New Year's Resolution Check-In #3

Back in January, I started a different take on having a New Year's resolution. I simple choose one word to work towards. This year my word was "Success."

Success looks a lot different for different people, so I broke it down into S.M.A.R.T. goals or a set of goals that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic/Relevant, and Time-bound. You can read my original article here.

One of the things about making SMART goals is that you have to go back and evaluate them. Are they completed? If not, why not? Do they need extended? Do they need broken down into a smaller goal? Was there a barrier to accomplishing it that needs to be addressed? Has life changed so drastically that the goal needs to change with the new life? If they are completed, what is your next goal?

So my first updated goal of the year was: "In the next 3 months, I want to write and publish an article on Vocal at least once per week in order to increase my visibility, to practice consistency, and to work towards feeling successful. Original baseline on 1/1/24 was: last article was 6 months ago. Updated baseline on 3/24/24 is: an average of 3-4 articles per month. Current baseline on 6/30/24 is: an average of 1 article every 2 weeks."

I had wanted to be writing and publishing an article at least once every 2 weeks. I wrote the following articles in these last 3 months: Random Thoughts, Day 1 of 3 questions, Day 2 of 3 questions (7/5), Re-Introducing Myself, "Just Wait a Year", New Year's Resolution Check-In, "You Need a Mechanic", New Year's Resolution Check-In #2, We Fell Hard, Secure Attachment Style - FINALLY!!!, Death by Drowning, If They Wanted to... They Would., Red Widow, Doing the Inner Work, Am I a Monster?, Closing of a Chapter, Going Crazy..., and The Mind Machine. That comes to 18 articles, but the last 2 were merely excerpts from my book, Return to Space... so let's say 16 articles in the last 13 weeks. That is over an article per week on average - even if my consistency hasn't been the best!

What changed? I have adapted for better balance in my life. I have made some changes in the last few months that allow me to be happier overall and while life is still rocky, I am getting back on top of things that help me feel better - like purposely carving out time to write now that I won't get belittled for wasting my time or constantly interrupted... even though I still battle the inner dialogue that other projects are more important than my silly writing...

I have started saying no to a whole lot more nonsense and severely limiting problematic interpersonal communication. I have been trying to find happiness outside of being a mother so that those who have been using my children to reach my heart have that door shut on them. I want to update my goal to try to help me to continue striving to be have more "Success" outside of my children so that I can fill my cup with things that I am doing well at... in the hopes that I can continue holding my life together enough to help them have their needs are fully met.

My new goal is: "In the next 3 months, I want to write and publish at least 4 articles on Vocal per month in order to increase my visibility, to practice consistency, and to work towards feeling successful. Original baseline on 1/1/24 was: last article was 6 months ago. Updated baseline on 3/24/24 is: an average of 3-4 articles per month. Updated baseline on 6/30/24 is: an average of 2 articles per month. Current baseline on 9/30/24 is: an average of just over 1 article per week."

My second goal of the year was updated to: "In the next 3 months, I want to pick 1 shelf, drawer, or box of items each week and either find it a neat home or get rid of it in order to make my home more comfortable, less cluttered, and easier to maintain while also prioritizing cleaning the dining room table completely off once every other day. Original baseline is: Christmas clutter, kid's clutter, project clutter, and very few empty flat spaces in my home that end up cluttering my mind as well. Updated baseline 6/30/24: kid's clutter, project clutter, and starting to find some empty flat spaces in my home - only they keep disappearing! *giggles* Like the dining room table..."

