Let’s Do Something New for 2022- Why I’m Done With Resolutions…

Thanks for all the kind messages in the last post ❤ Wishing you all a Happy New Year! Let’s hope we all have a good one!

To kick off the new year, I wanted to talk about something I’m going to be doing differently: I won’t be doing any resolutions. Which, considering the fact I didn’t feel like recapping my 2021 resolutions, makes sense.

The thing is, I gave up on my reading resolutions very early in the year. A lot happened and I didn’t bother checking in with them- I just let my mood-reading-freak-flag fly high. So naturally when it came to doing a wrap up… it seemed a bit pointless. Sure, I could randomly tick off and cross off goals, yet if it was all unconscious and arbitrary, why bother? Which got me thinking about my goal setting in future.

The thing is, I’m a naturally goal-oriented person. I love setting myself a target and then running at it full pelt. However, I do think that setting goals when it comes to reading can put a bit of a dampener on things. I end up thinking too much in terms of what I’m achieving and less about what I’m enjoying right now. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I’m happiest being a mood reader. And reading is ultimately a hobby for me that *I don’t want added pressure from*. If I want to read something right now, I will. I don’t want to ruin that by thinking about what I (supposedly) ought to be reading.

Which also makes me think about how *boring* my resolutions posts were becoming. Because I try to accommodate my mood-reading ways, I tend to play it safe and try to stick to things I’d like to read anyway. That in turn becomes really samey (and doubtless really dull to read). My posts (including the one I scrapped) were pretty much falling into a formula of “I set these really easy goals and then I did them- woohoo!” And that seems daft to write about, considering how all the things I’m excited about were often left of field! I much prefer revealing all the lovely bookish surprises in stats and other wrap ups.

Ultimately, I can’t predict what’s going to happen… and that includes not knowing whether I’ll want to return to resolutions in the future. Right now, I’m going to let the goals go and just read whatever I fancy. Have a cool 2022!

Are any of you trying something new? How do you feel about resolutions? Let me know in the comments and Happy New Year! ❤

My Resolutions for 2021

Well, last year was… different. Like so many of us, for reasons outside my control, a lot of my plans for 2020 didn’t quite work out. Needless to say, I didn’t complete my goals. Because of that I’ve decided to shift my perspective for 2021. Instead of using this time of year to get powered up for the next year, I’m actually going to be thinking of how I can give myself a break.

That’s why, before I get into my resolutions, I’m first gonna talk about the goals I’m notsetting myself. I’ve basically removed any tough goals or anything that’s subject to massive changes like a global pandemic. This year I’ve decided to just go with the flow (for the most part) and won’t be putting down things like a challenging books, poetry or plays (though mentioning it is a bit like a placeholder to my future self that I want to start thinking about these things again midway through the year). And any resolutions I do make will be significantly more chill- for instance:

Bookish

Read 10 Non Fic!

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Despite the fact that reading 10 non fic, I’m not going to up this number. Given that I’ve clearly exorcised my non fic demons, I was in fact on the verge of taking it down a notch. However, at the last second I decided there were a few non fic I *have to* read for research purposes. So, this number is just gonna stay as a staple!

10 Classics

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This is the first year ever where the number of classics I read went down drastically– from 13% (28 books) to just 5% (11 books). I’m not happy about that and want to fix it! This is, to be fair, quite a doable number, so I may have to up this number mid-way through the year.

5 Rereads!

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Because if I don’t put it on the list, I won’t do it. Even though I enjoy this challenge the most!

Read 10 books I’ve been promising to read for years…

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This should be fun, because there are an amazing selection of books I’ve been saying I’ll read *for years*. And because I’ve been thinking about this a while, I did a helpful tag at the end of last year. I’m going to be keeping a vague TBR each month to make. this. happen!

Non-Bookish

3 yoga challenges

Yes, I did more of these last year, but this still feels like a good solid number. Doing 3 would be great!  

And that’s all I have for this year! As you can see, I’m definitely keeping it shorter than normal! I have some hidden goals (that I’m not putting up just yet cos I don’t want to pressure myself too much) which I may add in the middle of the year! I just want to give 2021 a chance to show me its true colours get going before I pin my sails to the mast!

What about you? Do you have any plans for 2021 big or small? Let me know in the comments!

Looking back on 2020 Resolutions- Success or Failure?

