Mary E Thompson

it's a curvy road to happily ever after

Setting Goals

No More March (almost)

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I know I’m a week early updating you about my goals, but since next Friday is Good Friday, I’m taking that day off. So I decided to push my update a week earlier than usual. I’m trying here!

I’m making a few changes to my goals. Not because they aren’t important, but because I realized last month that so many of them are basically the same thing. I’m consolidating and changing things. Bear with me!

  1. Publish 6 novels and 3 boxed sets
    I’m feeling good about this one. I have two books and one boxed set done. I’m on track with where I wanted to be at this point, so I consider this a win for right now.
  2. Pay off debt, Stick to a Budget, and Save
    I’m combining this with what I had for goals 6 and 7 because they all tie in together. If we stick to our budget, we can save more money and pay off our debt. Yes, they’re all a little different, but they’re all tied closely together so I’m linking them. As for progress, I’m happy with it. We still have work to do with the budget, but we should pay off a debt next month that has me really excited. We’re in a good spot to start saving more after that debt is paid, so I’m happy. Very happy!
  3. Eat, exercise, and lose weight
    I’m happy to say I’ve stuck to twice a week going to the gym this month. I think I missed one day last week, but other than that, I’ve done well. For April I’m going to push myself to exercise three times per week. I still need to make some changes to my diet, but I feel better getting in some exercise. Don’t ask about the scale. I don’t like getting on them, and you can’t make me!
  4. Publish audiobooks and app
    Yeah, I still suck with these two. That’s okay. I’m investigating and thinking and will make decisions about both in the second quarter.
  5. Develop 3 workshops
    The workshop I’ve been working on isn’t done yet, but it will be next week. I want to expand the other one I taught a few months ago, but that’s not a big priority right now. I’ll get to that.
  6. Implement Advertising Plan
    I added this one this month to make up for the one I moved up. This supports my overall goal to reach new readers. I’ve never run ads before, but I’ve taken a few classes about how they work and will be starting to run some in the second quarter. I’m actually excited about this, and that’s unusual for me when it comes to putting myself out there more!
  7. Guest Post on Major Site
    This is something I’ve been dreaming about for a while. Getting my name in front of thousands of new people. Having an article out there in the world. I haven’t started looking into places I’d like to publish an article, but I’m thinking about it. We all have a unique story to tell. I want to believe I have experiences and opinions that could help others. One day I’ll share pieces of it with the world!

I have to say this month was a success. Yes, like before, there are things I haven’t done, but the things I wanted to do this quarter are mostly accomplished. I still have a week left to get a few more things done, but I think I’m in good shape for the year. I will be pushing myself on some of these next quarter (like exercising more), but I need it!

How are you doing on your goals so far?

Whoosh… there goes February!

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I was thinking about what to write today when I realized it’s the last Friday of the month. Where in the world did February go? Wow, it was just starting like yesterday, wasn’t it?

I promised to keep you updated, and keep myself on track, so I’m back today to tell you how my month went. Spoiler alert… Not much happened!

  1. Publish 6 novels and 3 boxed sets
    One book has been published. I haven’t done any new boxed sets, but in two months, I’ve finished two of my nine publishing items. One more book will come out in March and probably a new boxed set in April. I’m feeling good!
  2. Pay off debt
    I hate debt. Absolutely despise it. I hate having debt. I hate knowing I have to pay it back. I hate everything about it. I hope to one day eliminate it entirely, but I’m not there yet. We’re moving in the right direction, but it’s tough. A lot tougher than I thought it would be. We’ll get there!
  3. Eat, exercise, and lose weight
    I’ve read that people who get the right amount of sleep have an easier time losing weight and staying on track. In that sense, I’m screwed. I never feel like I’ve gotten enough sleep! I’m still hitting the gym 1-2 times per week. I’ve made a push for 2x/week, but it hasn’t worked every week, so I’m keeping that as my goal for March. Hopefully it’ll stick this time!
  4. Publish audiobooks and app
    I redesigned part of my app and looked into audiobooks, but nothing is concrete on either at this point. That’s okay. Both are more long-term type or projects.
  5. Develop 3 workshops
    My second workshop is almost finished. I’ll have it done before the end of the month, but it’s not finalized right now. I love it! I can’t wait to teach it! So that’ll be two down, one to go!
  6. Stick to a budget
    We’re doing okay. Sort of like paying off debt, staying on budget is not easy. We’re miles better than we used to be, but there’s always work to do. It doesn’t help that we had a few unexpected expenses this month. But that’s life, right?
  7. Save
    I’ll admit, I want more money. There, I said it. I wish I had more in my account, but don’t we always wish we had more? I’m okay with where we are. If we could do better about our budget, saving would be easier. It all goes together!

