2019 was a whirlwind. Looking back I hardly remember what I accomplished because the year was such a slog of constant work, stress, and more work. I’ve realized that my work-life balance is completely out of wack, and that I’m approaching the end of my mid-thirties…or maybe the beginning of my late-thirties. Either way, I can’t keep pretending I have all the time in the world to enjoy life. I’ve got to get to the part where I enjoy it.
So I’m setting myself some goals to make that happen in 2020—and I’m doing it in public! I hope that this way, I’ll have some luck holding myself accountable. After all, I don’t want to have to tell everyone at this time next year that I totally failed at everything. How embarrassing! Also, telling the world what I want to accomplish comes with the fortunate side effect of putting all my goals in one place, where I can easily refer to them when I lose my way. I’m focusing on goals that should help me flourish creatively and personally, while looking critically at what works and what doesn’t in professional life.
So, here goes!
Professional Goals for 2020
Freelance Work
- Focus on editing and coaching over journalism. (Remember your realization from 2019: Getting paid to write journalism is not a career; it’s masochism.)
- Get into workshops/conferences/Skillshares/etc. to work toward targeting higher-paying work and the clients who need it.
Oneshi Press
- Create and abide by an editorial calendar—focus on better and stronger deadlines.
- Either find the time to learn more about marketing or find a way to hire someone to do marketing.
- Either find the time to do better bookkeeping or find a way to hire someone to do bookkeeping.
Creative Goals for 2020
Writing
- Finish the first draft of my novel. (That means finishing the writing and doing a first substantive edit.)
- Finish the writing for my children’s book. (That means writing and editing it.)
- Re-edit my graphic novel to be sure that it hasn’t aged poorly while the art is slowly being created.
- Take another crack at poetry. It’s been too long.
Art
- Just…make more art. (At the quantifiable level, that means making at least one painting for all of my friends’ weddings, plus at least one more coloring page for friends’ kids, and two more illustrations for my children’s book.)
Personal Goals for 2020
- Get more daylight and socializing in my life by going to bed earlier and getting up earlier.
- Achieve a fully vegetarian diet—phase out fish (my last meat-eating vice) entirely.
- Cut out as much plastic as possible from my life. Replace with reusable and (more-)recyclable materials.
- Find a mentor and establish an ongoing relationship with someone on the spiritual path I’ve chosen.
- Make a stronger effort to chat with my friends and family more frequently—letters, e-mails, texts, calls, video chats, and visits are all acceptable.
Okay, Lynsey G. Let’s get cracking!