Baby steps in 2013

In my last post, I discussed my strengths and weaknesses when tackling my goals in 2012. Here I'm going to chat a little bit about the goals I'm focusing on in 2013.

For the past week I have kept a little notepad beside me and I have been jotting down thoughts as they've come to me. One of my goals popped up whilst I was drying my hair whilst others appeared when I was doing a mundane task, like washing the dishes. Today I sat down and wrote all my goals out on a piece of paper to see if there were any themes appearing. Conveniently, the ten goals could be grouped into three categories that I have named:

• Creative
• Health
• Self-Improvement 

However those three categories are not very helpful. 'I want to be more creative in 2013' is a lovely statement to make but it's rather vague. As I learned from last year, being vague does not work for me. I need deadlines, I need a timetable, I need a concrete goal to work towards. It explains why I achieved my running goal by entering the Race for Life. Friends and family sponsored me and that gave me the pressure to keep up with my training. 

Creative 

This year I really beat myself up in relation to my creative life. I have done enough wailing about it so I won't go over it again here. Many things have helped give me a kick up the backside, namely the help and support from writing friends (you know who you are) and some choice reading material. One of my growing passions this year has been exploring zine culture and the place the perzines¹ still have in the age of the blog. I loved getting a parcel of zines through the post and reading about other people's lives - the ultimate treat for a nosey sod like me. One zine, Mythologising Me, talked about a great book called The Artist in the Office by Summer Pierre. The Artist in the Office is a lovely read in which Summer shares her own experiences chasing creative dreams and strategies for including your creative self in your paid job. I felt so inspired after I had finished reading this book; it was certainly a big help when I was thinking about my goals for 2013. 

My main creative goal for 2013 is to treat my writing as a second job. It's rather simple: I get time to write, I enjoy it, I feel better about myself and the world feels like a nicer place. I have lots of mini goals relating to this to help me on my way (more about them later). 

Health

As eluded to in my previous post, a family member had a big health scare this year. They're getting better but it made realise how much I take my health for granted. This serves as a perfect excuse to get back into running again. 

My main health goal for 2013 is to enter and complete a 10k. 

Self Improvement 

Now this goal popped up out of nowhere. As a student I was used to getting feedback through essay and exam marks. In the working world, it's a lot harder to get this feedback. In other words, you have to take responsibility for pushing and progressing yourself forwards. It's rather shameful to be waking up to this at the age of 27 but it's still not too late. 

On New Year's Eve, I spent time filling in a journal that is going to record my thoughts and feelings as I march towards my goals. It will be a space for me to honestly reflect on how well I'm doing and what I need to improve on. 

My main self improvement goal for 2013 is to completely my journal on a daily basis. 

You can read my full list of 2013 goals here where they are grouped together by category. This list will probably be added to as I work through them and other goals pop up announced. 

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1 Perzines is the definition giving to zines that focus on the creator's personal life and experiences, rather than a specific topic such as cycling and vegan cooking.^↩

Bibliography


Greaves, Suzy Make your dreams happen in 2013, Psychologies, pp.42 - 47 (February 2013) You can also follow Suzy's goals for 2013 by visiting her blog here.

Ingrid, Mythologising Me (2011)

Pierre, Summer, The Artist in the Office (Penguin Group, 2010)

Top 10 strategies for making your New Years Resolutions Stick, Lifehacker, http://lifehacker.com/5971803/top-10-strategies-for-making-your-new-years-resolution-stick - last accessed 31st December 2012