I can’t complain. Every single thing on this list is under my control. I can do all of it, but I need to make them all priorities. I need to make it happen. No one else is ever going to make my dreams come true, so I have to push for them to be my new reality. And they will be.

How was your February?

One Month Down

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At the end of 2017, I shared my goals for this year. I’m a big believer in accountability, which is why I shared my goals. I’m also a big believer in the statistics that say over half of people have abandoned the goals (or resolutions) by the end of January. I figure one way to make sure I don’t do that is to share each month how I’m doing.

Damn is that terrifying!

In case you forgot, these were the goals I shared with you…

  1. Publish 8 novels and 2 boxed sets
  2. Pay off debt
  3. Eat, exercise, and lose weight
  4. Publish audiobooks and app
  5. Develop 3 workshops
  6. Stick to a budget
  7. Save

I’m only one month into the year, but I think I’m doing fairly well so far!

  1. This goal has been changed a little. I’ve decided to publish 6 novels and 3 boxed sets this year. I’ve published one new boxed set so far and will have my first novel of the year published early next month. I’m on track for that one!
  2. We still have debt. I don’t imagine that will ever change. But we’re moving in the right direction there, too. I’m feeling good today about our debts.
  3. I read or heard somewhere (honestly can’t remember where now) that when we make resolutions to start doing something like going to the gym three times per week, it’s really tough. Not because it’s that hard to go, but because if you weren’t going much, the increase to that frequently is a massive change. So I started my goal with going to the gym once per week for January. I’m happy to report I’ve been doing that! So I’m on track. Next mont I’m going to make an effort to exercise twice a week (either at the gym or home).
  4. I’ve done nothing. You knew my streak had to end somewhere! The app will come first, but I haven’t had time to work on it this month.
  5. I completed one workshop so far, and even taught it once! I have a second workshop well under way but not done yet.
  6. Budget is like a four letter word for me, except I usually like four letter words. I don’t like this one. BUT we started using cash in January. We said if we don’t have it, we won’t spend it. We still spent a little more than we should have, but we were tremendously closer to our budget than usual. The surprise for me was that I loved it. Hubby hated it, but I loved having cash. It made me feel like we were secure knowing there was cash in my wallet every day. I’m definitely going to keep doing that. One note, we didn’t go with cash for groceries and gas. But those were never our problem areas so it worked!
  7. This one kind of goes with our budget and debt. We’re making progress. Are we where we want to be? No. But it’s only been one month. We’ll get there!

Overall, I’m pretty happy with how the first month of the year went. I know we still have a few more days, but I don’t expect much to change. Unless hubby takes some cash and buy a winning lottery ticket! If that happens, I’ll tell you about it next month!

How are you doing with your goals so far?

Breaks are a good thing

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Well, mostly. Broken bones aren’t great, but giving yourself a break is. That’s what I’m doing.

If you’ve been hanging out with me a while, you know that I’ve been writing like a crazy woman. I had a revelation this year that almost knocked me on my ass. Yeah, it’s only been a week since I proudly declared my goals.

Guess what? I’m changing them already.

