Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Top Ten Tuesday: 2014 Resolutions


Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.  It's the first one of the new year, so the topic is all about resolutions - bookish, non-bookish, or both.

My 2014 Bookish & Bloggish Resolutions

  • Stop pressuring myself so much.  I have a big problem with this.  I'm constantly putting all this unnecessary pressure on myself to blog more or to blog better, and it needs to stop.  It just takes all the fun out of blogging and even reading.  I need to stop thinking that a good blog has so many posts per week or looks a certain way.  I created my blog to have fun, and that's what I want to get back to.
  • Do something fun for my five-year blogiversary.  In May this year, I will have been a book blogger for five years, and I want to do something special to celebrate.  I don't know what yet, but I don't want May to pass by without doing anything.
  • Move the blog to Wordpress.  I've loved Blogger, but I really want to do more with my blog.  I feel like there is more freedom with Wordpress, as well as more features.  It kind of scares me to switch to something new, but I think it's also going to be fun.
  • Finish a series before buying a new one.  In order to save some money and not feel so overwhelmed with the piles of unread books, I need to stop buying so many new series when I still haven't even finished the old ones.  Divergent, Legend, Eve, Girl of Fire & Thorns... I still haven't read the last books from any of these series.  As much as I want to pick up new series, like Shatter Me, I need to finish the ones I already own.
  • Get a new feature for my blog up & running.  I've been working on a new feature to include this year, and now I just need to actually put things together.  I'm the queen of unfinished projects, and I don't want this to turn into another one.
  • Give my blog some much needed TLC.  My poor blog needs to be updated.  I haven't bothered to clean up and bring my TBR list or review index up-to-date.  There are links that needed to be removed or included.  Just lots of little things here and there that have been bugging me, and I hope to take care of this year.
  • Possibly get a co-blogger.  Part of my solution for taking some of the pressure off of me is to get someone to share in the blogging.  I'd really like it if I could get my sister to join me, but if not, there are a few other people I'll be reaching out to.
  • Put down more books.  I always thought I didn't have a problem with putting down books I don't like, until I looked at the books I read this year and realized there were several that I forced myself to finish.  I have too many unread books to be wasting my time reading books I'm not enjoying.  So this year, I will be setting up a cut-off point for my books.  If I'm not enjoying a book, I'll give it to a certain chapter, percentage, or page count to get better, and if/when it doesn't, I'll put it down.
  • De-clutter the bookshelves.  I am a great believer in never getting rid of books.  It seems almost wrong to get rid of them, even if they're being donated, because I love books so much.  But even I have to admit that the amount of books I have is starting to get ridiculous.  Especially since quite a few of those books are books that I didn't really love.  Some of them are even those books that I didn't want to finish, but I've kept them anyway.  And since I know myself and I know I'm never going to stop getting books, I have to start clearing out ones I already own to make way for the new ones.
My 2014 Personal Resolutions
  • Read my Bible.  I'm always reading new books or watching TV, but I rarely take the time to read my Bible.  I go to a retreat with my friends every year, and afterwards I'm so pumped to read my Bible every day.  But after a month or two, I eventually stop and go back to almost never reading it on my own.  This year I want to change that, even if it's only a couple of verses a day.
  • Start networking.  I really want to start a new career, and possibly one of the most un-fun parts of doing so is the networking.  I'm not a shy person; I'm actually very extroverted, but for some reason, the whole idea of meeting people just for the sake of selling yourself and your company never feels comfortable to me.  But it's something I need to do, whether I like it or not.
  • Find a second/different job.  It's probably not the best idea to write in a public blog like this that I want a new job, but it's the truth.  This new career/business I want to start is going to cost a lot of money.  Part of it would come from the bank as a business loan, but most banks want you to be able to cover 20% of the start-up costs.  Right now, I can't even afford to move out to my own place.  And I need to use a huge chunk of my savings to buy my leased car in April.  So a job that pays better or even a second job would definitely help me reach my goal.
  • Finish all the unfinished projects.  Like I said earlier, I'm the queen of unfinished projects.  Look around my room, and you will see so many.  Just look at the room itself with only two of the walls repainted, the new bookshelves still not put up, and the new carpet still rolled up in the closet.  Before I can start new projects like a brand new career, I need to be able to finish the old ones in my personal life.  Otherwise, that new business could just end up being another unfinished project to add to the list.
  • Get back to being healthy again.  So in 2012, I learned that I had a thyroid condition, started taking medication for it, and joined Weight Watchers.  Over the course of a year-and-a-half, my life got a whole lot healthier.  I was eating better, I had more energy, and my sister even had me working out (which I hate).  I lost a total of 55 pounds and felt really great about myself.  Well lately, I've been pretty bad.  With the holidays and a vacation to Disney, I definitely let myself go a bit, and while I haven't gained a lot back, I've gained enough to make me realize that it's time to get back to being healthy again.  This year, I'd like to start exercising.  Maybe join a yoga class.  I don't just want to lose weight.  I actually want to be fit.
And those are my goals for this year.  I'm hoping I'll do a better job with them than I did with last year's goals.  I totally failed on most of those.  So here's hoping 2014 is the year of met goals, a new career, and finished projects.

2 comments:

  1. Oh girl - that top goal is SUCH a tough one for me. But so important! I quit blogging because I put so much pressure on myself and when I came back, I swore an oath on the precious that I would not do it again! THESE ARE FOR FUN.

    Best of luck to you and your fantastic bookish and personal goals! YOU GOT THIS!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! I quit blogging too, for 8 or 9 months, for the same reason, and I'm hoping that won't happen again.

      P.S. I love this comment! When you said "I swore an oath on the precious", I was like "OMG! She is awesome!"

      Delete

Thank you so much for commenting! I always appreciate reading what you have to say.