Monday, May 2, 2022

First Quarter Report

This is way late due to my unexpected trip out of town, but I had it written and ready to go. No sense in wasting already written words, so here is my scorecard...

1. Sending post cards to Grandma--I'm one card behind. The first one got returned due to a postage glitch and then I ran out of stamps and the local post office has been without its credit / debit card machine. So yeah... But, overall, I'm doing better...

*update...I'm on track now. I sent out cards right before I left and one right when I got back. So yeah.

2. Exercise regularly/up my game--With few exceptions (due to the super cold weather and one late night), I've gotten on the elliptical every day. I've only upped my game in so far as I'm up to 15 minutes worth of effort. I haven't switched out any of the other equipment or added yoga back into the mix yet. But 1st quarter, right? Get the habit established and then we'll add in and switch up.

*update...due to Mom's arrival and all the upheaval from getting her settled and into various doctors appointments, this one is on hold for a few more weeks.

3. Cook & eat healthy/stick to a food plan-- This has been a struggle. I'm a comfort/stress eater and issues with getting my mom here have caused some anxiety. I'm not doing terrible, but I'm not doing great. However, this is one area where I'm really giving ,myself some grace. We'll see how it goes in the 2nd quarter.

*update...due to Mom's health this is now a thing, we are working towards a balance between freshly cooked meals, meals prepped in advance, and easy but healthy "scrounge" meals.

4. Housekeeping--I've stayed on track. I hit the marks each week, but I haven't yet upped the game to any real degree, unless you want to count picking up dog poop regularly. I'll need to decide what to add for the 2nd quarter.

*update...this became a priority for various reasons, but execution will take some time due to the aforementioned arrival / upheaval...

5. Writers Group Treasurer Duties--A+ on this one. I've caught up and kept up.

*update...got a little behind while gone, but now that I'm getting caught up with day job duties, this is back on the priority list.

6. Publish One Book--I'm on track for this. I finished the last of the editing and got the epilogues written this past month. April is for getting all the files created, reviewed, and uploaded to retailers and aggregators. ISBNs have been assigned. Release day is June 24. I'll start working on one of the other two Works In Progress in April, just to dip my toe in, get re-acquainted with the characters and the plot. Then I'll go from there...

*surprisingly, still on track. I had scheduled a lot of lee way here, so barring anything catastrophic, this looks good to go...

7. Hone/Learn My Craft--Doing okay with this so far. I've listened to several of the webinars from one of the online conferences I paid for. But this item is low priority and has gotten bumped a time or two so that I could do other things. But I recently read an admonition that resonated. Any epiphanies in and of themselves from books or webinars or blog posts aren't going to do much. I have to put in the work. I'm not sure what the work is just yet, but I need to figure it out.

*update...not as critical considering everything else right now, so on hold for the time being. There are too many other things on my plate at the moment to worry about this, but because emails don't expire and the conferences I registered for allow me three years of access, I have plenty of time.

8. Double My Etsy Inventory--So far so good. :0) Surprisingly. I took a few minutes a couple of weeks ago to assess my progress, and noting that I was only a little behind, set out a schedule that allowed me to get caught up.

*update...another thing that's fallen off the priority list altogether. On the other hand, due to drama in Etsy circles, I'm looking at creating my own store platform not via Etsy, so I'm researching store templates. But still not a priority--just a thing to do when I need something "fun" to think about/do.

9. Read, read, read--On track. I set my Goodreads Challenge at 104 books and I'm pretty sure I'm ahead of schedule. Granted, my pace has dropped off a little, but that's okay.

*update...I might have gotten behind because I didn't read at all while I was gone. OTOH, I was ahead before I left and I'm a fast reader, so catching up/getting back on schedule should not be a problem.

10. Keep up with Goodreads admin--missed a few check-ins this month, so I need to do that and then write that bi-monthly appointment in my planner.

*update...completely dropped the ball on this, but again, not a priority. I think I'll just put that on hold until the start of the third quarter.

If you set goals for the year, how are you progressing??

Have a great week...

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