2013 Goals

I am really good at writing to do lists. I am also pretty good (most of the time) at making the things on those lists happen -- especially the smaller, more specific things. But, where I lack discipline lately is in the making the big things happen. So, this year I have decided that instead of just thinking about my goals, I would share! Hopefully putting some of my intentions out there will help me stay on track. Here they are, in no particular order!

Sequential Crush: I have been running my 1960s and '70s romance comic book blog since April of 2009 and it has been awesome to say the least. This year, I want to continue to grow and diversify my audience, blog more consistently (which for me will mean a goal of two solid posts a week), and work on taking the blog to a new level. This "new level" (which I will share more in depth when the time is right) will hopefully consume most of my non-day job working hours.

The Coziness Project: I am committed to posting here at this blog more this year. Though it is just a little side project, I love it and I don't want to just abandon it. For years I have read lots of lifestyle, crafting, and design blogs, and I want to use The Coziness Project as a vehicle to connect more with those communities.

Get my read on: For someone who loves to read, I really don't get a chance to do it that often. So, this year I am making it a goal to finish at least 25 books. I am kind of an oddball in that I have a hard time reading fiction, so my goal this year is to make at least some of those books fiction. And because I just can't stay away from the non-fiction, I will make it a point to focus my non-fiction reading habits on immersing myself in the study of historiography (an area I have been meaning to brush up on since finishing grad school). Yes, here is where you can call me a huge nerd.

Learn to crochet: I have knitting down, but this year it is time to finally get a handle on knitting's kitschy cousin -- crochet.

Organize my digital world: I would like this year to be the year where I finally organize all my stray computer documents, scan that big stack of old photos that have so patiently been waiting in a drawer, and back everything up in multiple ways. This year i will also buy the new computer that I need pretty badly.

Get better at concentrating: This is probably an area you can identify with me on, especially with all the things out there to distract us on the internets (damn you BuzzFeed and your hilarious/adorable animal posts). I know I have it in me to stay on task, so this year I am going to really work on staying focused, one item at a time. I have in the past unofficially tried to use the Pomodoro technique (especially when writing) but this year I am really going to strive to make it a part of my daily routine.

Continue living healthfully: Moving to Denmark was actually great for me in the health department (no car, so I have to walk everywhere and eating out is expensive and not very good here). I hope that wherever I wind up in 2013, I am able to retain all of the motions and healthy habits that I have put into place over the course of the year.

Family and friends: The other major life thing that I want to be sure to do this year is go visit my family and friends back home at least once this year. This probably seems like a strange "goal," but living far away makes it difficult to find the time and resources to make a trip possible. 

Let stuff go and enjoy the now: Last but not least, I want to also work towards a few not-so-tangible goals that will improve my overall well-being. I really need to get better at filtering out the noise and other nonsense that bothers me and makes me unproductive -- the art of letting stuff go. The other thing I would like to work on this year is enjoying the now. You may have noticed those cute cows (Scottish Highland Cattle that live in front of one of the LEGO buildings here in Denmark to be exact) at the top of the post. Whenever I would see those guys, they were always so chill and easygoing. This year, I am going to work on channeling some of their contentedness and savor the present.

Well, that's it for me! I am sure things will be added and amended throughout the year, but it is good to have a place to start. How about you? What are some of your goals for the year? I would love to hear them and how you plan on making stuff happen!

Working Around Other Creative Folks

I grew up in a household that was, to put it nicely... bonkers. With seven kids in the family, there was always someone around to talk with or drive you nuts (depending on how you looked at it). I guess that really rubbed off on me, because when it comes to my working style today, I enjoy a healthy mix of quiet solitude and interaction with other people. People who are doing things... people who think big... people who are using their talents to make things happen really inspire me.

