Despite the fact that I’m not especially great at keeping track of my goals each year, I always go through the exercise of reflecting on my goals from last year and setting some new reading and blogging goals for the next year.
I set seven goals for 2011, and had mixed results:
- Catch up on review copies. – This one was a major fail. I ended this year with more review copies on my shelves than I started with… I blame BEA for a lot of that – I brought home 40 books and, if my record keeping is correct, I’ve only read 13 of them. Yikes!
- Balance personal, review, and borrowed books. – This is an ongoing goal that I never quite meet. This year I wanted to read 40 percent personal book, 60 percent review copies or borrowed books. At the end of the year, I’d read 27 percent personal books and 74 percent review/borrowed books (28 percent borrowed, 46 percent review). That’s closer than I’ve been in the past, but still not quite where I want to be.
- Give the blog a redesign. – I think I did this. I know I gave the blog a facelift, but I can’t remember when I did it. I did, however, do some shifting around to add space for adds above the header and in a sidebar, so I’d give this goal a complete!
- Be more consistent about blog features. – I had mixed success with this. I haven’t done a Narrative Nonfiction 5 post in ages… but I did do a pretty good job with Off the Stacks.
- Write two reviews per week. – I’m pretty sure I did this, most weeks. I definitely averaged more than two reviews a week over the year.
- Vary up my post types. – I also had mixed success with this one. I had fun varying the way I write reviews this year, but I can’t think if I did much with short posts or other varying than that.
- Give myself a break. – I think this was a success. I haven’t felt much on-going blogger guilt this year. I’ve taken breaks when I needed them, and things have gone just fine. Still, this is an continual challenge for my inner perfectionist.
This year I decided to set a more reading goals and less blogging goals since, for the most part, I’m comfortable with where the blog is at right now and where I might try to go with projects in the new year. Here’s what I’m trying to do in 2012:
- Complete my Essay a Day Project. – You can read more about this project I’m doing with Ash (English Major’s Narrative) at this post. Since it’s announced, it’s obviously a goal to complete it. You can keep up with my progress on my Tumblr, A Little Bit of Dorkiness.
- Complete the 2012 TBR Challenge. – This is my other reading challenge for the year. You can read my sign-up post here. I decided to start the year reading Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood — so far, so good.
- Re-read the rest of Harry Potter. – This is one of my reading goals for my Day Zero project, and I would love to be able to finish it in 2012. I re-read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone this summer, so I just (ha!) need to read books two through seven this year.
- Balance review, library, and personal reading. – A new year means new goals for how I balance out my reading life. This year I’m going to go for something that seems realistic: 40 percent review copies, 30 percent library books, and 30 percent personal books. That’s relatively close to what I did this year, which means it should be achievable?
- Write reviews within two weeks of finishing a book. – I’ve gotten good a taking notes when I read (a goal from 2009, I think?), but often take a looong time to write reviews. I want to work on being more prompt in writing up thoughts on what I read.
- Give myself a break. – Just because I did it this year, doesn’t mean I don’t need a reminder for 2012. This blog is a hobby that I love, but all hobbies sometimes take a back seat to real life… and you know what? That’s ok.
I’m still hoping to do a wrap-up post with my bookish stats for the year, but I think it’s going to have to wait for next week. See that? I’m giving myself a break!
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I have a lot of these same goals for myself. Are you going to BEA this year?
They must be good goals then 🙂
I’m not sure yet about BEA. I really want to go, but I have to figure out money and vacation and work and all those boring adult things. Are you going to be there?
I’ve set reading goals — but I hadn’t yet set any blogging goals. Hm. Maybe I should! I think mine might be more like “I should stick to only blogging when I say I’m blogging, and not stop to check FB or Twitter…” 🙂
I normally set more blogging goals than reading goals, so I think this year will be an interesting change. I’m not sure if I will do better or worse!
Great post! I look forward to your later post on bookish stats…
I love putting together the book stats post, but it takes forever to do. I’m hoping to get to it next week.
Excellent goals, and it sounds like you did pretty well on last year’s goals as well. Cheers to 2012, Kim!
Yeah, I think I did pretty well. I think it’d do better at goals if I remembered them during the year… I tend to forget that I set goals and then scramble to think about them again!
I like your last resolution for 2012 the best. You are right about us blogging for fun/hobby and needing to give ourselves a break and not put ourselves under pressure over it. Good advice for all of us!
I constantly have to remind myself about that one. It’s so easy to get stressed and feel like you should do more more more, and that’s no fun at all.
I think giving yourself a break is very important! Sometimes we all stress too much over blog stuff. Good luck with your goals!
So true! I need to put that one on a shirt or something 🙂
Good luck with your goals for 2012 – they are great goals!
Thanks! I hope 2012 will go as well as 2011.
Giving yourself a break is a most excellent goal!
Indeed, it is. I’m getting better at it, I think, but still have to remind myself to calm down.
I think the key with goals is not to be upset about not reaching them as long as you can see you put in effort, you know? Also, I still can’t decide about BEA this year but if I’m there, I hope you will be too!
Yeah, that’s a great point. It’s not always about making the goal, but sometimes more about seeing that you tried. I hope I can make it to BEA, especially to catch up with you!
I adore setting goals and reading other people’s goals, but like Amy said, the real key is to be upset when you don’t reach them. It’s the journey, not the destination, right? 🙂
Indeed it is! I think most of these will be a good journey, whether or not I can complete all of them.
Giving ourselves a break is an important goal to remember–and I don’t think it’s a bad thing to carry it over from year to year.
I should really take better notes when I read. At the rate that I’m going it’s usually *months* before I post on something I read or listened to. By then I’ve mostly forgotten. Ha! Maybe I should focus on comprehension instead! 😉
Happy 2012 Kim.
It’s so, so much easier to write a review if I have notes to look back on. I know having notes makes it easier, but I just don’t always make myself do it anyway.
It is a constant struggle to keep all ones passions for reading in something-like-balance, isn’t it. But it’s a nice problem to have!
So true, I’d rather be reading than not reading 🙂