Friday 2 January 2015

New Year's Resolutions

 Since the calendar has changed from 2014 to 2015, it seems as good an arbitrary point as any to make a set of aims for the year ahead.

 It's not sensible to overload oneself with too many goals for the year ahead, so I'm going to keep it down to three things. It's also not good to have something vague like 'I need to read more', since that's not a goal that's easy to track.

 So, I need to have three definite goals that have easily detirminable end points and can be achieved within a year.

 Here's what I have:

Resolution the First: Finish the First Draft of Herd

 

 Come hell or high water, I am going to finish the first draft of this novel. I already have two unfinished first drafts of novels, and I have no interest in adding to that.

 My word count aim is about a hundred thousand, and right now Ive got just under sixteen thousand, so I've got a lot of work to do.

 The goal is just the first draft because getting Herd to a publishable point in just a year is such a huge feat that it would have to be a sole resolution for the whole year, but I've got a couple of other things that I'd like to do.

Resolution the Second: Finish Let's Play: Final Fantasy VIII

 

 I'm already approaching the end of the series, so this is something of a 'gimme'.

 Though I don't think that having an easily achievable goal near the beginning of a year is a cop out, I think it's a good idea to give oneself a bit of a morale boost early on so that all of your goals don't seem so insurmontable.

 As a 'sub-resolution' I'm including starting a new Let's Play Log in this one, and I've already decided what I'm going to do for that. It's going to be a bit of a surprise, but I feel like getting back to my roots, as it were.

Resolution the Third: Create a New Work Schedule and Work Space

 

 I have issues being organised, you've probably noticed this.

 I think that part of my problem is that when I was a child I created this important distinction between school and home in my head, and since my GCSEs ended, my life hasn't had a distinction that marked.

 I've attempted to create a coherent work schedule in the last few months, but it doesn't last very long.

 This time, I'm going to try and clean up the spare room and make it into a work space in order to help make that distinction between 'work' and 'free time' clearer for myself.

 I may also make sure to head to the local library to get some writing done a few times a week.

 The new work schedule is a little bit of a vague goal, but the spare room being tidy is a clear one which serves the more vague goal, so I'm confident that I can be clear on success.

 So these are my new year's resolution, I think they're sufficiently ambitious and sensibly achievable for my purposes.

 This year I'm going to try and make monthly posts on my progress on each of my goals, in an attempt to keep these fresh in my mind.

 Wish me luck!

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