We're now into the second week of the new year, and life is anything but boring. This past week had it's highs and lows. I didn't reach all of my goals for week. Life threw me a curve ball and I've been concentrating on dealing with that.

My curve ball

I have a lump on my breast. Turns out the lump is a cyst. This is what side tracked me this week. To all the females reading this please, please, make sure you check yourself regularly. It's only takes a minute and is so very important. Anyway, I've been to doctors appointments and to the hospital for tests over the past few days (should get results back next week). I'm not too worried so please don't freak out. It's probably nothing serious. It just needs to be taken care of.

On the up

I do have some good news though. I've done better with my challenges this week.

Challenge 1: To write 500 words a day.

I finally coloured in some squares for writing on my habit tracker. Don't get too excited. I only did 2 days, but I did write over 500 words on both so technically I'm not actually that far off my goal when you consider the average over the week. Unfortunately my goal isn't to average 500 words per day over the course of the week, it's to write over 500 words per day period. Still I'm all about searching for the positive side of things this week and at least I improved on last week.

Challenge 2: Read for the 2018 A to Z Challenge.

I read every day except one this week. I made progress on both Moranifesto, and the Online Writers Companion AND I finished my first book for the A to Z Challenge! I read The Art of Fear by Pamela Crane (for the letter A). I'll be doing a review for it soon.

Challenge 3: Read for Beat The Backlist.

This was a fail again this week as The Art of Fear was a book I got from Amazon and not on my review backlist.

Challenge 4: Editing

I finished editing 365 Days of Quotes for Writers and got it set up as a pre-order on Amazon ready for release on 17th January. Read my post about it here or hop over to Amazon and pre-order now ;)

Challenge 5: Exercise everyday

This is the one challenge that I've actually managed to do everyday so far. Already feeling better for it too. Been doing mainly variations of squats and crunches. No equipment. All done at home.

“However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at.” —Stephen Hawking #Quote #QOTD

How did your second week of 2018 go? Are you on track with your goals for this year? Let me know in the comments below.

2018 Challenges Update: Week 1

We're just a few days into 2018 and I'm already slacking with my New Year resolutions. I've been busy... very busy... just not with my challenge goals. I'm trying to look at this from a positive point of view. There's always a positive side to everything right? So, what is the positive side of being a complete failure?

Things can only get better.

Challenge 1: To write 500 words a day.

Technically I have done this. I've actually written much more than 500 words each day, just not in the context of which I set the goal i.e. books. I've written blog posts, emails, and a bunch of other stuff, but I've not managed to colour in even one little box on my habit tracker for "writing 500 words a day" [hangs head in shame].

Challenge 2: Read for the 2018 A to Z Challenge.

Again, a big fat zero. I have been reading. In fact I've read every day (at least I've managed to colour in something on my habit tracker). I've been reading Moranifesto and The Online Writers Companion, both of which I started at the end of last year... wait that sounds like so long ago... anyway, I'm still working on finishing those and so haven't picked up any new reads from my list yet.

On a more positive note, I have picked out which books I'll be reading for nearly all the letters now. I'm just missing X, Y, and Z. If you have any suggestions for those letters please let me know. I'm stuck.

Challenge 3: Read for Beat The Backlist.

This is pretty much the same as for challenge 2 as the two over cross... or can I give myself half points for this one as both books have been on my backlist for a while, and I have at least made some progress this week?

Challenge 4: Editing

Finally one I can tick off as successful! I've been editing and putting the final touches to my, soon to be released, 365 Days of Quotes for Writers. So close to being finished now. I've managed to work on this everyday so far.

So, there you have it. In a nut shell? It could have gone better. I'm optimistic that things will improve from now on though. I might not have gotten off to the most brilliant of starts with my challenges but I have managed to organise a lot of work related things over the past few days that will help loads in the coming months. Next week the kids will be back at school too which should have a notable effect on my daily progress [Fingers crossed].

Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm– Winston Churchill #quote #QOTD

How did your first week of 2018 go? Did you do better with your goals than I did? Let me know in the comments below.

2018: My Plans For The Year Ahead

Firstly, Happy New Year! It is now officially 2018 and we have a whole year ahead of us. 365 days to fill with awesomeness. So have you thought about how you're going to fill them? I've been giving it some thought and that's what I want to share with you in today's post.

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My plans for 2018

Challenges

You may already know, I love a good challenge. Well, I have several planned for this year. I'll be updating you on my progress each week as I'll have a few on the ago at the same time. Some are reading related (2018 A to Z Reading Challenge, and Beat The Backlist), and some are writing related (several Camp NaNoWriMo's and the big one in November). You can also find my list of challenges at http://www.jolinsdell.com/p/my-challenges.html

500 words a day

I'm always busy. I have a lot of different projects going on, and juggle various jobs whilst being a mum, wife, and everything else. Needless to say I don't have much free time. I do plan to use my time better this year though, and make time for the things I want to do. One such thing is writing.

Every year I make the resolution to write more. I don't do too badly, but find I grab time when I can. This year I'm making time. I wanted to be realistic though and so have given myself a goal of 500 words a day. I'll be keeping track of this and the other habits I want to stick to this year in a habit tracker so I can clearly see my progress throughout the year.

More premades

Towards the end of 2017 my book cover design services launched, and I plan to add more happy clients to my portfolio this year.

Publishing plans

I have a lot of books I want to publish this year. Some non fiction, some children's picture books, and some novels. I also plan on finishing my serial fiction KOSMOS. It's going to be a busy 12 months.

Freelance writing

I used to do a fair bit of freelance writing in the past, but over recent years stopped. A big reason why I stopped was lack of time. I have even less free time now than I did back then so you may be wondering why I would consider starting back up this route now. The difference is that this time I have a plan.

In the past I did articles for low paying sites and so the time I spent writing them wasn't really worth it. This year I'll be targeting specific publications and websites, and higher paying markets. Again, I want to be realistic with my goals, and so I'm going to aim for one article a week (at least to start with). I'll be updating you on my progress throughout the year.

Blogging

As with every year I plan to grow my blogs. Both this one, and Writers And Authors. I'll be working more on marketing both, and building a larger readership. I'm also going to be looking into new ways to increase profits over at Writers and Authors, and will be adding some new services.

Promo Day

Promo Day will make it's annual return again this year on Saturday 5th May. You can find out more about the event at the Promo Day website. I would love to grow the event even more this year. I'm still working on ideas but already have some excellent presenters lined up for the webinars.

A healthier me

Not directly a work related goal but still an important one that will have an effect on my work. As some of you that have followed me for some time will know, I don't have the best of health. My immune system often shuts down due to allergies. Being ill is not only unpleasant, it also effects my work. It's hard to keep up with deadlines when you're stuck in bed with a temperature or a virus.

So my plan for 2018 is to be healthier. I'm going to be working out every day. Yep, work out is on my habit tracker too. I may share more insight into my work outs and the progress I make through out the year as I think it's important to take care of our bodies. It's also something a lot of writers neglect. We spend far too much time sitting around which can have a negative effect on our health. I won't be signing up for any flashy gym memberships. It will all be simple workouts that can be done from home with little or no equipment. The sort of stuff anyone can do.

What are your goals for 2018?