I make New Years Resolutions every year. I’m an intrinsically motivated goal-oriented person, so I actually do daily, weekly, monthly goal-setting all year round, but I like the pomp and tradition of New Years Resolutions.
One of mine was to do a low carb diet for 2 weeks. FAIL. I lasted four and a half days. Partly because I’m vegetarian, and the joy of eating unlimited amounts of… well, cheese… paled after 72 hours. But I think the primary reason I failed was because other stuff came up that I wanted even more than less-snug jeans. For example, friends came in from out of state and wanted to go out to dinner. What should I have said, “No, I’ll be too busy at home eating low fat string cheese”? Not this girl. Off to Evos we went.
(And besides, the jean thing could be due to the excessive heat of my overly zealous dryer, right? Right???)
Last year, my 2007 New Years Resolutions included “blog once a week” and “do something writing-related every day”. (If you read the Manuscript Mavens blog, you already know I have strong feelings on the specificity, quantifiability, realism, and attainability of goals.)
This year, I did not make a comprehensive writerly list. Why? Because, pretty much my goal is: write. Write as much as humanly possible, given the obligatory things one must do each day (like earn enough $$ for the mortgage and trips to the grocery store for something to snack on other than cheese.)
Last year, I had a goal of reading an average of one book a week. I read 95 books. This year, so far I’ve read… one. Yes, a book. And if I don’t meet the book-a-week average, am I going to beat myself up over it? Absolutely not. Why? Because every moment of free time is spent writing. I am not whiling away the evenings watching TV or DVDs. I am not spending my afternoons playing the Sims or Spider Solitaire. I’m writing. And it makes me happy. =)
Now, some of you may be aware of the ill-kept secret that I do plan to take over the world in the near future, and when I do so, I shall be sure to tweak the space/time continuum to allow extra hours for reading and blogging in everyone’s day (and teleportation to replace long commutes and cross-country flights). But until then… here’s me wishing you all the best in 2008, and may each of the 24 hours in your day be filled with things that make you happy!
You should read shorter books to pad your average. Start w/kids books. That would still leave you w/ample time to write.
Comment by AngryMan — January 11, 2008 @ 8:01 am
You’re right, Erica, the dryer is a notorious culprit for ill fitting clothes.
Comment by BernardL — January 11, 2008 @ 8:16 am
I like angryman’s idea! I might give that a go
I’m specifically trying to cut down the amount of time I spend wandering on the web.
I don’t mean I want to stop reading web pages and blogs and stuff – but I am losing hours every day just meandering through content. It really is a time stealer. But every time I close the browser, I find something else I need to check/look up/click on! We’ll see how I get on.
Comment by sylvia — January 11, 2008 @ 9:50 am
Angryman: LOL. A few of 07’s were in fact YA, so that might’ve helped. Maybe I should aim for more Thomas the Tank Engine word count…
Bernard: Yay! Confirmation! I *knew* it wasn’t me. =)
Sylvia: I so know! That’s exactly how it is for me, too. An addiction!
Comment by Erica Ridley — January 11, 2008 @ 10:10 am
the ill-kept secret that I do plan to take over the world in the near future, and when I do so, I shall be sure to tweak the space/time continuum to allow extra hours for reading and blogging in everyone’s day (and teleportation to replace long commutes and cross-country flights)
Hasten the day!
And would it kill you to leave an occasional comment or two on my blog while you’re feeding your addiction?
Comment by Bill Clark — January 11, 2008 @ 10:17 am
B: Settle down! I haven’t even made my Manuscript Mavens comments yet! =)
Stay tuned…
Comment by Erica Ridley — January 11, 2008 @ 10:23 am
Angryman! You’re right! If you count all the books I read to my kids, I’m reading 100 books a week easy! Okay, maybe not that many, but at least five a day I’d say. Suddenly I’m the best read person I know (and I was feeling slackerish)! Hey, I can tell you all about the monster under Thomas’ shed and about what it takes to be a princess! (Well, I knew that anyway.)
And E, you’re dead right. Writing every day makes me very, very happy.
Comment by Darcy Burke — January 11, 2008 @ 4:33 pm
I’m writing. And it makes me happy. =)
Right on, Erica. Writing makes me so very happy, and like you that’s my biggest goal this year. As for books I have a goal to read 1 book a week ,so far I’m keeping up.
Should I fall off track, I won’t beat myself up, I did way too much of that last year and it only made miserable and kept me from writing.
And I’m a vegetarian too.
Oh and I have one of those *special* favorite jeans shrinking dryers. *G*
Comment by Isabel — January 11, 2008 @ 8:53 pm
Please, please, take over the world soon. I need the extra time in the day.
This week has been crazy in the day job. Which left little to no time to read my favorite blogs, much less write on my own.
See you tomorrow!!! Yay!!!
Comment by Vicki — January 11, 2008 @ 9:12 pm
Excellent goals, Erica! Writing before all else. Or maybe editing before writing. And sleep before editing. Hmmm….
Comment by Carrie — January 12, 2008 @ 12:55 pm
LOL, count me in as one of the *special* dryer owners.
13 scenes, E, and I’ve only seen 9? *sobs*
Comment by lacey kaye — January 12, 2008 @ 7:09 pm