Hey everyone!

I am BACK from my hiatus! I’m sure you’re all thrilled to see me! …or else you’ve forgotten I exist because my hiatus was too long and also I’ve basically been on an unofficial hiatus since like June.

But I’m back, and I’m excited to start blogging again! And also I don’t have waaaayyyy too many rehearsals anymore, sooo… I actually have TIME to blog now.

So today we’re going to be looking back at my 2018 goals and seeing how badly I failed seeing which ones I succeeded, and of course setting my goals for 2019! (How the hell is it 2019 already???)

2018’s Goals

Bookish Goals

1 – [su_highlight background=”#ffffff” color=”#24b41b”]Read 200 books.[/su_highlight]I did it! Just barely, but I succeeded! I mean… I may possibly have binge (re)read five of the Ghosts of the Shadow Market short stories on the 30th and 31st, but that was only because I was slumping, and also I was visiting family so I hadn’t had time to read. (Yes I know I totally cheated I don’t care I’m counting it as a win.)

2 –[su_highlight background=”#ffffff” color=”#24b41b”]READ THE BOOKS MY COUSIN LOANED ME BACK IN SEPTEMBER![/su_highlight]I um… mostly succeeded at this one?
I’m giving it to myself, because you know what? I’m proud that I didn’t force myself to read the books I didn’t want to read. I read most of them, but some of them I’d simply lost interest in, and so I didn’t read them. And I’m sort of proud of myself for that.

3 –[su_highlight background=”#ffffff” color=”#b41b1d”]Finish all the books I started, and then just never bothered to finish.[/su_highlight]Yeah no I failed at this. I’m not too disappointed in myself though, because like I said, I’m actually proud of myself for DNFing books I no longer had any interest in.

4 –[su_highlight background=”#ffffff” color=”#b41b1d”]Keep on top of my reviews more.[/su_highlight]Yeah how about NO. I failed at this SO BAD. Also in my post last year I was complaining about having eight RTCs. EIGHT. Ha. Past Me you were doing GREAT. Current Me has… over thirty. (I failed this goal SO BAD.)

5 –[su_highlight background=”#ffffff” color=”#24b41b”]Stop rating everything so high.[/su_highlight]I think I succeeded at this one? I mean my average rating is still like four stars because I genuinely know what I like, and enjoy most of what I read. BUT I feel I rate things a whole lot more accurately, which was my actual goal. I think most of my recent ratings (don’t look at anything I rated before like August lol) are actually decent and accurately represent how I felt towards the book.

Blogging Goals

1 – [su_highlight background=”#ffffff” color=”#b41b1d”]Post at least eighty-four times in 2018.[/su_highlight]Can we just say this number is so random? I KNOW it was like seven posts a month or something (why didn’t I just say that lol), but it’s so random. Also I failed this one SO BAD. I don’t actually know how many times I posted but… I don’t HAVE 84 posts on my blog from the entire time I’ve been blogging, so I failed pretty badly!

2 – [su_highlight background=”#ffffff” color=”#b41b1d”]Set a monthly goal of eight to ten posts and achieve it! [/su_highlight]WOW. Yeah nope. That did NOT happen. I don’t think I posted more than five times a month even once this year, and most months it was even less than that.

3 – [su_highlight background=”#ffffff” color=”#b41b1d”]DON’T just disappear for a week+ as I seem to keep doing.[/su_highlight] Uhhh… yeah guess what else didn’t happen? *hides face* A week plus. That is a teeny tiny number Past Me. TINY. (But also like a very valid goal lol I’m the worst.)

4 – [su_highlight background=”#ffffff” color=”#b41b1d”]Stop writing my post on the day I post it. Have some posts written in advance.[/su_highlight] Suuuuuure. Because I had posts written at all. I mean… I actually have posts written in advance now? Even if I didn’t until after I went on hiatus… I suppose I could count this, but it would definitely feel way too cheaty.

5 – [su_highlight background=”#ffffff” color=”#b41b1d”]A BLOGGING SCHEDULE! And more importantly, try to stick to it.[/su_highlight] Did. Not. Happen. (Oops).

6 – [su_highlight background=”#ffffff” color=”#b41b1d”]Change something about my design, so that I like it better.[/su_highlight]Nope I still hate hate my blog looks. I just don’t really know what to change, and I also don’t know how to do ANYTHING. (I am NOT technologically skilled.)

7 – [su_highlight background=”#ffffff” color=”#b41b1d”]Take better pictures.[/su_highlight]Nah I still only like half of my pictures.

