2018 Goal Progress

Time to see how I did on my 2018 goals! I love doing this, but I've got to find a better way to keep up with my goals. I mean ... there's a reason my header image has a snail on it.

I made goals for 2017 and goals for 2018 on my blog. This year I even did a progress check in the summer which is the only reason I currently remember what any of my goals were for the year. I find this to be my favorite way to reflect on the year.

Yet if you look back at those posts (please don't), I'm obviously really horrible at sticking to what I plan. I'm trying to get better at being okay with that!

Memorize 10 items // meh

I memorized a lot of music for choir, a Scripture chorus, Luke 2, and a handful of other verses because I was teaching them ... Not quite what I was aiming for in increasing my poetry and Scripture arsenal this year.

Publish something // complete

The closest I came for this was publishing Snip, the flash fiction prequel to my novel Martin Hospitality. It's available for newsletter members only.

Read 40 books // complete

Yes!! My Goodreads shows that I read 41 books this year. While some were short stories, I didn't include any of the children's books I read, nor did I binge-read things in order to finish my challenge. So an honest finish! :)

I think it's interesting that 14 of these books were ones that I edited. There were also 3 I DNF'd ... but I don't know that all of them counted in my total. I also think I did a better job reading books I already owned and hitting some categories which I often lack (like classics and biographies). Overall, a successful reading year!

Review everything // complete

I wanted to review everything I read on Goodreads this year. This has by far been my favorite goal of the year! It's built a "review immediately" habit into me. While I'm currently a few books behind, I intend to be caught up by the end of the year. And I'll also get on top of copying a bunch of reviews to Amazon.

5 book buy limit // lol

HA! I mean, really, who was I kidding? What bookworm only buys 5 books a year?! I probably bought like ... 30. However. I think easily less than 5 of the books I bought this year were full price. (In fact, I can only think of one full price buy right now.) So that's encouraging to me, and still a good sign for my finances!

Travel // complete

I didn't even remember this being a goal, but it's one of my neatest. God has completely blown my mind with some amazing opportunities this year. When I originally made this goal, I was hoping for another writing conference. But no. I fit in one writer's retreat--a fun time getting to meet some Texas authors.

And then I went to NYC with my sister, aunt, and cousin in September as sort of a joint birthday trip. By far one of the best mental breaks and touristy trips I've ever had. We did allll the things and I would do all of it again!

In early December my two siblings closest in age and I made a somewhat last-minute trip to reunite with friends in Iowa. It was the best vacation. We did a gazillion little Christmassy things that got me in the Advent spirit.

So thank you, Jesus, for all the great people, sights, and experiences that came out of these unforeseen trips!

Writing experiments // complete

Mainly thanks to trying flash fiction, I did experiment with some different openings, POVs, and development styles than I normally go for in longer stuff. Flash fiction in itself was a new thing for me! I also wrote at different locations more than usual. My conclusion is that I have go-tos (writing  in third person, past tense in my bedroom) for a reason.

Finish writing lectures // oops

Weeeeell ... no. I finished the one Great Courses series I was in the middle of. But I still have two untouched ones that I need to complete. Unfortunately, I don't see myself making a bunch of extra time for these in the near future, but I'm glad to have them in my arsenal.

All in all ... I think the only goals I didn't complete were the somewhat unreasonable ones to begin with. And things like memorization and furthering my education with lectures ... it's all a matter of time management. Let's be honest--that's a continual balance for everyone!

I have previously combined my goal progress for the year with my goals for next year. But you'll have to wait till next week for my 2019 goals!! I kind of can't believe that this is my last 2018 post for the year. It's been quite the whirlwind. But I'm so grateful to have had you all tag along on the crazy journey.

What goal for 2018 did you complete? Do always have that one goal you never seem to finish?

If you have any ideas for tracking goal progress throughout the year, I'd love to hear them!