I find it almost hilarious to put “2020” and “success or failure” together in a sentence. 2020 has been a year… or 20 years in one, which is why I won’t even attempt to sum it up. I wish I could say I was someone who was productive in all the various lockdowns… but I wasn’t. And usually I find inspiration in my midyear’s resolutions to *keep going*… but I didn’t. I pretty much gave up with most of my goals early on.  Which is why my results are all over the place… 

Bookish

READ MORE NON FIC!

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Starting off with a massive success- I have no idea how I did it, but I managed to read 26 non fiction books in 2020!!! This is an absolute record for me!!

Score: 10/10

(shame I didn’t cheat and add points to this in the mid-year post cos I could’ve done with picking up a few- even if I’d already read over my target…)

READ MORE CHALLENGING BOOKS!

Oof massive fail. I just wasn’t feeling this after Covid struck.

Score: 1/10

READ MORE POETRY!

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Not a bad result considering I gave up on this too!

Score: 4/5

READ MORE PLAYS!

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No idea how I did it… but I did it!! Really surprised and happy with this win!

Score: 5/5

DO SOME REREADING!

I did well here! Somehow I managed to read more than my target of 5! I’m especially happy with this cos I always enjoy rereading (but I wouldn’t do it if not for this challenge!) Every single one of these books was an absolute pleasure to revisit. Pratchett in particular was a real tonic! And I finally started rereading the His Dark Materials trilogy!

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Score: 5/5

Non Bookish

DO MORE ART!

Ehh as I mentioned in my mid-year’s post, this was a poorly defined goal. I should’ve done more for it, but at the same time, I’ve done a gazillion cartoons this year (off the internet). I’m counting this as a win.

Score: 5/5

Do more yoga! 

So this is another big success! I completed three yoga challenges midway through the year and was actually inspired to keep going with another three challenges! So original challenge and extra credit combined gives me:

Score: 10/10

(if anyone’s interested in trying out the challenges, I did a bunch of the Yoga with Adriene ones- my favourites being Revolution and Home)

START A NEW WRITING PROJECT!

Done!

Score 5/5

I did have some stretch goals, but let’s face it, they were too much of a s-t-r-e-t-c-h!

SORT THROUGH BOX OF STUFF

Yeahhh I still can’t believe I was in two lockdowns and didn’t manage to finish this… but there were reasons (I swear not excuses) that I didn’t. I mean, when I was doing nothing but working, I didn’t much fancy doing a clear-out with the limited free time I did have. Much better to just watch the Tiger King (yes I know I could’ve easily combined those two things shhhh). Anyway, this is over half empty.

Score: 3/5

Total Score: 48/60 = 80%

B

Ahh I’m actually really happy with that! Can’t believe I’ve scraped through with a B! I’ve done worse before and it wasn’t 2020… so I’ll take it! How have you done with your resolutions this year? Let me know in the comments! And a ***Happy New Year*** to you all!

Mid Year Resolutions for 2020!

Well hello there! Looks like we’ve made it to midway through the year… which wouldn’t be a shocker if it was any other year than 2020 😉 (why didn’t the Incas warn us about this one?!) Anyhoo, it’s time to talk about my resolutions and how I’ve been neglecting doing with them. Last year, I decided to start the tradition of going through my resolutions at the midway point, so that I could stay a bit more focused… but this year’s going to be a little different (pahahaha you can say that again!) Usually I get very into point scoring and grading my performance- however this year I just know that the goals I set are no longer realistic. I’m doing a lot more mood reading (well, even more than normal) so I haven’t been paying much attention to hitting targets. And, just in general, with everything going on, I’m trying to go a easy on myself. That said, I do still want to look at where my head was at in January, before I knew what this year had in store and see how I’ve been getting on.

READ MORE NON FIC!

 

With 15/10 so far, I’m smashing this one out of the park! And I’ve even managed some of the ones that were on my TBR, like Wild Swans and Art of War. In any other year, I would consider readjusting this goal, but I just don’t want to put that kind of pressure on myself and just gonna mark this as done.

Current score: 15/10

READ MORE CHALLENGING BOOKS!

Annnd this is where the goals get tricky. I have only read 1 of these (Art of War) and have to be honest with myself that I’m unlikely to get anywhere near 10 this year- frankly, feeling like I want to read more relaxing books in (the blazing inferno) that is the year 2020, I’d be happy if I even ticked one more book off this list. Despite that, I’m not changing the goal, because, who knows, my mood could change towards the end of the year? Plus, I can say it’s “aspirational” (like buying a pair of jeans that would never fit… which is a terrible idea btw- don’t do that to yourself!)

