You know how every January, everyone’s eager to set goals and achieve things they’ve always wanted to?

It’s October, and as an overly ambitious person, I still have a lot of things to tick off this year. Sure, it hasn’t been a conventional year, and maybe that has interfered with a lot of my plans, but there are still other personal goals that I haven’t accomplished yet.

Let’s sit down and chat, shall we?

Goodreads Update

Last year, I read 159 books. Of course, these weren’t just full-length novels, some were poetry books and graphic novels and your usual mishmash of media. I surpassed my goal by 59 books.

This year, being the ambitious person that I am, I decided that it would be a realistic goal to put down 150 books as my 2020 Goodreads goal. Never mind that I’d be busy with life stuff and other things I wanted to get done.

Then, the world shifted. Libraries closed, bookstores closed, and publication dates were pushed back.

It’s such a petty thing to say, but I suppose that did in some way affect my Goodreads progress (that, and the fact that things remain as busy as ever).

All that to say, I’m currently behind on my Goodreads goal. Yet the thing is, reading isn’t really one of my priorities for this year. I have other more important things to get ready for, to do, and to check off.

But I’m still hesitant to lower my Goodreads goal. If I brought it down to 100, I’d be done with my reading goals. But I don’t know, maybe there’s something in me that feels like it’s cheating to bring it down (but if you need to bring yours down, too? Do it. There’s no shame in it.). As many things are, it’s complicated. If you’re in a similar situation, do what you think is best for yourself (because honestly? Being behind on goals can be stressful.)

Anyway, that’s how I’m doing with my reading goals right now.

Other Ambitions

I didn’t actually set that many personal goals for myself this year because I knew how busy I’d be. Even so, that didn’t stop me from dreaming.

One thing I was hoping to do this year is write a novella. I thought it’d be more manageable than a full-length novel, at least. The catch? I added that onto the list in September. I’m genuinely not sure if I’ll be able to do this, but if I don’t, it’ll still be okay.

Another thing that’s sort of becoming a joke is fixing my Mailchimp list. And… that’s not happening. I honestly have no idea why it doesn’t like me, but an email list is not something on my priority list at the moment. Maybe next year? That’s a very tentative maybe, especially since I’ve considered giving it up entirely. We’ll see how things fare with this one.

Finally, consistency in posting. I’m not sure what happened with that. I took a short hiatus, but I still don’t feel as if I’m putting out the best content I possibly can (I have some long, analytical stuff planned, but I haven’t been able to sit down and actually write them). All that to say, thanks for sticking around and being gracious with me.

What’s next?

While I’m still determined to get all my personal goals and ambitions done, the not-personal ones are unfortunately higher on the priority list. That’s kind of the way it is right now.

Maybe I need to take time off and slow down. Maybe I need to stop charging on with personal goals whenever I get a decent break. I don’t know, but I’ll see.

Whatever happens, I’ll find out at the end of the year.

That’s all for now!

I talked a lot about me today. Now I’m handing you the mic: what’s happening with your goals and ambitions for 2020? How are you doing?

Let me know in the comments down below!

Make your mark,