This goal has been going fairly well, but I continue to struggle with the clutter. I am making some changes with my mental health care team though and am hoping that I will be able to continue cleaning off the dining room table at least every other day while also being able to pick one other place to clean off as that has been where I continue to struggle the most. I updated my goal: "In the next 3 months, I want to pick 1 shelf, drawer, or box of items each week and either find it a neat home or get rid of it in order to make my home more comfortable, less cluttered, and easier to maintain while continuing to prioritize cleaning the dining room table completely off once every other day. Original baseline is: Christmas clutter, kid's clutter, project clutter, and very few empty flat spaces in my home that end up cluttering my mind as well. Updated baseline 6/30/24: kid's clutter, project clutter, and starting to find some empty flat spaces in my home - only they keep disappearing! *giggles* Like the dining room table... Updated baseline 9/30/24: table is going well at being found (which is awesome for school time and meals), but completing other places to have clean continues to be a challenge."

My third goal was updated to: "In the next 3 months, have a schedule in my planner that has ZERO double-booking spots per month, has time blocked off more consistently for an hour of writing in the early morning, adapting to a new schedule with the kid's father while figuring out school for next year, a reasonable set bedtime for myself to strive for to get adequate rest, and has at least 10 minutes between each thing that I have to plan for - whether for myself or for my children - to help ensure that I am utilizing proper coping skills that don't involve thoughts of fleeing the country. Original baseline on 1/1/24 was: 3 double-booking spots last month and 0% consistency for writing, as well as taking a slightly extended vacation from homeschooling (book release, sicknesses, etc.). Updated baseline on 3/24/24 is: 1 double-booking spot per month in the last 3 months, 70% consistency for writing, and getting back into the groove for homeschooling despite the set backs in February and my surgery in March. Current baseline on 6/30/24 is: 2 double-booking spots per month in the last 3 months, 20% consistency for writing, and managing to complete most of the homeschool curriculum for preschool - despite the challenges April, May, and June sent our way. Oh and... let's just not talk about the reasonable set bedtime for myself..."

This goal has been one of my most difficult goals to try and maintain.

I am going to continue this goal with the adaptation of the kid's back to school schedule: "In the next 3 months, have a schedule in my planner that has ZERO double-booking spots per month, has time blocked off more consistently for an hour of writing in the early morning, has time blocked off for each day's homeschooling lessons, a reasonable set bedtime for myself to strive for to get adequate rest, and has at least 15 minutes between each thing that I have to plan for - whether for myself or for my children - to help ensure that I am utilizing proper coping skills that don't involve thoughts of fleeing the country. Original baseline on 1/1/24 was: 3 double-booking spots last month and 0% consistency for writing, as well as taking a slightly extended vacation from homeschooling (book release, sicknesses, etc.). Updated baseline on 3/24/24 is: 1 double-booking spot per month in the last 3 months, 70% consistency for writing, and getting back into the groove for homeschooling despite the set backs in February and my surgery in March. Updated baseline on 6/30/24 is: 2 double-booking spots per month in the last 3 months, 20% consistency for writing, and managing to complete most of the homeschool curriculum for preschool - despite the challenges April, May, and June sent our way. Oh and... let's just not talk about the reasonable set bedtime for myself... Current baseline on 9/30/24 is: 0 double-booking spots per month in the last 3 months, 30% consistency for writing, and managing to stay on top of homeschooling despite the challenges in adapting to a new schedule during the first month of school. The reasonable set bedtime idea is still laughing at me... lol"

My fourth goal was: "On 1 out of 7 days, in the next 3 months, I will do at least 1 of each of the following tasks: share someone else's content, follow another account of which I like the content, comment on someone else's post, like a post, and post something original on each of my social media accounts to improve my consistency and follow-through, to increase my visibility, and to work towards feeling successful. My social media's are: Pinterest, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. Original baseline on 1/1/24 was: 1 out of 7 days doing a business task in networking/marketing. Updated baseline on 3/24/24 is: 2 out of 7 days doing a business task in networking/marketing. Current baseline on 6/30/24 is: Less than 1 out of 7 days doing a business task in networking/marketing."