It’s hard for me to admit when I was wrong. I’m not sure if that’s a female thing, or if it stems from having two kids who think they’re always right. Which means I’m always wrong. My kids are great kids, but I think hubby and I did too good of a job teaching them to think for themselves. They challenge everything we say, and like to argue and tell me I’m wrong, even when they’re trying to agree with me.

Anyway, I was wrong.

That was tough to say. But it’s true. I decided to write eight books in 2018. One release every six weeks. For months I’ve been debating backing off a little. Releasing fewer books. Giving myself more time to do all the little things that come along with writing (you know, like marketing and editing and cover design, little things like that). I resisted because I was scared.

You know I’m a big chicken.

I’m getting personal here. I hope you don’t mind.

In 2015, I was diagnosed with stage four cancer. Six months, six rounds of chemo, a bone marrow biopsy, and lots of stress later, I finished treatment. Two years later, I’m a year in remission, but I haven’t stopped living with the fear.

Fear of death. Fear of life. Fear of not having enough time. Fear of not finishing what I want. And yes, fear that it’ll come back and somehow I won’t notice. Again.

I’ve been writing like crazy to try to get everything done. I didn’t want to miss out. I didn’t want to leave this Earth with stories left to tell. I’ve learned that’s likely to happen no matter what. But a new fear has started to take over.

I’m watching my life fly by. I’m not living it.

I push myself. I take on too much. I rarely say no. Unless it’s to myself. I’m really good at telling myself no.

So I’ve decided to tell myself yes. Yes, I’m going to focus on my health. Yes, I’m going to take weekends off. Yes, I’m going to enjoy watching TV at night with my hubby. Yes, i’m going to enjoy snow days (like today) with my kids.

So I’m backing off. I’m giving myself a break. I’m still going to release new books. But after May 1, they will be eight weeks apart instead of six. And I won’t release anything around the holidays.

As always with me, this could change. I might decide I hate it next year, but I’m feeling relieved about it right now. I already feel less stressed out. If only it was that easy to lose weight!

What are you going to give yourself a break about this year?

Looking Forward to 2018

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Every year, I set goals. Personal goals, professional goals, even family goals. I feel like setting goals is a roadmap for my year. I choose a word for the year and set goals and move on from there. I love it.

My word for 2018 is productive. Maybe that seems like a weird word, but I have a lot going on in 2018. A lot that needs to get done. Which means I need to be very productive in order to make it all happen. I also need to be organized and focused and not procrastinate.

Aside from writing, which I hope to move forward, I’m an officer for my local writing chapter, co-chairing a contest, and always have personal stuff going on. Setting goals allows me to keep things in order.

So what are my goals?

  1. Publish 8 novels and 2 boxed sets
  2. Pay off debt
  3. Eat, exercise, and lose weight
  4. Publish audiobooks and app
  5. Develop 3 workshops
  6. Stick to a budget
  7. Save

The first one is fairly easy for me. I know I’m going to do it. I still have it on my list because I always want to make sure I’m paying attention to how much I’m putting out there.

We all have debt, right? My husband and I struggle with long-term money. We’re quick to spend, not so quick to save. So items 2, 6, and 7 all work together. Pay off debt, stay on budget, and save. If only doing it was as easy as writing it down!

Speaking of not so easy, I think losing weight is always on my list. My husband joked that he’s going to make one of his New Year’s Resolutions to gain 50 pounds. I said I should do the same because then I’ll be more likely to lose weight since I always do the opposite. I still couldn’t bring myself to put it on the list, but I thought about it!

Audiobooks and an app. Are you getting excited? My app is mostly done with a few tweaks and changes. Audiobooks are a whole new adventure that I’m looking forward to.

I’ve been thinking for a while about teaching workshops. I have my first two this year, but I want to develop more to include that option in my offerings. I want to share what I know and what I can do with other authors. I’m really excited about it!

I know more will happen, more will come up, in 2018, but these are the things I will focus on. The biggest things for me. The most important things. The things that will help me get the life I want to have.

Do you set goals? Any you want to share?