ADMITTEDLY, I’m a bit late to the party with this. The 18 For 2018 idea has been doing the rounds in the blogging community, and I’ve been so busy reading other people’s plans for the year, that I’ve not really thought about my own.
The 18 FOR 2018 idea started, so I am told, with Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project, and basically it’s about putting yourself first so that you can achieve the things on your list. I liked the sound of it, so thought I’d give it a go. I’m not much of a planner, but I’ve really enjoyed making my list, mainly because it’s not just about work, it can be anything.
Here is my 18 For 2018 (in no particular order).
1. Plan our second honeymoon
When we first started planning our honeymoon, Chris and I had lots of ideas about where we wanted to go. Maybe a road trip in the US or Canada, possibly San Francisco, but that was before we realised how utterly exhausting and traumatic organising a wedding actually is. Instead of the busy honeymoon, we booked two weeks on a Greek island. Now that we’ve just about recovered from the ordeal of wedding planning, we need to start thinking about our second honeymoon.
2. Finish the house
At the moment, we are not allowing any visitors to our house. If you turn up, you’ll not get past the front door. It’s basically a building site. We’ve started renovating and, so far, have completed one room (hurrah). The bedroom is immaculate. The rest of the house isn’t. We’re in a ‘doing-the-house-up-limbo’ where every room is a mess. We’d really like to get the entire house finished this year.
3. Spend more time with the various pets
I have several. At the last count I had one rabbit, two dogs, two ponies and a horse. I would really love to spend much more time with all of them this year.
4. Finish my book and Master’s Degree in Writing
I am in the final part of an MA in writing, which requires me to write a 90,000 word book. I am currently 50,000 words into the first draft. I plan to hand the MA in next January, so by the end of 2018 it needs to be ready. There is so much work still to do on this, so it has to be my priority.
5. Blog more
I love blogging so definitely want to do more of this. It’s such a great feeling to know that people are actually reading my work. They might not like it, of course, but at least it’s out there.
6. Get my running mojo back
I’ve booked a half marathon for May and a 24-hour race for June (What was I thinking?) so the running mojo definitely needs to come back.
7. Complete a five-week short story masterclass
This was a Christmas present from my mum. Week one is underway so I’m very excited about that.
8. Submit my creative writing
Please don’t laugh, but I’m aiming to build up my pile of rejections. If I aim for 100 rejections, I’m hoping that somewhere along the way I might have a success. And, if I’m submitting and getting rejected, I’ll feel like a proper writer because that’s what happens.
9. Finish the wedding album and thank you cards
We’ve still not got round to doing this. It’d be good to get them sorted before our first anniversary.
10. Bake more
I love cake, and there was a time when I baked all the time. I miss it.
11. Meet with my writing group
In October of last year, I set up a monthly writing group in Sheffield. I definitely want this to continue.
12. Finish my wedding book
The only way to cope with organising a wedding was to write about it. I’ve now got about 30,000 words, so would love to finish this. I’m struggling to find the time to work on it, but I’ll see what I can do.
13. Read more
Now that I’ve graduated from my English literature degree I have the freedom to read what I want, when I want. I’ve got so many books to catch up on.
14. Plan my university reunion
It’s hard to believe but in October it will be 20 years since I started university for the first time! That calls for a little celebration. I’ll be London bound, just like I was 20 years ago, aged just 19.
15. Spend more time with my niece
My niece is the busiest child on the planet. I’ll hopefully be able to schedule some time in her busy life.
16. Plan
I’m not a planner, but I’m trying to get more organised with my content planning and writing time. I’ve got a lovely new diary to help. It’s a start.
17. Attend more writing events
I love taking time out to meet other writers, so I definitely want to do more of this.
18. Spend more time with the husband
And, last but not least, I’d like to spend more time with Chris. We’re always so busy that it’s difficult to get quality time together. Worth a try though!
I like this idea! Good luck with renovating and such, I’m sure that’s pretty stressful 🙂 And it’s so awesome you’re writing a book YAY! I’m going to write an 18 for 2018 post as well. Looks fun!!!!