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19 Things I Hope To Accomplish in 2019

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I was updating my 2019 bullet journal and was working on my “19 Things I Hope to Accomplish in 2019” page. This is where I create a list of goals for the coming year that match the two-digit year. I started this last year actually with “18 Things I Hope to Accomplish in 2018.”

Looking back, I didn’t do too badly last year – there were only a couple of things I didn’t accomplish, but I’m merely going to move them to this year’s list. So without further ado:

19 Things I Hope to Accomplish in 2019

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1. Finish my Ghost Oracle series.

This is my young adult urban fantasy series featuring a tarot-slinging high school boy named Nick who can see ghosts. I am working on the fifth book right now and will be outlining the sixth one in the coming weeks. Would be nice to wrap the series up this year.

2. Increase my BookTube videos to 3 per week.

I just started my BookTube channel last year and put out an average of 2 videos a week. This year, I want to increase that amount and be more consistent with posting. So I’m aiming for 3 per week, every week. Which brings me to number 3.

3. Create a video review for every book I read.

I did a few video reviews on my BookTube channel last year but this year, I’m going to try and post a mini review video for every book I read.

4. Travel to Québec

Thinking of taking a train trip to Québec this year, a city that I’ve always wanted visit. Still unsure about whether I’ll be driving or taking the train. The train would no doubt be quite an adventure.

5. Publish my Gay Ghost Story collection by Halloween

I started a collection of gay ghost stories awhile back but never got around to publishing them. Once the idea for my Ghost Oracle series popped into my head, I’ve put a lot of my energy into that and the story collection got pushed aside. So I’m going to try and resurrect it and would like to publish it by Halloween.

6. Read 110 books.

Last year I set my Goodreads reading goal to 100 books and I ended up reading 147, the highest number ever. I typically read between 80 and 100 so I dod extra good in 2018. This year, I’m upping that goal to 110 books, that’s a little better than 2 books a week. Should be able to handle that.

7. Return to knitting

I know, this is a strange one. But when I was a kid, the neighbor lady taught me how to knit….not purl or anything list, just the plain old knit stitch. I actually knitted a ton of scarves back then. This year, I want to get back to knitting (figure it’d be a good thing to do whilst watching YouTube videos) but learn how to make other things like hats, mittens, fingerless gloves…hell, even sweaters. So I picked up some needles, got me some yarn so I’m ready to get crackin’!

8. Get back on the bicycle

In my youth, I was a huge bicyclist and put on a couple thousand miles each season. That, however, came to a screeching halt a few years back after I purchased a maxi-scooter. Since then, any free time during my summers has been spent on the scooter. I was thinking a while back about how much I missed bicycling and how much better shape I was in when I would put in 100+ miles every week on the bicycle. So I’m going to pump up those tires this spring and get back on the saddle, as it were.

9. Record video courses

Okay, this is kind of work thing. I write computer courseware and have done so for nearly 20 years now. I decided toward the end of last year to increase my offerings to include video courses. I’ve already started working on my first one and thus far, it’s going swimmingly. I hope to get at least 3 or 4 of them done this year. We’ll see.

10. Take more long weekends.

This year, we decided that rather than taking one long 3-week vacation like we’ve done in the past, that we would instead take more long weekends, like 3, 4 or 5-day trips. It’d be nice to have a lot more traveling to look forward to in the coming year. Several long weekend trips sounds like a lot of fun.

11. Pare down possessions

I want to do a bit more decluttering this year. The goal at some point is to move to a condo in a warmer climate so I want to start by doing some paring down this year. I have a few things that I used to collect that I plan on getting rid of, as well as a lot of my books.

12. Get back into photography

Last year was a super busy year for me, and I ended up putting my photography on the back burner, and it’s something that I really miss doing. This year, I’m going to get back into it so I plan on taking more photo walks and weekend photo safaris.

13. Watch more photography classes

I purchased a few photography technique classes quite a while ago that I never finished and ended up forgetting about them. This year, I put “photography learning” in my weekly calendar so I hope to finish off the videos this year….and hopefully get a lot more real-world practice.

14. Live a Calendar-Based Lifestyle

I wrote about this earlier this year…or was it last year? Anyway, I plan on scheduling anything I want to get done on my Google calendar which hopefully, will give me a more realistic look at what I can actually accomplish during the day. Going to give this a go for at least a year to see if it’ll work for me.

15. Start a new book series

This is dependent on whether I can wrap up my Ghost Oracle series this year. I’ve been rattling around a couple of ideas for a new book series and would like to turn those ideas into action this year.

