2018 Review and 2019 Look Ahead

Welcome to 2019, guys! (Shh, I know it was a week ago. I was on break.) 2018 was quite the year for me. I got my first job, taking a big step into the adult world. (And don't think much of it, if I dare to say.) That was hard, and so were the various other things that I had to go through. My brother's accident, losing a close friend (not died, just we kind of broke up, if you can do that with a friend), having to totally rethink the way my life worked, then finding out we had to move.

I would say it was a pretty up and down year for me. Yet here I am, once more. I'll admit, I have a tendency to focus on the negative. My perspective naturally points towards it. But I do have to admire how God provides every time, even though I have a hard time seeing it (more often than I would like to admit).

But let's move past all that and into the meat of this post, where I talk about last year's goals and see how I did, then this year's goals and what I hope to accomplish.

2018

Personal-

• Word of the year- grow.

I would say I did manage to live out this word in 2018. I've grown in many ways. I've been hurt and broken, and gotten up again. I've started putting out my tendrils into the adult world. I've tried some new things and actually liked them.

• Stretch/workout 20 min. a day, 5-6 days a week. ✔❌

I think this goal might have been a bit big, or more likely, I didn't come up with a plan on how to properly achieve it. However, I do think I did pretty well at stretching and exercise. Even though I had a hamstring injury in the middle of the year, I'm almost back to the level of flexibility I had then.

• Draw more. ✔❌

This was obscure. I didn't draw as much as I would have liked last year, but I do feel pretty good about what I accomplished. I drew all fourteen Doctors from Doctor Who, finished a few new fashion sketches, and did all 31 days of Inktober. Does that count as drawing more? Not sure.

Writing-

• Draft 2-3 novels. ✔

This is one goal I did accomplish. In 2018, I did the first drafts of Hollows and Horsemen, Lucy's Story (title pending), and Heart Magic. I'm pretty proud of that, to be honest. My Wonderland trilogy is now finished and I love it so much (although it needs so much work).

• Edit 2-3 novels. ✔?

Hmm, I'm not so sure about this one. Part of the problem is that it's hard to tell when you're "finished" editing a novel. (I think the truthful answer is never). But I did finish a lot of the major edits on two of my novels, and Lucy's Story was actually the re-write of a previous novel, so I'll say I sort of did this one.

• Make a publishing plan. ❌

Again, too obscure of a goal and no plan to follow it through. I didn't exactly make a publishing plan like I wanted, but I did do some research on publishing, which will help with one of this year's goals.

Reading-

• Read 150 books. ❌

Pretty quickly into 2018 I realized that I wasn't going to accomplish this, so I changed my goal to 120 books. That I did accomplish, plus 15. According to my year in books from Goodreads, I read 41,795 pages, my average rating was 4.1 stars, and the longest book I read was Alexander Hamilton.

Blog-

• Grow my blog. ✔

It's hard to measure this goal, since I'm not very good analytics and all that, but I think I'm starting to have a bit of reach. I've done three guest posts this year, which has also helped. And I checked my Feedburner list the other day and found I have about 500 people getting my emails. :O Even if only 10% of them actually read them, that's a lot.

• Improve social media. ✔

I started using Instagram this year, and it was one of the best decisions I've done. Having separate blog and personal accounts is great. I've gotten over 80 followers in one year, which is great, even if I want to have more. And get them to read my blog more. I also started using Pinterest more effectively, which has gotten me a lot more views. Facebook I basically still use only because you can share links directly.

• Get out there more. ✔❌

*laughs uncomfortably* I'm not very good at this one. I always tell myself that I should comment on this or that post, but then I chicken out. I don't even know why. I do interact more on Instagram, though. And doing those guest posts was putting myself out there. So, sort of?

2019

Personal-

• Word of the year- courage.

I'm a naturally shy and introverted person. When faced with something new and scary, I worry and get anxious and don't want to do it. But in 2019 I want to learn to not let my fear control me. Yeah, maybe sometimes it will come out on top. But it's time to be courageous. (Cue the Casting Crowns song.)

• Improve at art through intentional practice.

This time I have a much more specific drawing goal. I have areas I want to improve in my art, and those are my major focus this year. I also picked up this cool draw every day book that I hope will help me unlock my creativity.

• Do things that scare me.

Like making this goal, ha ha. This goes along with my word of the year. I just want to stop saying no because I'm afraid. I want to push my boundaries more. That doesn't mean I have to say yes to everything or go skydiving tomorrow. I do know that some things I just can't do, or not all at once. But I'm going to try more.

• Stretch more.

I want to establish a daily stretching habit, even if it's only five minutes a day. I hope to get more flexible and be able to do more tricks, to be honest. It's also good to stretch and helps me relax.

• Do some traveling.

I think I'm finally ready to try some solo (or possibly duo) traveling. Of course, I need to get a car first, but I think it would be fun to do some day or two trips, maybe even visit some family.

Writing-

• Edit 2 novels.

I haven't decided which two yet, but I have decided that this is an editing focused year. I'll probably do NaNoWriMo, or draft one novel, but I want to focus on improving what I've already got.

• Being querying.

Another terrifying thing. However, publishing has always been my goal and I'd like to start working towards it. We'll see what happens this year.

Reading-

• Read 100 books.

If you look at my Goodreads challenge, it's gotten smaller every year. But I have to recognize that I can't read as many books any more. I have made a little reading challenge for myself and I want to cut back on library books so I can do more TBR and re-read work.

Blog-

• Reach 120+ followers on Instagram.

Instagram is a really useful platform and I love using it, so I hope to get more followers there. And more people who are interested in me too, not just doing it for the follow back and all that.

• More guest posts (mine+others).

I want to find more guest posting opportunities on other blogs, especially since I've been thinking about finding some writing work on the side and it would help to have a body of published work. But I also want to do some of the first guest post right here on R's Loft. I haven't decided when or what kind, but I'll let you know when I do. (If you have an idea, feel free to contact me.)

A little quote to leave you with

What are some of your goals for 2019? How did you do on your 2018 goals? Do you have a word for the year? Tell me in the comments.

Suggested Posts:

2017 Review and 2018 Look Ahead
Top Books of 2017 and 2018