Polishing my book to the point where I can look into querying for 2019.
2) Finding a better paid job.
3) Getting healthier and using my bike more than I do.
4) Outlining my second book for NanoWrimo in November.
I wish you all the best for 2018 :-) Jo!
Great goals Peter. I'm sure you'll succeed. I hope to get out and about on my bike more too as part of my "get healthier" goal :)
DeleteThose cover designs look wonderful! I think you're going to have a fantastic year if you meet those fantastic goals. ^_^ Best of luck with your business, writing, blogging and more!
ReplyDeleteThanks Emma :)
DeleteGreat goals good luck. My big one for this year is to read more diversely. I'm using the diversity bingo board from last year to help me with this. I also hope to just read more on general and to blog a bit more. I'd also like to get more involved with the book community.
ReplyDeleteGemma @ www.gemmasbooknook.blogspot.com
That's a great goal Gemma!
DeleteExcellent post - you are inspiring me!
ReplyDeleteI love how thought out you've been with planning your year.
ReplyDeleteI discovered in the past, at my own cost, that not having a plan just doesn't work. This year I'm using that experience and indulging my inner control freak by being as organised as possible ;)
DeleteYour goals are great! Mine include expanding my blog (I just launched it on a new platform the end of last year), Reading, and getting my black belt in Taekwondo.
ReplyDeleteWe have horrible food allergies (among others) over here. So I totally understand how it can impact life.
How cool that you do Taekwondo. I love martial arts. My kids are both Italian Champions of Jiu Jitsu and members of FIGMMA. I full respect for anyone who does these sports.
DeleteCongrats on launching your new blog. Reading more is always a good goal to have ;)
Allergies are a real pain. I'm celiac and have other food intolerances as well. I'm also allergic to other stuff. When it's one thing at a time it's easier to deal with. When multiples strike at the same time it sends my immune system into total chaos which means I then get every virus doing the rounds. On the upside I do at least know my problem is allergies now. I went years not knowing why I was ill all the time which made it all the more frustrating.
Good Luck with your goals. Think this is the first year I haven't set any particular goals except to not have another nothing year - when I was working out at the end of 2017 what I had done that year nothing stood out. I just don't want to get to the end of 2018 and feel the same again.
ReplyDeleteThanks. Maybe you should try mini goals instead of bigger ones. You get to tick them off quicker and so it helps keep you motivated as you work towards your bigger end goal. You could also try using a goal jar. Every time you reach a personal goal write it on a piece of paper and put it in the jar. At the end of the year it'll be easy to see how you did throughout the year.
DeleteMan! you're busy. I posted mine and it's boring compared to this. haha
ReplyDeleteI'll be doing other stuff too that's not listed here. This is just the stuff I'm keeping trackers for. I definitely keep myself busy ;)
DeleteI don’t actually really set New Years resolutions. If I want to do something like eating healthy I just start doing it - lol. Good luck on your goals! 😊
ReplyDeleteI wish I had your discipline. I'm good at starting stuff like that but I tend to slowly drop them as time goes on if I don't keep track of them. By setting myself specific goals I'm much more likely to do them long term.
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