16. Write at least one standalone

I’ve also outlined a few standalone novel ideas that I wouldn’t mind getting started on. At the very least, I hope to publish at least one Christmas story this year (this is carried over from 2018).

17. Stick to my writing goals

For a while now, I’ve been writing a minimum of 1,100 words a day, rain or shine. I remember last year I started out strong but then other things pushed my writing aside and I fell behind on my projects. This year, want to make sure that I stick with my current streak. I think that calendar-based project planning has really helped with that.

18. Expand my Book Blog

Last year, I started my book blog “Roger’s Reads” where I post a review for every book I read. This year, I hope to expand the blog and add other content such as book tags, book lists, information on literary prizes and other bookish items of interest. I’m really enjoying the book blog and would like to grow it a lot more. Of course, I must be careful not to neglect this blog in the process.

19. Have more fun!

This was on last year’s list and it’s debatable whether I kept this one up or not. I do have a tendency to be a workaholic, so I’ve scheduled time right in my calendar for relaxation. The long weekend trips and photography safaris should help me accomplish this goal as well.

That’s it! These aren’t resolutions, mind you. I don’t do resolutions. They’re not necessarily goals either. Rather, these are simply some things I’d like to accomplish in the coming year, some things to aim for.

How about you? What do you hope to accomplish in the coming year?

An Entrepreneurial Challenge

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Monkeys Grooming

Why So Quiet

I know that it’s been mighty quiet around here lately. I haven’t been ignoring the blog though. I’ve actually been recovering from unexpected surgery.

That annoying stomach ache I was getting more and more frequently turned out to be a very swelled gall bladder. So I finally went to the doctor and was scheduled for surgery the next day (the Ultrasound specialist said that my gall bladder looked scary”).

A Plethora of Firsts

This was an experience of many firsts for me – first time for surgery, first time I’ve ever been under general anesthetic and first time I’ve ever been in the hospital. I do have to say that none of these are an experience I wish to repeat. Although everything went smoothly and the health care professionals that I worked with were excellent.

Luckily, they were able to remove my gall bladder laparoscopically (minimally invasive surgery), which meant a shorter recovery time. The doctor told me that I would be out of commission for a week. “No problem,” I thought. “I can handle a week off.” So I prepared my businesses the best I could and went in for surfer. Things didn’t proceed quite as planned, however. While they were operating on me, they discovered that I also had a hernia (I had no idea!) so they operated on that as well. Unfortunately, the recovery time for that is not quite so fast (no lifting or straining for 6 weeks). But as of right now, I’m on the road to recovery.

Entrepreneurial Challenges

I do have to say that this is one of those times that can be challenging for an entrepreneur. I can’t just call a boss and tell him or her that I won’t be into work for the next 6 weeks. Nobody is going to step in and do my work for me or deal with my clients. There is only me. So this meant that the day after surgery, I was answering e-mail and talking to clients over the phone. Less than two weeks after surgery, I had a two weddings and a rehearsal over the same weekend.

For just a second (OK – maybe longer than a second), I thought about how nice it would have been to simply be able to call in to work and not have to worry about anything work related — to completely rest for the next several weeks and know that my paycheck would be deposited to my account. I might have even briefly questioned my decision to become an entrepreneur.

But these fleeting thoughts quickly disappeared. In reality, I would never willingly trade my freedom for a cubicle. Even though there will be challenging life periods like this one from time to time, I still prefer working for myself. I love the fact that I can explore my creativity and do the work that I want to do, not work that someone forces me to do. I love the freedom to schedule my days as it suits me. I love the fact that I can explore new creative paths on my own. I even came up with some great ideas while lying in bed convalescing.

Yeah, being your own boss can be a pain at times — but I wouldn’t change it for anything.

Why It’s Important to grow and evolve

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Image of Guy Surfing

“Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death.” ~ Auntie Mame

I ran across a friend recently whom I had not seen in over 30 years. He had aged (like all of us do) but apart from that, he had not changed a bit.

He still works at a restaurant as a short order cook (which surprised me — when I knew him, he had plans to go to med school). He still has the same interests. He still smokes. He still parties like crazy on the weekends. He even still watches the same television shows. He told me how much he loves “The Young and the Restless” and asked me if I still watch it. It took me moment to realize what he was talking about. He was referring to a soap opera we watched when we were barely out of our teens.

I don’t find lack of change to be a good thing. If you don’t change, you don’t grow — and I believe that it’s part of being human to grow, to change, to evolve. By growing and continuously learning, we discover and live up to our potential. We grow into who we are meant to be. We learn how to be better people and in so doing, motivate those around us to become better people.

