Tag Archives: life

goals for 2013

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Happy New Year! Wow, I can’t believe it’s 2013 already. I vividly remember driving around town with my parents and brother on New Year’s Eve 1999, when it seemed like all the radio stations were constantly playing Prince’s “I’m Gonna Party Like It’s 1999” and everyone was worried about Y2K… Crazy that was 13 years ago!!

Before I get into my goals for the year, here’s how I did on my goals for the week:

  • revise and update calendar and syllabus for the upcoming semester
  • read & respond to all the workshop stories for the Key West conference {almost done with this!}
  • finish getting email inbox and computer desktop cleaned out and organized
  • write goals for the upcoming year
  • work on short play to submit to festival
  • finish reading The Zero by Jess Walter
  • prepare for my new “Act of Kindness” blog initiative for the upcoming year!

Pretty good way to end the year and gear up for the new year!

Here are my goals for 2013. I organize them into multiple subtopics because it helps me feel like I have more of a handle on the different facets of my life.

Writing Goals
1. Write! 400 words. Every day. No excuses.
2. Revise thesis manuscript and send to agent.
3. Complete YA manuscript.
4. Resubmit story collection to prizes & small presses.
5. Write a new one-act play.
6. Write a full-length play.
7. Finish Verna novella & put out as an ebook.
8. Write three blog posts a week.
9. Read three short stories a week.
10. Read 40 books by end of year.

Write On! For Literacy Goals
1. Send out a newsletter every other month.
2. Teach a summer writing camp.
3. Teach a winter writing camp.
4. Teach a college essay writing camp.
5. Speak to 10 classes/orgs/radio shows.
6. Make Pimple an ebook.
7. Hold a Holiday Book Drive.
8. Compile writing camp ebook/online program.

Professional Goals
1. Apply to fellowships & Ph.D. programs.
2. Submit to a literary magazine every other week.
3. Submit a query for a freelance article every month.
4. Apply to at least 3 conferences/workshops.
5. Submit to Literary Awards.
6. Update & expand teaching website.
7. Put 10% of every paycheck into savings.
8. Put $1,000 into Roth IRA at end of year.

Healthy Life Goals
1. Exercise at least 3 days a week.
2. Do core work 6 days a week.
3. Stretch every day.
4. Continue with meal planning & healthy cooking schedule.
5. Clean apartment every weekend.
6. Chronicle weekly acts of kindness on blog.
7. Send a card/letter to Gramps every other week.
8. Call Grandma & Grandpap every other weekend.
9. Count my blessings every night.

What are your goals for 2013?

ch-ch-ch-ch-changes …

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Notice anything different?

That’s right, you’re not going crazy: we’ve got a new name!

“Day-by-Day Masterpiece” stems from one of my favorite-ever quotes {I love it so much I have it posted above my writing desk and as my cell phone background} … it comes from the late, great John Wooden, who was a huge inspiration to me and my family. One of the maxims he lived his life by was, “Make each day your masterpiece.”

I find that quote so inspiring because it reminds me that each day is truly a treasure and a blessing. Each day is something to savor. Making your day a “masterpiece” does not mean making each day “perfect.” Far from it — masterpieces are full of mistakes, trial-and-errors, messes and wrong turns and laughter and spontaneity. Indeed, I think that’s part of what makes a day a “masterpiece” — the surprises give our lives variety and richness.

To me, a masterpiece day is a balanced day. Time with my friends, family and loved ones; time spent pursuing my writing goals; physical exercise and delicious, healthful food; quiet time to reflect and relax. Love, laughter, daydreams, peace.

I started this blog to keep track of my steps towards becoming more organized in my day-to-day life and tackling those hidden {and, okay, not-so-hidden} trouble spots that were adding stress and frustration to my life.

Something I’ve discovered is that “organization” doesn’t just pertain to the material possessions you own or how clean your home is. It’s more a way of life; a way of thinking; a way of approaching your day.

So I wanted to give the blog a new title to reflect upon how it has grown and expanded in the past six months since I started chronicling my organizational journey with you.

Don’t worry, I’ll still be sharing my organizational projects and day-by-day progress with you. But as you’ve probably noticed, I’ve really grown to love cooking and baking and sharing healthy recipes here. I also am delving more and more into simplified, frugal living — everything from couponing to saving money on date night to selling things on Craigslist. I am participating in the monthly book club over at Peanut Butter Fingers and am hoping to start up my own monthly book club on here. {I’d love to have you join me!} And I’m really passionate about living “green” and doing our part to protect our precious environment. I’m hoping to expand that part of the blog in the coming months. Finally, it really inspires me to follow along with Crystal’s weekly and monthly goal-setting over at Money-Saving Mom, and I want to do something similar on here — I’ve already posted about goal-setting and to-do lists. I want this blog to be a place where we can be sources of inspiration for each other!

So how do we make our days masterpieces? That’s what I’m hoping to explore in this blog!

Making the most of each day, being grateful and mindful, living with passion and joy and love — to me, that is a masterpiece day. And you know what masterpiece days add up to, right? A masterpiece life. What more can any of us ask for?