The year ahead: My goals for 2021

The new year might not always bring a fresh start, but it can bring a fresh perspective. My fresh perspective is that, while I have big plans for 2021, I also want to be more flexible and find a better work-life balance. Come and learn how I intend to achieve this and what you can expect from me this year! →

A new year always seems to bring a fresh start, and after the shitstorm (pardon my language) that was 2020, I think we’re all hoping for better things in 2021. I consider myself to be a realist, though. The world doesn’t care about an arbitrary line marking one year off from another, and I get the feeling that the next 12 months will bring their own set of challenges.

But it’s not all doom and gloom! If there’s one thing we can always control, it’s our attitude—the perspective with which we look at the hurdles that lie in our path. I have big plans for 2021, but I also intend to hold myself to them more loosely than I have previously. Last year, I learned that I need to be more flexible and make more space for other things in my life.

Wanting to be more flexible this year did make goal-setting a bit of a challenge. I know from past experience that if I don’t set myself some fairly robust targets, I will wile away my time with little direction and not achieve what I want to achieve. But at the same time, I didn’t want to be too rigid. So first off, I sat down and came up with some “life themes” as follows…

These themes are based off the “wheel of life” tool, and I listed under each theme what I want to get out of 2021. I won’t be sharing these here, but I found it a useful exercise in determining the direction I want my life to head. Writing and reading are two vital aspects of my existence, and took up the majority of the “creativity” and “fun & recreation” themes. These are the goals I will be revealing today.

I have only set myself five goals this year, but having fewer goals will allow me to dedicate more time and effort to each. And who knows? If I manage to reach them all early, then I can move onto something else! We don’t know what’s on the horizon, but what I do know is that I will spend 2021 working towards the following…

Publish 3-4 content posts + 1 update post per quarter. Blogging is going to have to take a hit this year so I can make that extra space I was talking about. Instead of having monthly targets like I did in 2020, I will now have quarterly targets. I intend to post at least once each month, and to wrap up each quarter with a review in the vein of my former monthly updates.

Finalise publishing pathway for Holding Up the Sky. This one has been on the cards for far, far too long, but 2021 is the year I will finally progress it! I am currently submitting my YA novel Holding Up the Sky direct to a few Aussie publishers, and will have my answer by mid-year. Then, if need be, I can finally start taking steps towards self-publishing!!

Outline books 1-3 in the Graceborn series. I have spent the first few weeks of January reviewing feedback my beta readers gave for Blood of Old (Graceborn #1) and am planning some exciting changes! Once I nut out a few problems, I intend to outline the first half of this fantasy series (books 1-3) to make sure everything ties together before I move forwards!

Prepare First the Song for beta readers. In light of the feedback I receive on book 1, I decided late last year to put a hold on drafting First the Song (Graceborn #2). After I have finishing outlining as per goal #3 above, I intend to return to this draft finish it. Or rewrite it. I want to get this to my betas by the end of 2021 and before I work on the next draft of book 1!

Read at least 40 books. I managed to read 56 books in 2020, but after much thought I once again decided to set my reading goal—and thus my 2021 Goodreads challenge—at a modest 40 books. I never want reading to be a chore or a cause of stress for me, so I’ve set the bar at a level I know I can achieve. I just love getting those little “Completed” ribbons on Goodreads!

What are your goals for 2021? How are you approaching the year after what happened in 2020? Are you taking a fresh attitude or making a fresh start?