Revisiting My 2014 Goals

It’s time to take a look at how I did on my 2014 goals.  Please note that some of my numeric goals might be off as I drafted this post a couple weeks before posting.

Reading Goals

1. Read 60 books.  Done as of December 9!

2. Of those 60 books, 25 should be audio-ebooks or ebooks.  43 of the 61 books I’ve finished have been ebooks or audio-ebooks (33 ebooks and 10 audio).  So, knocked this one out of the park.

3. Read at least 1 classic.  I’m going to give myself credit for this one.  I read The Handmaid’s Tale earlier this year and a bunch of people on Goodreads say it’s a classic, so it’s a classic.

4. Participate in Dewey’s Readathon.  First goal on my list that I didn’t complete.  April Readathon I had company and October Readathon I was out of town visiting my sister, so I wasn’t able to participate in either one.  Maybe in 2015?

Blogging Goals

1. Post weekly.  I’ve definitely skipped a week here or there (I apparently only posted once in November), but I have made up for this with extra posts in other months, so I have averaged at least one post a week.  I’ll say I did it.

2. Get personal.  I did do a few more personal posts early on in the year, but I haven’t really kept up with it.  I wonder how much someone wants to read about my new yoga practice or how work is.  I’m ok with being somewhat informal and personal in reviews and on Twitter and in posting things like goals lists.  But most purely personal posts just don’t feel right to me.  So I tried it and didn’t love it.

3. Give the blog a facelift.  I chose a new template and updated my bio and contact pages early in the year.  I also recently revamped my review index.  I’m pretty happy with how things are looking around here.  Much neater than it was a year ago.

Other Goals

1. Master 5 new recipes.  Well.  I almost burned my kitchen down in February working on this goal and have been a bit gun-shy in the kitchen ever since.  I have been cooking a lot more, trying new recipes here and there, but still a lot of the meals I cook are convenience meals.  I wouldn’t label this a success, but it’s a work in progress.

2. Get some exercise.  I’ve done better on this point that I thought I would.  I’ve been practicing yoga semi-regularly since February.  Sometimes it was going to a class a week, sometimes it has been doing videos at home several mornings a week.  It’s not perfect.  I fall off the wagon sometimes (like right now, in fact!).  But I’m finding that exercise is itself a journey.  It’s not about perfection, it’s about trying to get some movement in my life.  And it’s ok to fall off track or push myself only 50% some days.  If I am only getting guilt and pain out of a process, I don’t want to (and won’t) keep doing it.  So this has really been about finding peace and acceptance in what I’m willing to give on a daily basis.

 

All in all, I did pretty well.  I am actually quite proud of myself for trying some new things, sticking with blogging, and cutting myself some slack when it comes to how I live my life.  As I approach 30 (I will be 30 in May 2015), I find myself wanting to both be kinder to myself and to find some peace, contentment, and joy in how I live, work, and play.  I know this sounds cheesy, which is a thing I hate being, but my teens and 20s were (often) tumultuous and it’s nice to reach a more steady place.  Anyways, I am really looking forward to 2015 and what that will bring.