This goal has just not been happening this year and I feel very sad about it. But, maybe I need to decrease my expectations with the other priorities on my plate! So I will be changing it to: "Twice a month, in the next 3 months, I will do at least 1 of each of the following tasks: share someone else's content, follow another account of which I like the content, comment on someone else's post, like a post, and post something original on each of my social media accounts to improve my consistency and follow-through, to increase my visibility, and to work towards feeling successful. My social media's are: Pinterest, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. Original baseline on 1/1/24 was: 1 out of 7 days doing a business task in networking/marketing. Updated baseline on 3/24/24 is: 2 out of 7 days doing a business task in networking/marketing. Updated baseline on 6/30/24 is: Less than 1 out of 7 days doing a business task in networking/marketing. Current baseline on 9/30/24: An average of once a month doing a business task in networking/marketing."

My fifth goal was: "In the next 3 months, I will write in my journal for 2 hours 1 out of 14 days to attempt to catch back up and to help with my consistency, to help my memories get onto paper so they are not swirling into a vortex in my mind, and to help with my stress level. Original baseline on 1/1/24 was: 60 days of simple notes. Current baseline on 3/24/24 is: 34 days of simple notes with only writing in my journal (a completed entry) an average of 3 out of 7 days. Current baseline on 6/30/24 is: 100+ days of simple notes with only writing in my journal (a completed entry) an average of less than 1 out of 7 days as my emotions have been too hard for me to handle."

I have been doing much better with the change in my goal and I plan to continue it: "In the next 3 months, I will write in my journal for 2 hours 1 out of 14 days to attempt to catch back up and to help with my consistency, to help my memories get onto paper so they are not swirling into a vortex in my mind, and to help with my stress level. Original baseline on 1/1/24 was: 60 days of simple notes. Current baseline on 3/24/24 is: 34 days of simple notes with only writing in my journal (a completed entry) an average of 3 out of 7 days. Updated baseline on 6/30/24 is: 100+ days of simple notes with only writing in my journal (a completed entry) an average of less than 1 out of 7 days as my emotions have been too hard for me to handle. Current baseline on 9/30/24 is: under 30 days behind in entries with the help of breaking the 2 hours up into 30 minute segments with enjoyable activities in between - hiking, visiting a friend, or listening to music."

My sixth goal was: "In the next 3 months, I will compile my journal into the rough draft of TBA: A Schizophrenics Daily Journey Through the Third Year of Motherhood. This goal is meant to drive me forward towards continuing to schedule editing time without another major goal. In other words, this is my easy goal. To accomplish this goal, I will compile 4 months worth of journal notes (in each of the next 3 months) and re-label them while taking out obvious details like names/places/actual dates, into the appropriate Chapter formatting for in depth editing to be completed in October or November. Original baseline on 6/30/24: haven't started the rough draft edits."

This goal is simply not happening this year with the challenges that my little family is facing. I have decided to bench editing my next book until sometime next year as there are many, emotional details within it that I am not sure how to address as of yet. I have opted for a new goal that is more attainable with the emotional bandwidth that I have available currently: "In the next 3 months, I will get my first book Time In Space ready to be released and release it as a e-book on Amazon mostly for my step-dad's Mom as she loves Kindle books! *smile* Baseline: It is only available in paperback currently and I need to find my original manuscript in order to properly convert it to an e-book."

These are the 6 goals that I have with the knowledge that working to be successful is only possible if you knew where you are going and a basic outline to get there with S.M.A.R.T. goals... I will be updating these once again in 3 months and as of right now, despite struggling with interpersonal communication issues and massive emotional challenges as I finally accept what happened in my life this year, I am overall proud of my results. I have faced a lot of intense emotions and have learned a lot about accepting my own flaws. I have adapted my goals to better fit in with what is feasible for me in the next 3 months while, of course, keeping my kiddos as the priority in my life. *smile* Even if my "success" in my business never happens, I will be "successful" if I can teach my kiddos to be resilient and adaptable.

Feel free to share a SMART goal of your own with me! :-) I really like learning about what goals you might have in your lives. I also hope that following my journey might just inspire you to make SMART-er goals for yourself in the future - as well as to give yourself grace if your SMART goals may not have turned out the way you pictured them turning out!