End of January Goals Report
Or, nothing ever goes as planned... But, it's not how often we fall, or how hard we fall, but do we get back up and keep going.
So, my goals for this year included arting and writing and some personal stuff. Some of which are going to take all year, and some will be accomplished a little at a time.
Novel - Nothing done on it. But, it’s okay, other things have had priority, and it’s only January.
Short stories - 1 done and turned in. Two others I decided to skip (deadlines by end of January), due to a death in the family. No need for extra stress. But I do have plans and a general idea for one that is due in March.
Kid’s books - Nothing done on them.
Write for Substack - Well, here I am! I had another article on goals this month, as well. I also added notes several times, those may or may not count, but for this month they are going to count. So my goal of write on Substack twice/moth is met for January! Yay! Celebrate good times!
Other writing business goals, not completed, but again, it’s only January and I have 11 months left!
Feeling defeated by not doing a year’s worth of work in one month is counter-productive and that is one of the things that make people think that they have failed their new intended goals/projects. Been watching a Notion Channel (https://www.youtube.com/@notionsetups/videos) and I like how he calls goals = projects. Which is the way that I tend to think of them, too.
I have been going back and forth about using Notion, using XLS, using paper, etc on planning, as I’m currently using all 3 plus a Kanban board and a planner. I also recently took a one day workshop on long term planning that goes hand in glove with the HB90 planning that I’ve spoken of before, called “Your Path Forward”, it’s about gamifying your long term plans. I haven’t had a chance to work with it since the workshop, as that was the day I got the call about my Dad. So, I’m giving myself time and patience right now, as much as possible. But, back to the workshop, I definitely saw some ways that I could integrate it into my other planning systems. And Systems (yes, capital) are the key. (for me anyway).
So for art:
I did get my portfolio page started for the website. I need to resize the images for faster loading and add watermarks, and decide if I want to break it up into multiple pages or one long scroll? (Any preferences, folks?) And I hopefully fixed the newsletter submission button and contact button. I didn’t get any pre-mades up, but…
I’ve been auditing a course on Commercial Design Mastery by Vladimir Chopine (Geek at Play) through Digital Art Live Studio, and have learned some things, and mentally solidified some things, so that I feel going forward I have a better understanding of the art I’m creating and more confidence in what I’m creating. I am behind on homework there, for the aforementioned reason. But, hope to get it caught up.
I have had the opportunity to contribute covers and art to 3 different Fanvines, several times. So, hopefully that is helping to build my name at least a little.
So, 3D: Nothing done on those goals this month
Webinars: Just doing the auditing/TAing currently, but thinking about what I want to teach.
Fine Art: I have a 1/2 finished painting (landscape) that I just need to finish as a present for my hubby. Maybe by end of Feb it will be done. I’ll take a picture when it’s finished. It’s airbrush, acrylic marker, colored pencil, watercolor currently…so, will see what else goes into the mixed media.
Other Websites: Nothing done on them, but I’m looking at a complete revamp, especially as I’m likely moving to a new provider/host in June.
YouTube Channel: Nothing this month, but writing down ideas for the coming months.
So, how has your first month of 2024 gone? Have you faced it with courage?
See ya soon!
Phew! Lots of irons in the fire, as the saying goes. Same here. We're both artists and writers. Sometimes I want to focus on just one, but then I start to miss the other one. Sigh. And "goal" is actually PART of projects, not synonymous. I was a project manager (among other things) in the not-so-distant past. Goal starts the project. Then you figure the tasks needed to reach that goal. And don't worry if you don't hit all your targets. I keep telling hubby that. Sometimes you just gotta give yourself more time to do things than you think (he always underestimates). Best wishes for February and the rest of 2024! Shine on!