Current score: 1/10

READ MORE POETRY!

Well this is another fail- I haven’t even read one. Again, I don’t see this changing drastically by the end of the year and I’m not going to worry too much about it.

Current score: 0/5

READ MORE PLAYS!

Well I want to read 5… and I’ve managed to read 2 so far. Not too bad, but still more to do! Unlike the last two, I’m eager to complete this goal! On the positive side, I’ve enjoyed speaking to my mum about the plays I’ve read so far and which ones to try next- I’d say this is shaping up to be a pretty good resolution all around 🙂

Current score: 2/5

DO SOME REREADING!

Ermm I’ve only reread the Hobbit so far this year… and it wasn’t even one I was hoping to do this year. That said, I have been thinking that the books I fancy rereading this year feel more like autumnal reads (this could just be a massive excuse though 😉). Either way, I’ve still got a lot to do with this goal.

Current score: 1/5

Non Bookish

DO MORE ART!

Well this was a poorly defined goal (as I said back when I made it) sooo I’ve no idea if I can count this one as done? I’ve been doing plenty of fun doodling… but not much else. From now on, I think the best way to keep track of this goal based on how many times a week I pick up a pencil/paintbrush. 1-2 times a week would be good (especially since I want to keep this kind of casual). Still, this doesn’t help me give myself a score- I’m gonna be generous and go with…

Current score: 3/5

Do more yoga!

Finally another one I’ve completed! I made it through three whole yoga challenges!!! (and we’re only midway through the year) This is one of the few goals I want to expand on- I’d like to add that *for extra credit* I’d like to do either another 2 challenges OR simply do yoga every day for 30 days again!

Current score: 5/5

START A NEW WRITING PROJECT!

YES! RESULT! I’m getting off to a great start with my new project and loving every second. I’ve written a plan and started working on the first chapter. This is another one I’m going to expand on for the end of the year. I’d simply like to add more to this project. Plus in terms of writing goals, for some serious extra credit I have another secret goal.

Current score: 5/5

SORT THROUGH BOX OF STUFF

Well, I’ve cleared half the box and can’t decide whether to be proud or dismayed. Of all my goals, this should’ve been the easiest to achieve in lockdown… and yet I can’t think of anything I’d like to do less! Sooo I’m gonna say I have done half (but also I don’t really care tremendously when this gets done right now).

Current score: 2/5

So far… 29/55

So (surprisingly) I’m over halfway done!

That said, I doubt I’ll be making much progress on the ones left… but we’ll see how I do for extra credit!

And that’s all for now? Did you set any goals this year? Have you stuck to them or have they changed since January? Let me know where you’re at in the comments!

Bookish (and some non bookish) Resolutions for 2020

Happy New Year! And welcome to the new decade!

Doesn’t 2020 sound like the year sci fi from the fifties is set? Shouldn’t we all be flying round on hoverboards by now?! Ah #goals. Sadly, I am not a scientist in any way, so all I’ve got are some resolutions about books and the like 😉 A lot of them may be quite similar to the last few years, but I find putting them up here helps keep me motivated. Still, there’s also a few new ones thrown into the mix, to keep things interesting. Let’s get into it:

Bookish

Read more non fic!

I’m just gonna recycle my goal of reading 10 new non fic books (though by rights I should probably up this number, after managing 15 last year, but I want to be a bit more realistic about it) Hopefully this year I’ll actually get to Wild Swans!

Read more challenging books!

Again, I’m using the same rule of trying to tick 10 more books off my challenging reading list. And since I didn’t quite make it last year, seems like it’ll be a challenge (and maybe this’ll be the year I finally read Jung, dammit!)

Read more poetry!

Okay, this is also the same as last year, however, I’m gonna clarify that I’m including epic poems as well as poetry collections.

Read more plays!

This one comes courtesy of not knowing what my mum is talking about half the time 😉 I don’t really enjoy reading plays as much as watching them, but needs must (plus my mum has a stonkingly big collection I should really take advantage of 😉)

Do some rereading!

Self-explanatory really. And I’m keeping to my 5 rereads number as well. Here’s just some of the books I fancy rereading:

Non Bookish

Do more art!

