Looking Forward Now

Good morning, Readers!

Image by S. Hermann & F. Richter from Pixabay

With 2020 being an awful trash fire, and 2021 looking like a struggle to pull ourselves out of it, it would probably be a good idea to be gentle with myself this year. So naturally, I've got lofty goals, and far too many of them, but I'm going to try and do them all the same. I've broken them down into a bunch of sections, as they are all different areas of my life that I want to develop.

Let's start shall we?

Health

• Get the COVID-19 vaccine
• ​Cut out sugar again (alcohol is excepted from this ban. We all have our vices)
• Return to running training - be able to run a full 5K without stopping and without sounding like I've accidentally swallowed a dog's chew toy afterwards
• Return to martial arts training - get a heavy bag and an outdoor stand
• Return to martial arts teaching
• Start laying the groundwork to opening a martial arts school - specifically a women’s only branch of my current martial arts school
• Reestablish a connection with my doctor

Writing

• Get an agent (laughs in I'VE BEEN TRYING FOR YEARS)
• Complete the first draft of The Lioness of Shara Mountain
• Complete the first draft of GTFO
• Sort out, document and return to submission hell for Soldier and ​The Outworlder
• Optional - restart my YouTube channel. What will it be about? I have no fucking clue, that's why this one is optional
• Optional - create a Patreon for my writing. How am I to do that and what could I possibly offer? I have no fucking clue, that's why this one is optional

Art

• Learn watercolour
• Create one complete art piece per month. I failed in 2020, but I’m going to give it a proper try this time.
• Create YouTube videos of the art creation for the Dark Arts channel.
• Get an iPad stylus to do more digital art
• Do more digital art
• Learn oil pastel, because I got some black and white ones for Christmas, and I think a series of black and white pieces would be kinda cool

Leatherwork

• Create the ‘soldier’ dice bag and put it up on the website
• Create the ‘exile’ dice bag and put it up on the website
• Decide on the pricing for the custom book jacket and put it up on the website
• Make a messenger bag

Personal

• Resume my French lessons on Duolingo
• Resume my guitar lessons
• Save enough to get a new Mac because mine is bricking
• Save enough for that adventure vacation I desperately want to do, departure date 2022
• Contribute at least $100 per month to my various savings for a minimum of $1 200 in the year
• Buy a decent blogging camera
• Get a computer desk that fits my space so I can finally use my drafting table

So... that’s it. That’s the list. It’s quite the list, isn’t it? I estimate that I’ll get no more than half done this year, but that’s better than nothing at all.

Once again, these are not resolutions. They’re goals. They’re things I would love to achieve this year. Some, like getting an agent, will likely not happen, if other years are any judge by. But it’s the trying that matters. I won’t get anywhere if I don’t try.

Honestly, if I just manage to try for most of these, I’ll consider that a win.

Wish me luck!

​Ciao!