By not growing, we often feel empty inside, sometimes even lost. We have the feeling deep down inside of us that there must be something more to life that what we are experiencing. We become exiles from one another and from our community, wandering to and fro like a homeless zombie.

An acquaintance once said to me:

“I never knew what I wanted to be when I grew up — but I know it wasn’t this.”

We need to stop and look down into our untapped creativity and potential and then, bring it forward. But wishing, yearning, dreaming and hoping won’t do it — only concrete action will.

So how can we move from sleepwalking complacency to growth, from exile to inclusion?

  • By engaging with people, both old and new.
  • By engaging with life, not avoiding it.
  • By reading books, both fiction and non-fiction.
  • By connecting with nature (the ultimate teacher of change and growth).
  • By slowing down and appreciating the moment.
  • By taking classes and/or workshops.
  • By taking on a new hobby
  • By engaging with teachers.
  • By remembering your dreams and then taking first steps — even tiny ones — to bring those dreams closer into reality.
  • By trying or learning something completely new, even if it scares you. Trying doing something that you’re not good at.

There are many ways to get started but most importantly, you have to get started. I have found that creating a list of all the things you want to be or learn — or dreams you have ignored or put on hold — is a great place to begin. I personally did this several years ago and rediscovered photography, a dream I had put on hold.

Now you may say that not everyone wants to change or grow. That may be true — and that’s fine. But often, it’s not that we have made a conscious choice to stay the way we are, but rather we just forgot to follow our dreams. We became complacent, lazy and simply accepted our circumstances.

If you are exactly the same as you were twenty, ten or even five years ago, ask yourself, “Is this the life that I want? Am I happy with the way things are? Or do I feel a yearning to grow and evolve in a different direction?”

Evaluating Our Tools

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iMac ImageI’ve been a Mac guy pretty much for the past 12 years (please – no ‘Mac vs. PC’ rants: I’ve heard them all) and had been working with a 2008 Macbook Pro. Over the past few weeks/months, I’d noticed that the machine had really begun slowing down, especially since upgrading to Lion, the latest version of the Macintosh operating system. It was taking forever to carry out routine tasks and I was beginning to get frustrated. I performed all of the required computer maintenance, ran various cleanup scripts but the darn thing still chugged along like a locomotive with three broken wheels. I looked into adding additional memory but sadly discovered that 4 gig was as high as I could go.

Now in addition to being a fiction writer, I also write technical manuals so I tend to need quite a bit of computing power. Finally, I decided to break down and get a new computer. But instead of buying directly from Apple’s main online store or one of their retail stores, I thought I’d give their Refurb Store a try. I checked back daily for awhile until a listing finally caught my eye. It was a speedy New iMac that was greatly discounted — almost four hundred dollars less than the list price (the price found on the Apple Store). After hemming and hawing (and fearing the inevitable buyer’s remorse), I finally pulled out my credit card and bought the darn thing.

But I wasn’t finished yet. The machine shipped with only 4 gig of ram (the same amount as my old Macbook Pro). I I headed over to Crucial’s Web Site and purchased 16 gig of ram (it was quite a deal!). A couple of days later, my computer and ram arrived and since I have been one happy camper. I couldn’t help but wonder why I had endured so much frustration for so long? I knew for awhile that it was time to upgrade some of my aging equipment as it was taking me longer and longer to get my work done. I am now considerably more productive with less anxiety.

The moral here is that we need to evaluate our tools from time to me to make sure that they are still working for us. Take a look at what’s out there and see whether it can make your workload a little lighter, a little easier and a little less frustrating. Sometimes, upgrading to the latest version can make all the difference in the world. I know it did for me.

Looking Ahead

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Image - man looking through binoculars

December vacation all wrapped up.  So now it’s time to get back to work.  I have to admit that it’s been a tad difficult getting back into the swing of things.  I did spend some time reflecting on the past year and have decided to work on goals for the upcoming year, Chris Guillebeau style (I think he calls it his annual review).

At first, I felt that I did not accomplish that much in the past year.  But once I started thinking about all that I did, I realized that I wrote 15 books last year.  OK, so they weren’t great novels but rather computer courseware manuals for Office 2010 (I’m a technical writer in my other life).  While it may not seem like a huge amount for work, each manual runs between 250 – 300 pages.  So it is safe to say that I did, in fact, have a productive year.  I also did finish my fiction novel – working on the edits now.

Looking forward to another good year.  I have a lot on my plate for 2012 – which I’ll talk about a little at a time as the months progress.