It is for this reason that I enjoy attending conferences, conventions, and being in places in which people are talking about and practicing their craft. I also enjoy working in a coffee shop, although I do less of that now that I am in Europe where that sort of thing isn't really practiced. I would love to someday have an office in a creative collective such as the newly formed Makeshift Society in San Francisco. Even though my projects (thus far anyhow) are ultimately solo endeavors, I know being in that sort of environment would be a big motivator for me. Someday! For the moment, this sort of interaction has turned pretty much virtual, but I hope the future will bring more opportunities to soak in other people's passion and apply it to my own creativity and production!

Does working around other creative people inspire you
or do you like to work in complete solitude?
The above photo is from a comic book in a night event I attended quite a few years back in Indianapolis with a dozen or so other people hurriedly drawing comics. As you can see, I was still able to concentrate (well, thats how I remember it anyhow!) despite the frenetic environs.

Constantly Learning - Harnessing Time and Staying Focused

Illustration from a timely (excuse the pun) post by

Katie Evans and Bri Emery over at

DESIGNLOVEFEST

You would think that after 28 years on this Earth I would have this time management and staying focused thing under control, right? Nope! You too? Yeah, time is tricky like that. It flies by just when we need it to stay still, and there never seems to be enough of it! I feel like I used to be pretty organized and efficient, but lately, my staying focused skills have been lacking. I can chalk it up to all the big life changes of late, but really, I know I need to take responsibility and accept the fact that how I currently work is well... not working!

Back when I first started blogging over at my primary blog, Sequential Crush I pretty much stayed awake as much as possible to cram as much research, blogging, publishing, and networking in between my full-time day job and all the other life stuff. It was amazing and exhilarating and I don't regret a minute of that period of hard work and dedication. But as awesome as it was, my severe lack of sleep took its toll. Since then I have learned that sleeping at least seven hours a night along with eating healthfully, exercising, and staying hydrated are major factors in being productive. Now that I seem to have that stuff down (more or less) I need to work on the staying focused aspect of things. For me, this means not checking my email every hour, getting sucked into my bloglovin' feed, watching puppy videos... you know how it goes. Since my time working on my projects is relegated to evenings and weekends, I really need to get better about staying focused and making the best of the time I do have. There will never be any more minutes in the day, but I do have the power to manage how I use those minutes!

How about you?

Do you have problems staying on task or managing time?

A Step Back (In Hopes to Move Forward)

 
Time seems to be increasingly precious these days -- especially time in which I am not fretting over logistical life stuff. The months and days have sped up, and I realize that if I am ever to seriously release my research and writing beyond the confines of my desk (and blog), then I need to step up my game. So, what do washi tape and Moleskine notebooks have to do with any of this you ask? Well, besides being gorgeous and aesthetically soothing to my stress-riddled brain, I plan to use these babies to visually lay out all the thoughts I've got going on concerning my current writing project.

It isn't that I am having trouble filling up the gleaming white space that is the Word document. I did that -- almost 50 pages worth on one little section. As of late, using just Word isn't cutting it. It feels too restrictive. And naturally, it is showing in my writing. After a round of editing (and yes, some tears) I realized that my approach was all wrong. Wrong for me, wrong for my subject. I took a step back and I have now decided that I need to tackle this just like I would when writing an exhibit -- visually. Once it is all laid out, I think I will be better equipped to dive back in and fill in the nooks and crannies with the actual written content. 

What about you? What is your writing process like? Are you an outliner and a planner, or do you just dive in? 

Workspace Mood Board

 
I've been spending a lot of time in my little makeshift office lately, writing, editing, and thinking about the direction of my current projects. The weather has been awesome... perfect for keeping windows open and taking frequent walks in between paragraphs. It was a long and difficult winter, but I am hoping that spring is here to stay and that the inspiration to write keeps flowing!

The Past Few Days...

...have pretty much looked something like this. Lots of writing and lots of editing! I am starting a new contract job soon, so I am trying to get a big chunk of the book that I have been writing for some time completed before things get completely crazy! I am so pumped to finish this thing!!! Definitely one of my major goals for 2012! What are some of your goals for the new year?