2022 yearly goals
I'm back!!!! Probably no one noticed I was gone but I'm back and coming with a goal post.
I know this is super late but I took most of December off and it bleed into January, and honestly, it felt good not to have to think of content for my social media or the blog but at the same time I was missing it. The audacity of my brain wanting both and nothing at the same time.
I'm hoping to stick to a schedule that I'm not ready to announce (I'm gonna try it first and see how it goes) so if it looks like I'm posting irregularly it is because I'm struggling with balancing a full-time job, my writing and creating meaningful content to post onto the internet.
S let me stop rambling and start talking about the topic you click on for.
2022 YEARLY GOALS
If you are more into videos, you can watch me going through my yearly goals. But if the written form is more of your jam, well here we go:
Let me preface this with the fact that I'd struggle hard during 2021. There are a few videos on my youtube channel where I talk about it and it is the biggest reason why I came back home (home is Puerto Rico). When I sat down to think about 2022 goals I kind of wanted to do a do-over but with more space to give myself grace.
I ain't that young, my mom ain't that young, and even my dog ain't that young. I gotta take care of me and my immediate family and boy do the pandemic force you to think and prioritize that. But I still wanted to keep the essence of my intentions for 2021 to 2022.
For years I felt stagnant both in my dreams and goals of being an author and in my personal life. That's why I'm keeping a similar intention but I change the word of the year. Last year my word was Action or the phrase Do it. But this year I changed it to Motion.
It has the same intention of moving forward but in my mind, it leaves the space of even when I'm resting, or filling the well, or taking care of my body and my mind is still with the intention of moving me forward to my goals and dreams. As long as I'm not procrastinating I would be fine and in motion towards my dreams.
In the vein of HB90 (a goals setting and planification course run by Sarra Cannon through Heartbreathings) I set three categories that serve as goals in my mind. Writing, Helpfulesther (which is my Virtual Assistant gig), and Personal. I'm keeping the projects within those goals to two or three in hopes of not overwhelming myself.
Let's start with Writing:
1. Start (get the book) querying Estefanía's book.
This is, for writing and just in general, my main goal. I'm not putting any dates because even though deadlines help me get things done, self-imposed deadlines don't. So, if I ended up starting the query process on December 31, 2022 (when I know no one is looking at their emails) then so be it. If I need the entire year to get the book where I'm comfortable and confident to request representation with, then it will take me however long it takes. I'm also telling myself if I have to move it to next year it's okay and if it happens earlier to not be afraid.
2. Get a book ready for Self-Publication.
This is mainly for me to work on when Estefanía's book is out with CPs or Betas or when I honestly need to step back but still want to write. I'm also not saying I will be Indie Publishing in 2022. I just want to have a book ready for whenever I decide to start that journey. It also gives me time to save money.
Those are my writing goals/projects. They are huge undertakings but I'm not stacking my plate on purpose. Mainly because those are big things to tackle throughout the year and I want to give myself time to do other things. I'll fill my writing plate when it starts bringing some money in.
Now let's talk about Helpfulesther:
1. Finish all the courses I bought for website building through WordPress.
Not saying I'll offer this service this year (hopefully I will but zero promises). I just want to learn it and learn it well. I've always been interested in having my website through WordPress but it is a very intimidating place. I hope I can gain this skill to help myself and in the journey of selfishly adding a skill I could eventually offer it to others (mainly authors and solo entrepreneurs) for an affordable price. But that could be something for another year. I just want to add this skill set to my toolbox.
2. Grow my social media in a way that would bring clients on its own.
Honestly, watching how social media changes are interesting and fascinating but I can't let it dictate my strategy. I want to focus on sharing content that showcases my abilities as a Virtual Assistant while still giving something of value to whoever sees my content. I know in the long run that's how it would help me be found by clients who would appreciate my help. I do need to remember this is a part-time basis business. I already fell into the trap of a side hustle to support my writing dreams and it ended up overtaking my writing time and made me miserable. So as much as I would like to grow this business I have to safeguard my writing time and my personal time too. And if it means less posting and even some breaks here and there then it is what it is.
Just to summarize for helpfulesther I want to learn website building through WordPress skills and slowly but surely grow my social media in a way that it will be a funnel of clients.
Last but not least are my Personal goals:
1. Strengthen my back
I work at an office job so it means I'm sitting down pretty much the entire workday. Add it to writing time I'm spending anything between 9 to 12 hours sitting down in front of a computer. To say that my back hurt is an understatement. I want to do some exercise that would strengthen the muscle of my back so the pain lowers. I'm not making losing weight a goal because it never works. I just want the pain to go away and I'm pretty sure exercising my back will help.
2. Make time to do things I love
Y'all do not know how much I restricted myself last year. Mostly it was to punish myself for not finishing Millie's book and for the multiple failed attempts on the kpop book now known as Estefanías book. I barely read, barely watch movies and series. I even restricted reading and writing fanfiction which is something that helps me keep the love for writing alive when the seriousness of Publishing sucks it out.
Well, I'm not doing that this year. I'm reading when I want to and what I want to. I'm watching series and movies. I'm reading and writing fanfiction, especially if working on my main writing projects is tripping me up mentally. I'm not gonna punish myself by taking away what makes me happy.
3. Keep a full-time job for peace of mind
I'm gonna be short and sweet because it is personal and it is a money heavy topic. I want to keep a full-time job that pays the bills for my peace of mind. Worrying about how to pay bills stressed the living days out of me. Having a job helps keep that stress and anxiety away. And that's it for an explanation.
Those are my 2022 yearly goals. If you are interested in knowing how I'm breaking them down for Q1 then stay tuned to the next post in a couple of days.
Let me know what are your goals for 2022. If you are more into Resolutions, share those too down in the comments.
As always, thank you for reading. I hope January has been good to you and if not it's okay, the year just started.
See you in the next post,
Esther Marie