The Art of Keeping a Journal

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Journal Image

Photo by Barnaby

I have faithfully kept a journal since 1980 and because of that, I have a record of the important times, places and people in my life over the past 30 years. I have recently begun transcribing my journals into the computer and as I read through them, I recalled people, events and places long forgotten. Through my written words, I was able to relive experiences that I had when I was barely out of my teen years and as I continued to read, saw myself develop into the man I am today. My earlier entries – the one’s that took place when I was in my early 20’s – were obsessed with love and romance – I wrote about little else. Funny to see how the focus of my life has changed. What I find particularly interesting is how much I’ve changed – I barely recognize the immature boy I was back then who constantly bemoaned his relationship setbacks.

Yes, I am a strong believer in keeping a journal – and in my opinion, the reasons to do so are many.

WHY KEEP A JOURNAL

Keep cherished memories alive

Even though we may not believe so at the time, the majority of the experiences that occur in our lives will be forgotten. People I was certain that I would always remember – always be in contact with – were completely gone from my memory until recently, when I rediscovered them on the pages of my journal. Without my journal, I would not have 30 years of cherished memories at my fingertips. All of them would be gone forever.

It’s Excellent Therapy

Many people in the mental health professions recommend journaling to their clients as part of the recovery process. I can’t tell you how many times I have “journaled out my anger” rather than taking it out on someone else. Just writing about all my emotions and feelings often provided clarity about a situation or problem.

Problem Solving

Journaling can also help solve problems. By writing down the pros and cons of a difficult situation, I have more than once received flashes of insight which then helped me to move forward. Moreover, taking your time and putting a troubling issue to paper may help you to see the situation from a different perspective, which may then lead to a solution.

Receive New Insights

Writing out your thoughts and feelings can lead to some interesting insights about your life – aspects that may not have come to your attention before. When I worked as computer programmer in a hectic corporate environment, it was journaling that helped me to realize that I was in the wrong profession – and that what I really wanted to be was an entrepreneur and create my own business. Sometimes simply writing it all out can provide you with both motivation and a starting point.

Additionally, reading old journal posts aid you in realizing how much you’ve grown (or perhaps how much you’ve strayed from your original goals), especially once you revisit all the mistakes you made!

Learn About Yourself

For many, one of the most important uses for a journal is to learn about yourself. A habitual journaling practice can help you to define who you are and what you believe in. By writing regularly about an issue or a topic in my journal, I found that I was more than ready to discuss the topic intelligently and confidently when it came up in real live conversation. In this way, it has helped to clarify my opinions and beliefs – basically help me to decide who I am.

Creativity

Journaling can spark creativity. I know of several people whose journals gave rise to an entire novel. I personally have had many new ideas pop up into my head while writing in my daily journal. This blog post was one of them. Journaling regularly can also make you a better writer. There’s an old adage that goes, “If you do something every day, you can’t help but become an expert at it.”

Proof That You Existed

A friend of mine, whose mother passed away a few years ago, told me that the most valuable treasure she has ever received was her mother’s journals. Her mother, an avid journaler, documented her entire life on paper, ever since she was a young girl. My friend says that reading those old journals keeps her mother alive in her memories. She also told me that reading her mother’s thoughts and feelings is like getting to know her for the first time. Think how much your children and grandchildren will enjoy reading about your life. Who knows? Maybe your journal will someday end up in at a historical society or museum and will provide others insight into what life was like for someone of your time period.

Stress Management

Journaling regularly helps counteract the negative effects of stress in your life. When I had gone through a particularly challenging period in my own life, I discovered that journaling about it made me feel much better afterwards. Be releasing my anger and frustration on the page, I felt calmer and more relaxed.

Goal Planning

Journaling can also help you to achieve and stick to your goals. Writing about the achievements you’ve made and the milestones you’ve attained can help you to keep on track. Sometimes just logging your achievements on paper provides ample motivation to see your goals through to the end.

Logging Daily Activities

A journal can also help you to keep track of daily events and activities in your life. This can be quite helpful if you ever have to remember or prove what you did on a particular day. You can even use your journal as an expanded version of an event calendar.

Hand-written journal with pictures

Hand-written journal with pictures

Photo by sushi♥ina

HOW TO KEEP A JOURNAL

The way to being successful in keeping a journal is to find the journal medium that is best for you. A friend of mine asked me what is the best type of journal to get? I told her, “the best journal to get is the one that you will write in.” Don’t buy an expensive Italian leather-bound journal book if you wouldn’t write in it. The first step is giving some thought as to whether you want to keep a paper journal or store it electronically on your computer. There are advantages and drawbacks to both.

