Fourth Year of Goals

[smallhobbit]

And so another year of goals draws to a close with a chance to reflect on how this year has gone.

Goal No 1 - Write all the things

This is always a satisfying goal to look back on.  This year I've really tackled AUs.  I've written every month for whatif_au  and surprised myself and some of my regular readers.  This month's contribution Lock Up Your Daughters is a double - western and soul mark/mate AU.  I've also been writing Harry Potter drabbles and verses, some of which are more explicit than my normal writing.  I've added a further 15 badges to my fan_flashworks  collection, bringing the total to 103.  Total words since the beginning of January 43,000, which means I'm on course for this year's lower total of 150,000.


Goal No 2 - Write a monthly pastoral assistant post

This has been surprisingly useful to me, to see how things have progressed and changed over the year, and to enable me to reflect on my feelings on various matters.  I shall be writing my last formal post in a couple of weeks' time.  Perhaps inevitably initial enthusiasm has been tempered by the reality of time, but also circumstances change and I can see I'm still able to contribute, although possibly in different ways from those I'd originally expected.


Goal No 3 - Try twelve new things

The great success of the year.  During the year I have visited Dennis Severs House and the Sky Gardens in London.  I have tried to learn some Polish and a little sign language, plus using my left hand for a day.  I have tried some artwork.  Craft-wise I've completed a sewing project, crotcheted Holmes, cross-stitched a bookmark and completed a hardanger piece.



I've also written Ninety-nine Words and am currently working on a poetry challenge April Poems

So this has been a very worthwhile goal, one I'm delighted to have had.  And overall I'm pleased with the way the year has gone.

Comments

[annofowlshire]

Sounds like a fun year of goals! What comes next?

[smallhobbit]

It was - both fun and interesting. There will be new goals for next year, which I shall be posting about probably tomorrow.

[annofowlshire]

Is there significance to the April turnover?

(Sorry if this has been answered elsewhere....)

[smallhobbit]

Not specifically. The first time I wrote a blog post about my goals was in April 2014. I was reflecting that I didn't really have any goals any more - having achieved house, family left home, job that paid the bills etc. But it occurred to me that without goals life tends to stagnate, so I set myself three goals for the coming year. That was so successful I repeated the process the following year with a mixture of old and new goals, and have carried on in the same way.

I do find, however, that setting goals in April is more successful than at the beginning of the year, since I have the time to reflect on what I'm going to choose. It's important to me the goals present a challenge, but are attainable. I post a review every two months, which I've found encourages me to actually keep to my goals.

[annofowlshire]

Thank you for explaining. You are very wise!

[margaret_r]

A successful year! I enjoyed Lock Up Your Daughters, The Hobbit as a western is certainly different and very entertaining:D

[smallhobbit]

Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed 'Lock Up Your Daughters' - of all my fandoms the Durin Gang was the best for transferring to a western.

[talkingtothesky]

Congrats on all your writing and craft projects :)

[smallhobbit]

Thank you very much!

[sanguinity]

Sounds like a lovely and satisfying year! I certainly enjoyed reading your monthly posts and seeing what you were up to now. :-)

[smallhobbit]

Thank you very much!

[vix_spes]

Woohoo! Yay for achieving all of the goals ♥

[smallhobbit]

Thank you very much.

[moth2fic]

Well done!
I think the monthly post about your pastoral assistant work has been excellent. It was interesting to share your changing feelings, and it helped me (and probably others) reflect on the way commitments we take on alter, grow and turn into something else entirely.

[smallhobbit]

Thank you. It's good to know those posts have been of use. And yes, I think it's important to be aware commitments do change, and whilst we try to be realistic when we take them on, things happen and we have to adjust.