I am shamelessly stealing the idea of a self-improvement project blog post from the blog of my lovely friend Cathy (you can find her here at Most of us Need the Eggs).
This isn’t a list of New Year’s Resolutions or a Bucket List, it is a list of goals, dreams, wishes and aspirations. There is no deadline, but if I don’t write these things down, they will remain vague ‘maybe one day’ ideas rather than something that I am actively working towards.
There are lots of things listed, some more specific than others, but I want this to be a work in progress (just like me). I’ll cross things off as I achieve them or add links to any blog posts related to the list. I’m also including a Project 2014 section, so that I have some general goals for the year that I can look back and assess in January next year.
Project 2014 (14 goals for 2014)
- Have a children’s picture book manuscript accepted by a publisher
- Visit more places in my home town area of Newcastle/Lake Macquarie/Hunter Valley
- Take more photos (with my camera, not my phone)
- Organise my music collection and listen to music more often
- Organise a work area so that I can have a creative and inspiring work space where I can write
- Read more widely – include at least two adult fiction novels each month
- Attend the theatre or a live concert at least twice
- Eat out as a family at least once a month
- Attend the Writers’ Unleashed Writers’ Festival
- Volunteer at the Newcastle Writers’ Festival
- Fit into my striped London Fog dress by spring 2014
- Drink green smoothies for breakfast every day for a month
- Take 15 minutes every day to do something that is just for me
- Do something creative every day
Project Get Out and About
- See the Christmas lights at Hunter Valley Gardens
- Visit Melbourne
- Visit Gold Coast theme parks (ok, not so much for me, but I’d love to take the kids)
- Visit Adelaide and share a bottle of wine with Cate from I’ll Think of a Title Later
- Visit Brisbane and share a bottle of wine with Annie from Life and Dandelions
- Visit Melbourne and share a bottle of wine with Amanda from Real Mums
- Pacific Islands cruise
- Family holiday at Port Macquarie
- Visit Canberra to catch up with friends
- Visit the Louvre in Paris
- Visit Monet’s garden at Giverny, France
- Ride in a gondola in Venice
Project Professional Development
- Attend the Melbourne writers’ festival
- Attend the CBCA Conference
- Attend the SCBWI Conference
- Attend the Writers’ Unleashed writers’ festival
- Publish a children’s picture book
- Establish a professional website
Project Keep Learning
- Complete a photography course
- Renew my conversational German skills
- Enrol in an editing and proofreading course
Project Home Improvement
- Set up a study area for the kids
- Start a herb garden
- Start a vegetable garden
- Build bookshelves (Lots of bookshelves!)
- Create a reading corner
- Paint the walls and hang some artwork