Some possibilities include:

Bound Journal Books – these can range in price from about $15 to several hundred dollars. Sometimes just having an impressive looking journal book can give you motivation to write.

A Notebook/Tablet – this can be as simple as basic black & white speckled composition notebook. Keep in mind however, that cheaper paper may yellow over time. This is the issue I’m currently facing – one of the reasons that I have begun transcribing my older journals into electronic format.

Blog – Some people keep their journals electronically “in the cloud” using blogging software. Most of the popular blogging platforms such as WordPress, Blogspot and LiveJournal allow you to keep your posts private, for your eyes only. You also have the option of sharing specific posts (or all posts) with others, if you so choose.

Journaling Software – There is a wide array of journaling software available for both the PC and the Mac. In addition to text, most of these applications also allow you to add videos, photos and other media to your journal posts. I currently am using MacJournal (Mac only) to transcribe my old journals. I find it stable and quite flexible.

Looseleaf Binder – more flexible than using a bound book or a notepad. Using a looseleaf binder allows you to move your pages around – or even group them by topic.

Information Gathering/Database Software – There are many software packages used for information gathering that make an excellent platform for journaling. An example is OneNote for Windows — or EverNote or DevonThink for the Mac. Like journaling software, you can also add photos, videos and sound files to your entries.

Scrapbook – Scrapbooking is a favorite activity among many folks and a nice visual way to record your life. You can include text, pictures, ticket stubs, flyers, newspaper/magazine articles and much more to your scrapbook journal. This is an excellent choice for creative folks.

HOW TO STICK WITH JOURNALING

Find a time that works for you to journal and stick to it. Try to be consistent as possible. The longer you journal at your designated time, the more it becomes an ingrained habit. I personally make journaling the last thing I do before I go to bed – no sleeping until I’ve journaled. Some people do their journaling first thing in the morning. If you’ve had an especially hectic day and find ourself too exhausted or too busy to sit down and write a full entry, write one sentence – heck, write one word if that’s all you can muster up. I came across one journal entry in my journal dated October 22, 1992 that simply stated: “Disappointment” ‘Enuf said.

WHAT TO WRITE ABOUT

When deciding to keep a journal, there are many possibilities available to you. You might keep a daily journal of your thoughts, emotions and events in your life. Or you could keep a theme journal such as:

  • Art/Sketch Journal – a place for all of your drawings and sketches.
  • Child Journal – a place to record all of the memories and events related to the raising your children. This can include such things as first words spoken, funny sayings or phrases your kids come up with, the ideas your kids have, milestones in your child’s life — basically, anything you want to remember.
  • Creative Writing Journal – a place for all of your creating writing – poems, songs, short stories, fiction, non-fiction – any way you express yourself creatively.
  • Dream Journal – a place where you record all of your dreams.
  • Exercise Journal – a place where you keep track of how you exercised, how much you exercised, your caloric intake, food consumed, your weight, etc.
  • Gratitude Journal – a place where you record all the things that you are grateful for – the people and things in your life that really matter to you.
  • Grief Journal – a place where you write all about the grieving process. Such a journal can help with both long-term and short-term healing.
  • Hobby Journal – a place where you record all the details about a hobby – materials, patterns, projects, costs, etc.
  • Idea Journal – a place to jot down any ideas that come to you during the day. A fleeting idea could be the premise for your next big novel.
  • Mood Journal – a place where you track your emotions.
  • Nature Journal – a place for you to record all that you see, feel and experience while out in nature.
  • Prayer Journal/Spiritual – this is a place to help you connect with the Divine and your spirituality.
  • Reader’s Journal – a place where you write about the books you read. Include such things as what you liked/disliked, synopsis, techniques the author used and important points you want to remember.
  • Vacation Journal – a journal that lists not only places you visited during your vacation, but also your thoughts and feelings about the places you visited. Many people’s lives have been permanently altered by an eventful vacation.

The possibilities for theme journals are endless. I keep a daily personal journal that pretty much includes anything I want it to – stories, songs, poems, quotes I heard during the day, my moods, thoughts, what I did, creative writing ideas, scribbles, drawings and more. There are no rules for your journal – write whatever resonates with you. What’s important is that you fill the pages.

You never know – journaling may even cause you to go out and search for adventure! I remember once reading a quote from a man who journaled. He said, “Journaling forces me to lead an interesting life so that I have something to write about.” Maybe it will do the same for you.