ROW80,  Writer's life

ROW80 – 2022 – Round 1 – Goal Post (January, 2nd 2022)

Hi everyone and Happy New Year! May you find joy and peace in life this year.

Note: To keep later posts short, I’ve made a Trello board with my goals for the year. Feel free to check it out if you want to know more about the bigger plan.

My word for the week is PLANNING.

With the start of the year, it’s only natural, and since I had a cold all week, it was also easier to just plan than actually do anything.

Well, nothing extra, that is. I did stick to my plan of writing while the girls were away, though I just went with the flow and let myself rest and heal before anything else. I guess that was the way to go as I finally made progress both on the short story and the fantasy saga.

December Wrap-up

But first things first, I’m also wrapping up for December. It went well and was a productive month but I was so exhausted at the end I’m glad many big goals are behind me.

December Goals

Writing: aiming at 40% (PASS)
CS Cycle 2.1 54%
Writing short story: aiming at 100% (PASS)
Sex Therapy 100%
Correcting: aiming at 100% (PASS)
Meditation: Low Mood 100%
Translating: aiming at 100% (PASS)
Meditation: Emergencies 100%
Translating: aiming at 100% (PASS)
Meditation: Advanced 100%
Recording: aiming at 100% (PASS)
Meditation: Sleep Stories 100%
Video editting: aiming at 100% (PASS)
Meditation: Loving Kindness 100%
Video editting: aiming at 100% (PASS)
Meditation: Sleep 100%
Publishing: aiming at 100% (PASS)
Meditation: Learning to sit 100%
Publishing: aiming at 30% (PASS)
Meditation: Beginners 30%
Work: Japanese course: aiming at 100% (PASS)
Module 5: lesson scripts 100%
Work: Japanese for kids/teenagers: aiming at 8% (PASS)
Erin-based ppt 8%
Hanashimashou: aiming at 50% (PASS)
M4: Enriched ppt lessons for online classes 57%
Story Time: Wizard & Cat: aiming at 100% (PASS)
Module 2 tests 100%
Studies: aiming at 100% (PASS)
Best Practices for Education 100%

Yearly Goals

One thing I learned on Christmas Eve is that I need to schedule breaks or I just keep planning things to do. So I’ve decided I’d take breaks from work more often in 2022 and I’ll also plan working on my goals accordingly. For instance I might keep writing during one of these breaks but I’ll make sure there are no lessons to prepare then.

And a real holiday with no checklist and just going with the flow would be nice too. It may seem strange but I need to give myself permission to do that in advance or I just keep doing things…

Anyway, this year is when I begin my Bachelor’s in Japanese, so I tried to downsize my goals a little.

On Trello, I created a section for goals that are on hold and won’t be revisited this year. This is more convenient: when I do get back to them, I’ll just need to move them back into the right section and pick up where I left things. Hopefully, it will also keep me from adding lots of new goals and make me focus on completing what I started before moving on to other things. Either way, I feel a little frustrated, so I figured the scenario where I actually gets things done and completed is better. ^^

If you prefer to see my yearly goals at once rather than on the Trello board, I’ve included a screenshot from my spreadsheet for 2022 below. šŸ˜‰

(I’m afraid it’s a mix of English and French, as usual ^^; )

A dash means nothing is planned in a given category for a given month. An empty cell means something could be added if necessary/possible. Typically, that’s in the business and renovation columns, as these are the less predictable. I did plan 1 tutorial a month as far as business is concerned.

As far as writing and plotting are concerned, I’ll focus on the fantasy saga (code name CS) while also writing short stories and revising existing stories.

For online courses, I’ll give final touches to Module 1 and launch before building Module 2. On paper, I could probably do 2 modules a year, but it’s time-consuming so I’ve decided 1 module a year is fine. And technically, that’s business too.

Story Time (teaching material) will be about completing things that have been works in progress for a couple of years.

Japanese lessons will take a lot of time and energy this year but I know it’s manageable because I have a routine. And starting next year, this should become much lighter so it’s worth it. (Also, I’m actually using the lessons with students, so it’s part of my class prep’s allotted time.)

Learning will be about Japanese too. Though I need to take beginners classes for credit so the first term shouldn’t be too hard. ^^;
The only thing is I have to attend 2 to 3 classes a week and I haven’t been told when or how long the classes will be yet, but I think it should be OK. Anyway, studying for exams should be easy and if the full-time schedule is too tight this term, I’ll just switch to half-time in September.

