It’s the last Hump Day before the New Year: can you all believe that we’re already so close to 2019? This year has flown by, but it’s my sincere hope that you all got to see some of your dreams come true during the year or, at very least, made some progress toward achieving your big goals. Remember, taking one step is better than staying still, and you still have time to take one more step before the year end.

As you all know I had three big goals I was working on this year. While I did a tiny update a couple of weeks ago, I wanted to do one final check-in before the new year. Quickly, here were my goals:

• Publish some of my writing
• Travel more
• Dabble in an art career

Here are the updates on each goal up to this point:

Goal 1: Publish some of my writing

My previous set of goals were as follows:

• Complete edits on my novel
• Participate in NaNoWriMo in November
• Publish my how to book

I didn’t complete the edits on my novel, though I did make some progress on it. I’m cutting myself a lot of slack with that because edits can take quite a bit of time and mental energy. So, just doing some edits is progress enough for me. Over the next year, I’ll work on it in increments, until the edits are done. This isn’t a priority for me, so I don’t anticipate this being completed until Summer or Fall 2019

I participated in NaNoWriMo, so that goal was achieved (yay!) I didn’t finish my novel but I did say that I would participate, and I did. I will resume working on my NaNoWriMo novel in the upcoming year, with the hopes of finishing it before March 2019.

My how-to book still isn’t published, but I explained why in this post. I haven’t worked out the layout stuff yet, but that’s something I’m focusing on in January 2019. The aim is to have the book published in February 2019.

Goal 2: More travel

My 2018 travel-related short-term goals were as follows:

• Plan out 2019 trips
• Film at least three travel-related videos for my YouTube channel
• Get TSA Pre-Check/Global Entry

So, I’ve already started planning my 2019 trips, and I’ll announce my finalized plans next month. I wrote about my 2019 trip planning in this post. Planning travel for the upcoming year is always one of the highlights of my pre-New Year ritual.

I actually began tinkering with some video editing software for some travel related content for my YouTube channel. Now that I’ve gotten a little familiar, I’ll be able to publish some videos in the upcoming year. I have the content, but the formatting and “polishing” needs to happen next.

I researched the TSA Pre-Check/Global Entry requirements and determined that I don’t need it just yet. It’s a great option for frequent travelers but it is a multi-step process that takes more time than I’m willing to devote to it right now. However, it’s something I’ll be considering in 2020, when I anticipate I will be doing far more international and domestic air travel.

Goal 3: Dabble in an art career

In 2018, my mini-goals for transitioning into an art career were:

• Clarify what kind of art-related career I desire
• Create a preliminary career “plan” for my target career
• Attend at least three art related events so that I can meet more like-minded people

I’m still not completely clear on the kind of art-related career I want. I’ve considered a few paths and have eliminated some options, so that has clarified my desires somewhat. I’d prefer a singular, clear “yes” rather than multiple clear “nos”, but some clarity is better than nothing, right? I take it that this clarification process will be a gradual unfolding as opposed to a lightning bolt of inspiration. And that’s fine: the fact that this is coming to me gradually is actually kind of exciting. I anticipate that the end result will be better than I could have ever hoped for.

Well, without a target, I couldn’t come up with a preliminary plan. So that has to be put on hold until the actual desire is clarified. Again, that’s fine: I know that getting clear on what I want is going to be key to completing my plan.

I wasn’t feeling my best over the past few weeks, so I wasn’t energetic enough to handle the art events I wanted to attend. However, for January, I have two art events scheduled, and a third event is on my calendar for February. Since I’m still recovering, I have to pace myself as I plan to attend different art events. But I’m eager to get back into the mix, so it won’t be long before I’m out and mingling again.

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Those are my final updates for my 2018 goals. I’ll have a few target goals that I’m working on throughout 2019, and I’ll be sharing those soon. Until then, take care!