2013 Recap
The crush of the end of the semester, plus Christmas prep, plus regular mom-stuff, has left me a bit wrung out lately. So when I sat down yesterday to take stock of the year, I didn't expect much. I was pretty surprised at what I found.
Here's an excerpt New Year's entry from January 2013. Notes in blue.
Inspired by jbknowles, who creates a theme for each year, I've decided that my 2013 theme is "Make the Time." Too often, at the end of the day I find myself wondering where the time went (mostly it's been spent playing with small people on the floor of my living room). So I'm going to be more mindful of the time I have and how I'm spending it.
In 2013, I will Make the Time to:
1. Read - I read about 15 books this past year; I'd like to increase that to 20-25. I'm also on the awards committee for the Boston Author's Club, so I'm doing a lot of reading for that. I'll probably exceed that goal, come to think of it. Whoo! I did! I read over 30 books this year. Not as much as my pre-kid, days, but I'll take it.
2. Write. Every day. - I typically write in big chunks, or steadily when I'm on deadline. This year, I'm going to write something every day--working on a book, or short story, or journal. I want to see what material I have at the end of a full year of writing. I'm giving myself a total of 30 passes for the year, though--30 days I can take off. So far, I've used two of them (unless you count this blog entry). Um. This didn't happen. So, I'm carrying it over to 2014. Writing. Every day.
3. Walk - There's a new-to-us treadmill in the basement. I can't wait to start using it. I'm starting slow at first, with just 30 mins, 3 times per week. Whoo!! Not only did I walk, but I RAN. I started galumphing through the Couch to 5K program with my friend, and worked up to FIVE 5Ks this year. I've made time to take care of myself, made time to commit to it. Success!!
4. Work - My day job is pretty demanding this year. I'm a department head with hiring and budgeting responsibilities, and then there's the regular grading and prep and teaching. Needless to say, I find myself scrambling on Sundays, or Tuesday nights before class. Not this year! I'm going to make the time to get through work in a timely manner. This happened! Although the January semester was hectic, this fall was much more manageable. Having our babysitter come once a week for a couple of hours really contributed to keeping life sane. I plan to continue in the spring.
5. Connect - From conferences and workshops, to just seeing friends more, I want to be more present in the communities I'm part of. Last year I hibernated a little (see "new baby," above), and I missed being part of the groups I love. So far, I'm signed up to present at the Whispering Pines retreat in March, the NESCBWI conference in May, and I have a proposal in for another conference. My girlfriends and I have also talked about getting together more regularly--without kids. Bring it on! Again--success! I got out. Whether it was promoting MOXIE, or attending conferences, or seeing friends, I was "out there" a lot more, post-baby. At times, maybe too much. This fall I felt a little over-extended. Okay, a lot over extended. Lesson learned.
So, 2013, I was more mindful of you. I also made a conscious effort to change my language--whenever I went to say, "I didn't have time to X," I stopped myself and rephrased it: "I didn't make the time to X." A small difference in verbiage, but it actually made a big change in the way I thought about my days and decisions. I made the time to do things that were important to me, and I managed to fit more in than I could have expected.
I've chosen my theme for next year, one that will hopefully piggyback on this year's and keep the momentum going. And I'm not going to wait until January to get started.
Stay tuned.
Here's an excerpt New Year's entry from January 2013. Notes in blue.
Inspired by jbknowles, who creates a theme for each year, I've decided that my 2013 theme is "Make the Time." Too often, at the end of the day I find myself wondering where the time went (mostly it's been spent playing with small people on the floor of my living room). So I'm going to be more mindful of the time I have and how I'm spending it.
In 2013, I will Make the Time to:
1. Read - I read about 15 books this past year; I'd like to increase that to 20-25. I'm also on the awards committee for the Boston Author's Club, so I'm doing a lot of reading for that. I'll probably exceed that goal, come to think of it. Whoo! I did! I read over 30 books this year. Not as much as my pre-kid, days, but I'll take it.
2. Write. Every day. - I typically write in big chunks, or steadily when I'm on deadline. This year, I'm going to write something every day--working on a book, or short story, or journal. I want to see what material I have at the end of a full year of writing. I'm giving myself a total of 30 passes for the year, though--30 days I can take off. So far, I've used two of them (unless you count this blog entry). Um. This didn't happen. So, I'm carrying it over to 2014. Writing. Every day.
3. Walk - There's a new-to-us treadmill in the basement. I can't wait to start using it. I'm starting slow at first, with just 30 mins, 3 times per week. Whoo!! Not only did I walk, but I RAN. I started galumphing through the Couch to 5K program with my friend, and worked up to FIVE 5Ks this year. I've made time to take care of myself, made time to commit to it. Success!!
4. Work - My day job is pretty demanding this year. I'm a department head with hiring and budgeting responsibilities, and then there's the regular grading and prep and teaching. Needless to say, I find myself scrambling on Sundays, or Tuesday nights before class. Not this year! I'm going to make the time to get through work in a timely manner. This happened! Although the January semester was hectic, this fall was much more manageable. Having our babysitter come once a week for a couple of hours really contributed to keeping life sane. I plan to continue in the spring.
5. Connect - From conferences and workshops, to just seeing friends more, I want to be more present in the communities I'm part of. Last year I hibernated a little (see "new baby," above), and I missed being part of the groups I love. So far, I'm signed up to present at the Whispering Pines retreat in March, the NESCBWI conference in May, and I have a proposal in for another conference. My girlfriends and I have also talked about getting together more regularly--without kids. Bring it on! Again--success! I got out. Whether it was promoting MOXIE, or attending conferences, or seeing friends, I was "out there" a lot more, post-baby. At times, maybe too much. This fall I felt a little over-extended. Okay, a lot over extended. Lesson learned.
So, 2013, I was more mindful of you. I also made a conscious effort to change my language--whenever I went to say, "I didn't have time to X," I stopped myself and rephrased it: "I didn't make the time to X." A small difference in verbiage, but it actually made a big change in the way I thought about my days and decisions. I made the time to do things that were important to me, and I managed to fit more in than I could have expected.
I've chosen my theme for next year, one that will hopefully piggyback on this year's and keep the momentum going. And I'm not going to wait until January to get started.
Stay tuned.