8 – [su_highlight background=”#ffffff” color=”#24b41b”]Comment on other people’s posts more![/su_highlight]Technically speaking I sort of failed at this goal. I haven’t commented much lately. But I’m failing so many of these, and I’ve done better at this off and on, and I definitely did better than last year, sooo…

Life Goals

1 – [su_highlight background=”#ffffff” color=”#b41b1d”]Stop procrastinating. Or at least, procrastinate less.[/su_highlight] I… I can’t believe I actually made this a goal. Also that I apparently actually thought this was achievable.

2 – [su_highlight background=”#ffffff” color=”#b41b1d”]Stop sleeping so late.[/su_highlight] WOW NOPE. I mean this is a problem I’ve had my entire life, so did I really think it would change? NO. But still wow I’ve done even worse lately actually.

3 – Get out of the house more. I’m honestly not sure. What sort of goal was this even. I have literally no way of tracking this, and I probably failed but also I have no proof and I’m failing miserably enough already so I’m just going to say I have no clue.

4 – [su_highlight background=”#ffffff” color=”#24b41b”]Write in a journal?[/su_highlight] You know what I think I get this one. Never did I say I had to do it consistently, and I actually did journal a little bit. Not much, but better than I thought I’d do sooo… It counts.

Goals For 2019

Bookish Goals

1 – Read 150 books. I was a little bit overwhelmed at the end of 2018 by the amount I’d gotten behind on my reading challenge, and since I would like to be doing other things as well as reading, I decided to lower my goal this year to make things easier on myself.

2 – Read responsibly. What I mean by this is that I want to try and prioritize reading the books that are due back at the library soonest, the books I borrowed from friends, and books for book club, instead of getting distracted by new shiny books all the time.
Of course I’m still a mood reader, so there’s only so much I can do without damaging my enjoyment of the books (which is more important to me), but I’d just like to not be scrambling to read my library books the day before they’re due back.

3 – KEEP ON TOP OF REVIEWS. I failed at this bitterly in 2018, but they’re always hope I suppose. (There isn’t.)

4 – Read more diverse books. Okay I already prioritize this, so this is really just an attempt to give myself a goal I will surely achieve. Shush this is valid. (Also it IS something I want to continue prioritizing so it’s not entirely because I want an easy goal.)(Even if that is largely why I’m listing it.)

5 – Allow myself to DNF books I’m not enjoying. I have a really hard time DNFing books, but I also usually put myself into a slump when I make myself slog through a book I’m not enjoying, and I’d really like to try and stop doing that.

Blogging Goals

1 – Blog weekly. I’m thinking I’ll try to post every weekend? I’ll probably decide on an actual day once I know what the hell I’m doing this spring (because I always end up writing my posts last minute so being available to do that sort of matters), and I’ll surely be late sometimes (because I’m the worst), but this is just a rough goal and I’m okay with that.
Also if I have more content than that, I’ll definitely post more than once a week! I’d just like to be posting at least once a week.

2 – Go on a hiatus if I need it. I feel SO much more motivated to post after having had a break from blogging, and I love that! But I was slumping for months before I finally let myself take a hiatus, and we’re not going to repeat that experience this year. If I feel myself slumping, I’m going to take a short hiatus and reenergize.

3 – Write some posts in advance. So that I’m not writing them five minutes before I need to post and scrambling. Also so that I have a healthy store of posts if I’m just not feeling it but still want to post.

4 – Redesign my blog. I still don’t know how to go about doing this, but I’m really not satisfied with how my blog looks and I want to change that. Especially this means better graphics, but I think I’d like to change some other things as well.

5 – Blog hop more! I’m absolutely horrible at blog hopping and I want to change that.

Life Goals

1 – Keep journalling. I say this as if my occasional journal entries can actually be referred to as “journalling”. But that’s beside the point. I want to journal (ideally more than I currently do) in 2019.

2 – Stop staying up and sleeping in so late. I’m the actual worst at this and that really needs to change.

3 – Make more of an effort to hang out with my friends. I’ve barely been seeing my irl friends lately and I miss them. So I should you know… maybe make an effort to actually schedule something, instead of just getting distracted texting them about King of Scars and avocados. (Lol I know they’re probably reading this. WE NEED TO SCHEDULE SOMETHING GUYS.)

4 – Get outside more. Seriously. I need to do this.

Soooo…. I guess that’s everything! Hopefully I’ll complete some of these. Ideally… more than I did in 2018. (I still can’t believe it’s 2019!!)

How did you do at your 2018 goals? What are your goals for 2019? (CAN YOU BELIEVE IT’S 2019 ALREADY???) Do we share any goals? What’s your reading goal for 2019?