I’m taking this out my mid year’s resolutions- but this time I want to actually keep track of it- no idea how I’ll measure this though…

Do more yoga! Likewise, this was in my mid year’s resolutions- yet I actually want to get through those three yoga challenges! Wish me luck! (I’m gonna need it 😉)

Start a new writing project!

I’m deliberately keeping this a little vague, cos I’m not really sure what I want to achieve in my writing this year. I’d very much like to plan a new project… but I honestly don’t know if this’ll be doable. Plus, I’m halfway through a different project at the moment (so logically speaking my goal should be to finish that- I just feel pretty confident of doing that early in the year without making that a resolution). Soooo I guess I want this resolution to be a kind of place holder for *some kind of writing goal*

Sort through box of stuff

So, when I moved, my sister found a whole pile of stuff at the last minute that I’d not seen in half a decade… (*sarcastic yay*) which means I gotta sort through it… (*sarcastic yay*)

And that’s about it for now! I also have a bunch of (admittedly not so exciting) personal goals this year… and so I had to really resist the urge to add a bunch more. For now, I think this is a realistic number… hopefully!

What do you think of my resolutions this year? Do you have any resolutions you plan not to do? Let me know in the comments!

Mid Year Resolutions for 2019!

 

Hello all! It’s time to check up on my resolutions for the year *DUN DUN DUNNNN*. I’ve never done this on my blog before, though I’m a big fan of mid year resolutions in general, but I figure this was better than doing my usual mad-dash-to-the-end panicked check up around November. So, let’s see how I’m getting on with it now, shall we?  

Bookish:

10 More Books from My Challenging list

Ermm yeah, this isn’t going that well. I have only managed 4. Frankly, this is cos I haven’t had much luck with the ones I have picked up. The first of the year was Atlas Shrugged… and we all know how that one turned out for me. Then there was Maps of Meaning, which contained interesting ideas, but the writing style was flawed (I recommend sticking to the lecture series for this one). Finally, I tried Vanity Fair, which was superbly written, however I didn’t connect to because the characters are AWFUL people. So yeah, excuses aside, I have a long way to go with this goal. Lastly, I recently finished Faust, which sadly ended up being a plodding “poetic” translation and I preferred Marlowe’s version. 

Updated goal: 6 to go!

10 Non-Fiction Reads

Well, I can say I’m on track for this one- I’ve managed 5 so far this year- most of which have been good. The highlight of these was definitely the Man in the White Sharkskin Suit– a random find that was super emotional and well worth the read (review to come). I’d better not be complacent though- there’s still 5 to go…

Updated goal: 5 more non-fic

5 Rereads

I’ve knocked this one out of the park! I’d actually like to try and read more, but we’ll see. 

COMPLETED!

5 Poetry Collections

Oh wow, I suck. I have completely failed this. To be fair, I’ve been reading a lot more poetry- but collections? I’ve managed just the one:

I’m also counting Faust again, because I had to get through 350 pages of verse!

Updated goal: 3 more to go!

Non Bookish:

Compile notebooks

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I’ve managed to do a lot of this. In fact, I did all the ones I thought I had… then finished another notebook, which I’m gonna save for the second half of the year. I’ll calculate that as 4/5.

Updated goal: type up wolfy notebook

Complete another language on Duolingo

Soooo this one is weird, cos I did go through all the lessons in the first few months of the year- and what have I learnt: nada 😉 Okay maybe I learnt something, but I don’t remember it now. I do think I’d benefit from trying to do some grammar practice- but I’m not sure how much time I’ll have to do this- until I have time to reassess, I’m gonna give myself 5/5 and say…

TENTATIVELY COMPLETED

I do feel like I might be letting this guy down though…

THE DREADED EDITING

I have done so much of this! I’ve edited books 2 and 3 of my #OverlyAmbitiousWIP and am nearly finished with 1. The problem with editing, though, is that it’s not the most straightforward of processes. I have a lot more edits for the second and third books now. Still, they’re pretty straightforward and I have high hopes for finishing this on target (if not before!). I’ve calculated this as 25/30 in terms of how far I am.

Updated goal: nearly there!

Which means I’m 71% done and my current grade is…

C-

Not fabulous, but I have time to rectify that.

And for extra credit…

I’ve decided to add a few new goals to the roster:

Art- start painting again and finish sketchbook

I’ve been working on drawings a lot more this year and I kinda want to start an Instagram for it (but I’m super nervous and not sure about it). I do want to start doing more painting (beyond Watercolours).

