Friday, January 5, 2018

2018 Blog Goals

I have spent an inordinate amount of time thinking about this post. After I finished the 100 Best Novels this summer, I began mulling over what what would come next for me as both a reader and a blogger. On Monday, I'll deal with what comes next specifically as a reader. Today, though, I'm doing my annual post laying out goals for the blog. 

Before I do that, though, I want to take a minute and reflect on the goals I set forth for 2017 and see how those played out. 

2017 Goals

  • 100 Best Novels - I did it!! Finishing this huge goal felt amazing. Make sure you go read all the posts I did when I finished. You can read my excitement in every line.
  • Monthly Reading Goals - I've done this the last two years and really like having these monthly benchmarks. It keeps me intentional about what I'm reading. I wasn't perfect with these, but it's about progress, not perfection.
    • 2 100 Best Novels books
    • 1 faith-centered or philosophical book
    • 1 nonfiction
  • Join #otspsecretsister - When I set this goal last year, I had no idea how very, very much this would bless my life. I have made new friends and been absolutely spoiled by my secret sisters. I don't talk about it much here on the blog, but I'm constantly raving about it on Twitter
  • Write More - Yikes. I did not do this well at. all. This year may be the least I've written since I started the blog. Staying so engaged with current events has sucked up so much of my time this year and both reading and writing have suffered because of it. 
I really pared down my blog goals in 2017, but I'm glad. I have tried to be more intentional and judicious about where I put my time and energy and I think it's paying off, though not always here.  Keeping that in mind, let's look ahead to what I'd like to accomplish in 2018...

2018 Goals

  • Monthly Reading Goals - As mentioned above, I love having these small benchmarks. Here are the ones I'll be reaching for this year:
    • 1 faith-centered or philosophical book
    • 1 political or issue-driven book
    • 1 book written by a minority author
  • Write More - My NaNoWriMo buddy Suzanne and I have challenged each other to make writing a daily goal in 2018, but just a November goal. We're each aiming to write 182,500 words across projects in 2018. That's 500 words a day. It feels very doable, but I'm notoriously bad at buckling down and getting the words out in this part of my life. I will be counting blog posts, so you may be seeing more Let's Talk About... posts around here
  • Focus on my TBR - I've talked about this before and this year I'm serious. I'll be addressing this more on Monday, but I really want to work on making my way through the list of books I want to read. Things languish on their too long. I need to be better about purging and prioritizing. 
  • Be More Intentional in My Reviews - Sometimes I really just feel like I'm throwing a few sentences together for a review to get it out the door and have something to post. I want to give myself more freedom and grace in scheduling posts and getting them written. Very few other book bloggers I follow write a separate review for every single book they read. Most of us can't keep up the pace. It wears on me at times. This may mean fewer posts over all, but I'd rather be writing quality posts than hastily written mediocrity. 
I've selected a word for the year for the past several. 2016 was intentional. 2017 was engage. Thinking about this year, I wanted to choose something forward-looking. 2016 brought me focus and 2017 helped me find ways to plug into that focus. I want 2018 to continue the work I've already begun. So, my word for this year is progress. I want to remind myself that progress is better than perfection. It was a hard year, but I came out the other side more sure of myself and what I want in many ways. I hope 2018 continues that journey. 

What are your 2018 goals?

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