Quarterly Goals Check-in

Do you have 2021 goals you are working towards? How are you doing?

I tried to break my 2021 goals into quarterly and weekly tasks, to make them more manageable. Admittedly, I don’t always meet them within the allotted time frame, but I have made great progress!

Here are a few of my goals and my quarterly progress. I like to grade myself on a scale of 1 to 10, giving myself grace for factors I can’t control.

1. Blog 3X per week. 10 out of 10! I only did 2 one week, but I made up for it by doing 4 another week. I’ve had to get more flexible about what I write and a little looser with the grammar to accomplish this.
2. Freelance income. Eh, 7 out of 10, with a grace factor. I was too lofty in my goal, and forgot that a large part of this depends on how much work my clients have for me. A couple of my clients went radio silent in the new year, and others have work “down the pipeline” but had to get organized in the first couple of months. I have sought new clients like a champ, but for whatever reason, there have been less bites. Things have started to pick back up, which I am thankful for. One of the downsides to freelance work is the ebb and flow. Last year, I made the most/ was the busiest over the summer months. Also, the plus side is that I’ve had much more time for my writing/ publishing projects!
3. Stay healthy. 10 out of 10. I’ve kept a regular exercise bike/ yoga/ cardio/ strength training routine and eaten lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. Right now, I am gluten-free, dairy-free, and almost meat-free. Yet, my UC has flared up! Autoimmune disorders – What can you do?
4. Read 25 “texts.” 10 out of 10. These could be anything from poems to myths to short stories or novels. I’ve mentioned about 19 of these in my blogs, and truthfully I read more than I blog about. I don’t count Bible commentaries, books of the Bible, or blogs/ articles in this. If I had to guess, I’ve probably made my mark, but I need a better system to keep track of it.
5. Post 1 Bible for the Busy Woman video/ week. 10 out of 10! This has been a fun project, and I feel I’ve grown not just in my Bible knowledge and in thinking about how to communicate about spiritual things, but also in filming and editing and using Youtube. You can check out these videos on my Youtube channel here.
6. Grow in gratitude and give thanks to God daily. 7 out of 10. It’s definitely been a struggle, but I’ve tried very hard to give thanks even when I don’t feel well and while Chicago is still mostly locked down.
7. Let go and give more to God. 5 out of 10. Man, I love to hold on to things and try to control things ! I’m still working on this one, but I have moments where I’m able to let go and find peace.
8. Learn how to deal better with conflict. 2 out of 10. I honestly forgot about this one, which is probably a signal that I am ignoring my conflicted feelings about dealing with conflict, haha! I’ll have to actively seek out some resources and tools for this. If you have recommendations, I’m all ears!
9. Finish editing The Land in the Woods. 10 out of 10. I finished and incorporated all feedback, then decided I would just “read it through.” I found myself making so many changes that I decided to do a fourth round of full editing! This is my debut self-published book, so I want it to be amazing! Stay tuned for a cover reveal.
10. Finish writing the first draft of The Forgotten Scroll. 9 out of 10. This is the sequel to The Land in the Woods. I made it to the last 2 chapters, but I really psych myself out about endings. I plan to finish it this week, but we’ll see.
11. Stay in touch with friends more. 9 out of 10. I’ve gotten much better at this! It’s harder to say “let’s hang out” when you can only meet virtually, but I’ve tried to make it a priority. I’ve been doing multiple virtual meet-ups or phone calls with friends every week!

I have at least 8 more goals, but I won’t bore you with all the details, and some are more private. At least one of them I have partly given up (studying German) because we are no longer going to Germany. However, I may pick it up again if I have some time and energy to do so over the summer.

What about you? How is your year going so far? Are there goals you are crushing or have had to let go of?