10 for 2024: Second Quarter Check-In
So, I'm going to try something new this year and post quarterly updates on how I'm doing with my goals for the year. I don't know if this is going to provide me more motivation to keep on top of them throughout the year or give me the chance to do an occasional reset on my goals as I work my way through the year, but I guess we'll see how it goes.
Without further ado, here's the Second Quarter Update:
10 For 2024
1. Book 4: Get this book into draft form (close to, if not ready to launch-- fingers crossed!) by the end of the year. I have some other writing goals as well, but this is going to be my big, main focus for the year.
Okay, I will be honest-- Book 4 is moving, but slowly- slower than I'd like. I haven't written anything like this before, I went back and revised the first four chapters, got through chapter five and have made a hefty indent on Chapter Six (which I'm hoping to get done this month-- at least that's the plan.) As of this writing, I've got 34,624 words locked in with two and a half more chapters beyond that (which will probably need revising when I get there) for a total of 50,376 words.
But, simultaneously, I've got other irons in the fire, pending the launch of paid subscriptions on the Substack (still set for next month!). Two short stories (5,000 and 6,982 words respectively), a big novella (27,446 words and rising-- still not done with that one) and the launch of a mystery project the first chapter of which came out to 9,874 words.
Book 4 is getting there, inch by inch. But I've got another 44,802 words in the pipeline for various projects which has me sitting at 95,178 words for the year. Am I where I want to be with Book 4? No. But I have not been idle, either.
2. Get Another Tattoo: I might get really crazy and get two! (But for real: no reason why it can't happen this year. Money is being accumulated. The date just needs to be set to do the deed.)
Not yet. Still on the docket.
3. The Health Thing: Okay, so I'm going to get away from numbers on scales this year. It's just a waste of my time and a waste of this space. But I do need to do something here, so I'm going to aim for the following: a. ten minutes of activity a day (kettlebell, walking, stretching-- whatever, something!), b. eat more protein-- I'm going to aim for 100g of protein a day, but we'll see how that goes and c. be outside more, especially with the kids.
I had a Doctor's appointment this week which came along with a pneumonia vaccine that put me on my ass for a couple of days, but I've moved away from Couch To 5K. My knees were starting to hurt and that would put me out of action for a day or two and I just decided that it wasn't worth it right now. I am sticking to about a mile or so (that's honestly where I saw the most success when I was younger and at my fittest which was an uncomfortable amount of years ago now, but anyone can run a mile.) We've got a Bowflex, courtesy of the parentals, so now all I need to do is get after it a bit more and get on the treadmill more than once a week.
Nutrition wise, I'm getting there. I also took steps to address my migraine problem and potential sleep apnea that seems to be working well so far. We'll see about the rest. I feel like 2nd Quarter saw some good progress.
4. Uncomfortable Confession Time: I have never been super good at managing money. I've been very much of a hand-wavey, stagger into the next month like a college student on a post-Finals bender type of a money manager and I'm getting kind of embarrassed by it. The goal for this year-- I don't think I'll be Dave Ramsey or Suzie Orman by year's end, but I would like to actively not be shit at the money thing.
This too, is a work in progress. (But we're getting there. Communication is key and if we can get through this month, I think we'll be sitting pretty good going into the rest of the year.)
5. I think I could stand to be a better listener. A more active, present listener who actually absorbs what's being said to me and acts on it. In general, just being more active and present in my own life is something that I would like to work on. Not sure how I'm going to measure this one, but I'm putting it down anyway.
Maybe it's the time of year, but Twitter has been especially noxious lately, so I am trying to intentionally put my phone down or put in on a charger and just leave it be. I don't know how successful I am at it so far, but I'm trying. (Again: not sure how to measure this one.)
6. I pitch a good game with ambitious projects and things to do, but I could be better at taking the lead/initiative on all of these things. I'm not sure how I'm going to measure this one either, but I'm putting it down anyway.
Still not sure how to measure this one, but I keep reading lists of life hacks and there's always something like 'if you can do it in thirty seconds to a minute, just do it' type of advice, so I'm trying to implement that where I can. Lists are also incredibly helpful to me.
7. House Projects: Since I couldn't make grass grow last year, I'm targeting a trio of projects for this year. Redoing our Master Bedroom, Built-In Bookshelves for the Living Room, and some shelves for the Kid's Room.
So, it turns out that grass did grow pretty well! We got a new bed for the kid's room (someone wanted a bunk bed too) and while we have talked about built-in bookshelves and redoing our master bedroom, we will have to settle for repainting the back bedroom and making it a spare room. Also on my list before the snow flies: getting some sealant/stain on the deck out front. So it may not be the plans we made at the start of the year, but we're getting stuff done.
8. Reading: I'm tempted to go all out for 50, but instead, I'm going to keep it modest and go for 40 books this year. I think that's achievable. Here's the Official TBR List for 2024, if you want to follow along.
18 books as of this writing! Which puts me at 45% of the way to my goal- though Goodreads says I'm two books behind currently.
9. Duolingo: I've been hitting Spanish pretty intensely these past couple of months-- in the New Year, I want to get back on a regular rotation of my languages and hit at least 1,000 days on my streak. (Plus, win the Diamond League at least once, if I can.)
I haven't been back to the Diamond League yet- but I did a solid three months of Portuguese in the 2nd quarter and am back to French for the start of July. I'm up to 898 day streak as of this writing, which means I'm on track for 1,000 days on my streak.
10. The Annual Control Resolution: Have a List of New Year's Resolutions. (There, I'm guaranteed not to be a complete failure at this.)
Completed! I am guaranteed at least a 10% success rate, no matter what happens.
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