My 2019 Goals and How I'm Planning On Achieving Them

In my last post I talked a little bit about goal setting and the importance of not just making goals but working towards them. Today I thought I'd share what my 2019 goals actually are and how I plan on achieving them.

Finish my manuscript :: As I've mentioned before my year of completing a diploma in Creative Writing left me with a pretty solid 50k word manuscript but, one that needed a lot of work to become the book I want it to be. I'm setting myself weekly word goals but also allocating time in my calendar each week to the editing process which definitely takes the longest.

What I'm using to keep me on track: The tomato timer method and tracking my weekly word counts.

Shop more sustainably :: Over the past two years I've diligently kept track of all the spending I've done on clothing, shoes and accessories. Things got a little out of hand in 2017 and since then I've managed to rein my spending in, cutting my annual clothing budget in half. I made some really smart choices last year and feel like my closet has a very robust set of basics that will get me through almost any occasion. I like shopping but the guilt of how much stuff I purchase and how bad these purchases are (on a mass scale) for the environment really bugs me.

Because not buying anything is impractical for me - I have weaknesses okay? - I wanted to make an effort at being more sustainable. My closet is a big area where I can make an impactful change. I know not every purchase I make this year will be a sustainable one but my new rules are: Search for items I want second-hand before I buy anything and if I have to buy something and can't find it second hand (in the condition I want) then make an effort to seek out items from sustainable retailers. So no more fast fashion brands for me!

What I'm using to keep me on track: ThredUp and Poshmark are already saved to my computer browsers and I've already purchased my first items second hand!

Read more books :: 2017 was a pretty poor reading year for me and I know that the more I read the better my writing is (and the more motivated I am to write.) This year I've set myself a goal of reading 30 books. 18 more than I managed to do last year.

What I'm using to keep me on track : Goodreads yearly challenge and my Kindle!

Have a better plan for my career moving forward :: This goal is less specific than I would like but there's a reason for that! While I enjoy my work in content and digital marketing I've been feeling lost over the past few years about where I would like to end up. I've been toying with the idea of switching to UX design but it's a big leap (not so much in the work but the time/money I think I will need to outlay) and I want to make sure that it's a path I would a) enjoy and b) would fit my strengths before I go rushing into a career change. At the end of this year I would like to have a clearer path mapped out for making this transition.

What I'm using to keep me on track: Meetups aimed at UX designers, online learning spaces such as Skillshare and General Assembly.

What goals are you working towards this year?