Hello everyone! Last year I set a couple of goals for myself and since it’s the end of January, now is a perfect time to review my goals and whether I’m happy with how far I’ve come thus far. Spoiler alert: I am quite happy with how January progressed. At the same time, it’s always good to be a bit critical about ourselves. So let’s dive in and see how everything is coming along!
My goals for 2022
Here’s the list of my goals for 2022:
- Outline and finish writing the first Kevar novel, by December 2022
- Lose weight and get into better shape, by June 2022
- Write at least one weekly blog article on JeffreyDebris.com, by December 2022
- Write at least one weekly blog article on our new blog, by December 2022
- Read 40 books, by December 2022
- Write 500 words on any of my projects daily, by December 2022
- Take up drawing again and practice at least two times a week, by December 2022
- Practice daily journaling, by December 2022
- Increase my meditation habits, by meditating longer or twice a day, by December 2022
1. Outline and finish writing the first Kevar novel, by December 2022
In all honesty, I have not taken the time yet to be really busy with this project. Starting up our new blog and setting things up for it have taken most of my creative writing time, as well as writing a couple of blogs every week. I do have the intention of reading through what I’ve written thus far, and I think that once I’m in the right flow things will really start to take flight for this novel. There’s plenty of ideas on how I want everything to progress and I’ve spoken a bit about it with Bren. She’s enthusiastic, so that’s a good sign.
2. Lose weight and get into better shape, by June 2022
The gyms are finally open for two weeks now and ever since that happend I’ve increased my total gym visits to four times a week. My intention is to increase this to every weekday by March. I can tell that working out really helps and I’ve even lost a little weight, but not a lot. Things are looking good, though. In fact, the only day I don’t go to the gym, I get up a little later and I can tell that it doesn’t really help for getting into the right rhythm. So maybe I’ll go five times a week earlier than March. Who knows? 🙂 I’ve also started listening to audiobooks while working out and this is just an awesome way to spend the time in the gym even more efficiently. I’m not just training my body, but also my mind, because I listen to non-fiction books! Win-win!
3. Write at least one weekly blog article on JeffreyDebris.com, by December 2022
Yeah, this one has been so easy to keep up! Doing my Monday Musings is always a great start of my week and sharing a little about what’s going on in our lives and what my plans are for the week. On average I post twice a week and so far that’s really fun and easy to do. I’m confident that I can keep this up all year. So, yeah, a 100% score on this one!
4. Write at least one weekly blog article on our blog, by December 2022
After launching our new blog, I’ve been cross-posting my Monday Musings on our new blog. We will definitely be sharing other topics on this blog, but I am still looking a bit for what should go where. I won’t be posting any videogame blogs on the Green Dream Blog, unless sustainability or the environment is somehow a theme that goes along with it. For instance, I am planning on writing a blog about how the Nintendo Switch is the most sustainable and energy friendly choice if you want to play videogames on a home console. And all of my mindfulness and self-help blogs will also be posted there, of course. 🙂 In any case, I am on course with this goal as well!
5. Read 40 books, by December 2022
So far I’ve read two books this year and am going to finish two more soon. I’m a little behind on this goal, but that’s because I found it a bit hard to find the energy to read. I am having a lot of fun reading books again, though, so I’m sure that I’ll be spending more time reading once I’ve got a good rhythm going on with the gym, going to bed at a reasonable time and closing the day by reading, journaling and maybe meditating. A little behind, but I’m sure it’ll get better once I’m not so tired in the evening anymore.
6. Write 500 words on any of my projects daily, by December 2022
I’m trying to keep this up, but in between all the blogging, business at my office job and having energy later at night, I haven’t written 500 words every single day. I think I need to find a certain flow again to manage this and January is maybe not the best month for reaching that level of flow. Once I start working on my Kevar project, the actual writing, I’m sure this will definitely get back on track until it becomes a habit once more. I’m not entirely happy with the state of this goal, looking at my tracker, but let’s see if we can get there in February!
7. Take up drawing again and practice at least two times a week, by December 2022
This goal is one I haven’t taken the time for, yet. I did spend some time looking for good books to teach me certain drawing styles. For instance, I’m very interested in chibi style drawing, because I think that would suit me best, starting out. From there on, I definitely want to try all kinds of different stuff. But I haven’t done anything about this goal yet. I do feel a great urge to get started, however, so it probably won’t be long before I pick up my drawing tools and go for it! 🙂
8. Practice daily journaling, by December 2022
Daily journaling is as easy as doing my daily meditation. I even take time to do about an hour before going to bed, so I won’t feel too tired to write large entries. So far it’s been going great and I really love taking some time to sit down and consider the day. Reflecting a bit, looking forward to the next day and just getting an overall sense of how I’m feeling at that moment. I don’t think I’ll give up this practice, seeing how much it benefits me mentally.
9. Increase my meditation habits, by meditating longer or twice a day, by December 2022
I’ve started meditating 15 minutes in the early morning during weekdays. I do find it a bit harder to keep up the practice during the weekend, because Bren and I have a different rhythm then, but we often meditate together somewhere during the evening, even during weekdays and this really helps to get in more meditation time. I’m definitely stepping up my meditation game and I can really tell this helps me during the rest of the day, because I’m less distracted by thoughts and more present than ever.
Conclusion for January
I’m happy with how things are going so far. There are two goals that haven’t had the attention they deserve, but I’m sure that February will be a better month, although January has been a good month for me. I think our new blog is off to a great start and besides all these goals, we’ve been busy around the house as well.
Did you set goals for yourself this year? And if so, how are things coming along for you? Are you having trouble with certain goals you set? Please let me know in the comments below!
Have a nice Sunday!
Jeffrey
JeffreyDebris.Com 
It’s great that you’re upping the workout routine. It really does help, doesn’t it? I’ve reached the point where I work out just for the feels, and that alone is worth it. Anyway, good luck with your writing goals too, and thanks for sharing!
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Yeah, it kinda makes sense to just do it daily during the weekdays to keep a certain rhythm going. And it gives me energy for the entire day, because I start my workout at 07:00 for about 45-50 minutes. 🙂
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Good luck with achieving your goals. My main goal for 2022 is to participate more in open mic events and readings. 2021 was all about establishing a good writing practice, which I believe to have achieved, more or less. For 2022, my word for the year is ‘Connection’, I want to connect with other creatives, get good and then better at reading my stories and poems out loud. So far, I’m on track. I’ve made a start, attended a handful of online events, read out my pieces and I’m learning as I go along. As with all goal, the big thing is to start. Then, to get better at it. I’ve made my peace with the fact that all beginnings are difficult and that I’ll start at a low point. As long as I progress, I’m fine with that. Don’t forget to celebrate your little victories, your improvements along the way!
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Thank you for telling us your goal for this year. It does sound like you know what you’re doing and that’s always the best when setting goals. I love how you gave this year an overall theme by making 2022 all about ‘Connection’. Starting out can be really hard, especially if it’s something new that you’re going to be doing, but the fact that you’re already doing it, means you are on track! 🙂 Good luck on your endeavours!
I’m always one for celebrating my successes and this year will be mostly about two things. Making our new blog “The Green Dream” a success and writing my new scifi novel. If all goes well, this will be a lovely year to remember!
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Must look out for ‘The Green Dream’. Sounds interesting. Let’s hope for a year we can all remember for the right reasons!
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thank you for sharing!
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