Translation will be mostly about meditationĀ again, and videos will follow, but I’d also like to try and translate another collection of flash fiction into English.

I won’t publish any books this year but I’ll work on several and maybe publish yearly starting 2023.

I also intend to alpha-read for a family member, and maybe beta-read for a couple of other writers. (And of course read at least 1 book a month!)

As far as alpha- and beta-readingĀ for my own stuff is concerned, I’ll experiment audio-revising: recording a chapter to see how it flows, editing accordingly, then sending to Hubby so that he can alpha-“read” (or alpha-listen rather). Depending on how much benefit I get from this, I’ll decide whether it’s worth the extra time.

So another full year, I think. ^^

Round Goals

For Round 1, not much is new, except the Bachelor’s as I want to see how this goes.

I’ll also try my new alpha/beta-reading idea: recording the chapters (like an audio draft). Hubby suggested it when he found he enjoyed audiobooks and I thought it could also be a good exercise while revising, to actually feel the words, the pace and so forth.

The downside is that it’ll probably require time so I may have to reorganize or even drop it altogether depending on how useful it proves to be. I’ll record the first 2 chapters this week and see how that goes. ^^

Writing

  • CS2 "Harmonies"

    I'll keep on writing, and hopefully reach 50% of completion on Book 2 (so compelte 2.1 and write half of 2.2).

  • Short stories

    I will write 1 short story entitled "The Consultant".

Translating

  • Meditation Project

    I will translate 3 Packs for my own project, and maybe a pack or 2 for the Foundation.

  • Rotten (Flash Fiction)

    I will translate 6 pieces.

Publishing

  • Meditations

    I'll continue sharing the Beginners' pack, then move on to Loving Kindness and Low Mood.

Work

  • Online courses

    I'll make sure Module 1 is ready for launching in April.

  • Story Time & Teaching Guides

    I'll make final checks and modifications on completed workbooks.

  • Japanese courses

    I'll keep making content weekly (2 lessons for teenagers per month, 2 lessons for adults per week); I'll make audio files for Module 5; I'll compile the workbook for Module 1.

  • Quality certification

    I'll make and share 1 tutorial a month.

Renovating

  • Family Room

    We'll refurnish properly and decorate.

  • Kitchen

    We'll reinstall the sink.

  • Parental Suite

    We'll finish the bathroom, add a door to the bedroom and decorate (light fixtures too).

  • Hall & toilets

    We're hoping to change the entrance door, do something about the ugly walls, lay tiles and close the toilets.

Personal

  • Studies

    I'll focus on my Bachelor's (1st and 2nd term).

  • Well-being

    I'll keep focusing on general well-being: better and longer sleep, meditation and losing weight (hopefully 10 more kilograms).

  • Sport

    I'll keep doing yoga regularly (ideally, daily, but realistically I know I'll give myself some breaks too). I'd like to try dancing with my daughters too.

  • Reading

    I'll read at least 1 paperback a month as part of my decluttering effort. And I'll add an ebook here and there (maybe one per Round).

January Goals

My goals for the month mostly follow through December goals.

And since the month started yesterday, I’ve already made some progress and even completed a couple of goals. ^^

January Goals

Writing: aiming at 50%
CS Cycle 2.1 56%
Writing short story: aiming at 30%
The Consultant 0%
Revising/Recording: aiming at 30%
CS Cycle 1.1: record for revisions and alpha-reading 0%
Correcting: aiming at 100%
Meditation: Emergencies 100%
Correcting: aiming at 100%
Meditation: Advanced 100%
Translating: aiming at 100%
Meditation: Teachers 60%
Translating: aiming at 12%
Rotten 0%
Recording: aiming at 100%
Meditation: Low Mood 0%
Recording: aiming at 100%
Meditation: Learning to sit (app version) 0%
Video editting: aiming at 100%
Meditation: Low Mood 0%
Publishing: aiming at 80%
Meditation: Beginners 40%
Work: Japanese course: aiming at 100%
Module 5: audio 3%
Work: Japanese course: aiming at 100%
Workbook 1.1 3%
Work: Japanese for kids/teenagers: aiming at 16%
Erin-based ppt 8%
Hanashimashou: aiming at 73%
M4: Enriched ppt lessons for online classes 57%
Story Time: Wizard & Cat: aiming at 100%
Finalize workbook 1 94%
Studies: aiming at 100%
Online Teaching 62%

How about you? What is your word for this week and why? And what are your goals for the year/round/month? Let me know or share your links in the comments. Take care!

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