Yoga challenge x2

Thanks to my sister dragging inviting me to disco yoga earlier in the year, I’ve actually started doing yoga (it surprised me as much as it probably does you 😉 ) I’ve been doing it a few times a week and managed one 30 day yoga challenge. So, quite simply, this is to do another two of those challenges. I think there’s enough time before the end of the year to get this done… hopefully… wish me luck!

And that’s it for now! I have made a note of some tentative goals I might add later in the year, but you won’t have to hear about them till I have my *freakout* at the end of the year 😉 I want to know if any of you have goals this year? How have you been getting on with them? Let me know in the comments!

Bookish (and Some Non Bookish) Resolutions for 2018

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Literal stock photo 😉

So, like most of the population on New Year’s Day, I’m completely zonked today and basically want to huddle under my duvet until winter stops… which means it’s the perfect time to write some resolutions for 2018!! (cos we all know how well that tends to work out) Warning: it’s almost guaranteed I will forget about these in a month or two, but everyone loves a guilty book blogger, and these are guaranteed to make me nice and red-faced come next December 😉

Bookish:

10 More Books from My Challenging list

Yep, starting off with one that was on my resolutions last year. My list of challenging books is quite long (and always growing) so I can’t include all of them, but here’s a few that are top priority:

How’d this list get so cheery? 😉 No wonder I’ve been avoiding this list like the plague…

Also subheading: FINISH READING MAPS OF MEANING YOU LAZY SCHMOCK! (I read the intro and first chapter back in 2016, it’s getting a bit ridiculous now, no matter how hard it is)

10 Non-Fiction Reads

The great thing about this is a fair number of the books still on my challenging reading list are Non Fiction- so hopefully this’ll be two birds, one stone.

Delay putting a goodreads challenge on

So this is a complicated resolution- but last year I focused wayyy too much on how much I was reading- and a lot of that came from doing the goodreads challenge straightaway in January. Even though 75 was my goal *for the year*, I saw that and thought “challenge accepted” and proceeded to bulldoze towards that goal. To the point where I kept pushing the goal up-and-up-and-up before the end of the year. I wish I’d taken more time with my reading now and been a bit more relaxed in those opening months especially (cos right now I’m really experiencing burnout). That’s why my goal is not to put the challenge on for as long as possible (although I’m not saying to not do it at all, because I know that’ll be an impossibility)- I’ll say I get a pat on the back for every month I manage to have s(h)elf control.

5 Rereads

This goes back to trying to *relax* with my reading more (pahahaha, me? Relax? Good luck with that). I’m not going to push my luck- but I’d like to manage a similar number to last year.

Try and be More Organised with Reading Plans

You know, like have some sort of TBR. It doesn’t have to be official (let’s face it, it won’t be in posts cos *laziness*) still I should at least try to be a bit more organised. Especially since I’ve had a couple of ARCs in particular that I want to read and okay, I’ve been in  a slump for a month, but I still feel bad about it and LET’S GET ON WITH IT already! (Immediately after writing this, I scribbled down a list for January… so can I already count this as a success please?)

Try to Stop Reading Books You Know You Won’t Like

Yes, sometimes I’m guilty of picking up books where I think “this sounds so cliché and awful” annnd then proceed to read it anyway. Obviously you can’t avoid all bad books- yet sometimes I know I’m making a mistake. I just need to step away from the hype and back off from the trashy teen stuff. Hey future self: PUT IT DOWN.

Non Bookish:

Finish compiling notes from notebooks

This one is actually not that hard, considering I’ve done most of the legwork. I’ve basically been compiling notes from my notebooks (on the left is the ones I’ve done), for various different stories (not including WIP) that go back about 10 years. I’m down to the last three (on the right) and they’re only small, so this should be a doddle.

Finish that awful guitar for dummies book

Okay this also = do something about my awful, sporadic practising habits (I have a feeling I’m setting myself up for failure here)

Mumble bumble something about French…

Aka find some new way to practice French instead of just duolingo- which I’ve kinda tailed off with anyway (it’s really boring once you finish the course). Again, this is kinda a fun one- yet also one I will probably fail, cos I have other things I need to do this year… so we’ll see.

I’ve written a couple of personal goals down on this document as well (like get fit) (not actually on the list lol) so I’m aware of them when I go back at the end of the year and publicly shame myself for not doing it 😉

Okay- who else has New Year’s Resolutions you totally plan to not do? Let me know in the comments!