Annual update: January 2021

Part of me can’t believe it’s already 2021, and another part of me… well, you know how people usually have trouble remembering to write the correct year at the top of a page for a bit, after it changes? That doesn’t seem to be an issue so far.

I have high hopes for 2021, but I suppose everyone does. Mostly, however, I’m just hoping to keep myself on track, while remaining happy and healthy.

So far I seem to be doing alright with that. I took a lot of downtime in December, as you may have noticed from the lack of posts here on the blog. And I’ve been taking my time jumping back into things in January. I have been getting back to work, though, and I have a plan for moving forward.

Before I tell you about it, though, let’s talk a bit about 2020.

2020 recap

If you followed along with me in 2020, you may have noticed something throughout the course of the year: I started out strong, and then seemed to fade. Maybe this was a result of Covid wearing me out, maybe it was a normal form of burn-out, or maybe it was some mixture thereof. It’s hard to say, exactly, but I do wish things had been different.

That said, the year wasn’t without its accomplishments. I participated in a good chunk of the 52 Frames challenge, took part in NaNoWriMo, and generally did a fairly good amount of writing and photography overall. It was, when all is said and done, a pretty good year for both lessons and productivity.

But I can do more. I’m capable of more, and I have time for more. It’s just a matter of making sure I go about things properly, without burning myself out.

2021 plans

Which brings me to this year. I’ve come up with a new plan for 2021, thanks, in part, to that pretty new planner you see up top (it’s the Maker’s Yearbook, if you’d like to take a fuller look). While it’s still early in the year, I’m already finding it both useful and motivating. True, I can’t fully endorse the planner at this point, but I’m happy with it so far.

At this point, I have my goals for the year figured out, including some more concrete goals than I would normally come up with. Better yet, I have a more concrete goal for bringing them to fruition. Admittedly, this may mean eventually having to give a project or two up, but I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. For now, I’m going to enjoy working on everything that I can, and accomplishing all that I can.

Oh, and if you’re curious, here are the areas my goals relate to, though I’m not going to share exactly what the goals are:

• Querying counts;
• Writing/editing targets;
• Print Shop sales; and
• Audience growth.

I think that about covers it. I’m hopeful that my year will go as planned, as long as I stick to my daily and weekly targets. And, of course, as long as I remember to take care of myself and not reach a point of burning out.

How about you? What sort of goals and plans do you have in place for 2021?