I didn’t even want to look back at 2023’s “Hello” post. I am just steaming ahead for this year. 2023 was full of ups and downs. Some great fun times out, new ideas coming up but also a loss, the town flooding and a mouse invasion. So, a real mixed bag.

But forget that, it’s 2024 now so it’s time for some planning!!

Home & Personal Life

House

We are saving up to refit our kitchen. It has an uneven floor…and walls, it has bookcases inside of cabinets because the previous owners took out all the cabinets (except the one under the sink) and we knocked out the pantry wall to open up the kitchen.

It means we have one single 60 x 60 cm piece of workspace to do… everything! The rest are random cupboards we piece-mealed together to work as a “functioning” kitchen.

Our garden was meant to be a focus last year, but being crazy-busy and having rubbish weather we never got a chance to do more than some basics.

To Do:

• Keep saving for the kitchen – DONE
  
• Solidify the plan for the garden – DONE
  
• Make a start on garden changes – DONE
  

The Purge

We have sold and donated so much stuff. But honestly, I think there is more that can be cut down. Including some of the craft things in my room.  I hate purging my room, but I’m pack-ratting again and need to clear some breathing space.

To Do:

• Make a list of the areas I want to purge – DONE
  
• Purge those areas – DONE
  
• Clear the purged items from the home (Gumtree/eBay/Freecycle) – DONE
  

Connections

This year, my partner and I will be celebrating 20 years together.  So we have something fun planned for the 20 days leading up to our anniversary.

We also want to go out and do something fun once a month, at least!  This is on top of our Date Days that we are keeping going. Date Days are most often just a simple trip out to a local cafe, with the rule of no phones.  It has made a big difference over the last 2 years.

To Do:

• Make a plan for what is to happen over those 20 days – DONE
  
• Pick an event or show to go to every month – PARTIAL (didn’t manage every month)
  

Bucket List

In order to not forget about my Bucket List, I want to make one or two of the “events/shows” mentioned above be connected to said bucket list. I swear, if something isn’t in front of my face at all times I forget it. lol

If you haven’t made a bucket list yourself.  I highly recommend it.

To Do:

• Check the Bucket List and decide which to complete this year then add to calendar – DONE
  

Health & Wellbeing

I need to take more care of myself.  My eating habits went a little unhealthy during part of last year and so I need to get back on track with eating healthy.  I also want to make going to the gym as well as working out at home a consistent part of my routine.

To Do:

• Renew gym membership – DONE
  
• Book into spin class at least once a week – MOSTLY DONE
  
• Do strength training sessions at least once a week – MOSTLY DONE
  
• Get back to doing yoga 3 times a week – NOT DONE
  

A Growing Pod

The Podcast is still doing so well, I am shocked that people not only listen to us but then leave us comments and suggestions for episodes!  As mentioned in my Goodbye post, we had such a big rush to our Guest Application Form, that 2024 already has several guests pencilled in.

I would love to hit 10,000 downloads on Podbean.  But I’m not making it a hard and fast rule.

To Do:

• Reach out to a few authors regarding being guests (there are a few I’d love to have on the show!) – DONE
  
• Start sharing the podcast on Pinterest – DONE
  

The Writing Desk

I have changed my routine around so that I have focus on my writing predominately during the first three months.  It means having to sacrifice some things and being a lot stricter with my schedule but I’m hoping it works out well in the end.  I’m hoping to push myself pretty hard this year.

I need to think more focused with my writing, so rather than looking ahead for the whole year, I need to work in quarters.  So, I’m only discussing my quarter goal here.

To Do (first qtr only):

• Complete The Blessed bk 1 (draft, alpha read and 2 edit passes) – DONE
  
• Complete Dark Hart bk 1 (edit, 2nd alpha read and 2 more edit passes) – NOT DONE
  
• Complete 10,000 words of Sea Song – DONE
  

BloggerLife

Blog

With writing being pushed to the front, I need to find things I can step back on and sadly, the blog has to be one of them.

I will still be sharing The Merry Writer Podcast episodes on Wednesdays.  However, my Friday posts will be just once or twice a month going forward.  If I’m feeling extremely productive, I may add in an extra, but I need to stop filling my plate with more tasks than I can handle.

My blog has a lot of content already and a load of free printables.  So there is still a lot that can be found and enjoyed.  But I need to scale my time back.

To Do:

• Create a rough plan of blog posts to write for the year – NOT DONE
  

Website

The overall look of my website I’m mostly happy with, but I am contemplating doing a refresh.  It has always been a blog first and foremost rather than an author website.  All the focus is on the blogging aspect rather than the Author’s Website-iness. 😉

So, I may want to change to make my website look more like an Author’s Website.

To Do:

• Research website layouts – DONE
  
• Rough draft some ideas for an overall website with the focus shifting more to the writing – DONE
  

Secret Project

The secret project my partner and I are working on had been put on the back burner last year and I assumed to do so again this year.

However, he surprised me for Christmas with some books to assist the project and informed me he wants to work on it more this year!

To Do:

• Read through books – DONE
  

The TBR Pile

I read a lot more last year than previous years and even spent more time in the library.  I want to continue to prioritise my reading and my partner and I (and my sister-in-law!) are doing a #TBRChallengeRead.

We have all counted the unread books in our shelves (not counting ebooks!) and not counting non-fiction (or books I got or bought around Christmas time!)… I have 53 fiction books sitting on my shelves unread. Not as bad as I thought, but still so many.

So, this year I want to hit the TBR pile hard.  If for no other reason than to read and if necessary discard books I don’t want to read again and thus free up space for even more books!

To Do:

• Read at minimum 24 books in the year (all of which have to be from the TBR pile) – PARTIAL
  
• Any other books can be ebooks, library books or newly purchased books etc – DONE
  

The Biz

Honestly, between the economy tanking and Etsy messing stuff up, I feel like the heart has been tore from my business.

I have awesome customers, I receive great reviews but it’s hard to find the joy in working so hard and hitting brick walls as legislation keeps changing, new hoops to jump through with pointless changes that almost always do more harm than good and rising prices etc.

So, for 2024 I am making this a deciding year. If I close the business, it means I stop making money – ouch!  But I also free up a lot of my time, and space (my inventory takes up a LOT of my Craft/Writing room).

I want to give this year a push.  However, if no matter what I do the sales keep falling and the hoops to jump through keep growing, it may be time to close up shop for good.

To Do:

• Do Taxes in April (massively optimistic with this one!) – DONE
  
• Create a strategy for the year including – new product lines, social media marketing and cutting down costs – DONE
  
• Implement strategy and track for 6 months – DONE
  
• Create a Christmas Time plan to start in August – PARTIAL
  
• Analyse at the end of the year how it all went… and make a decision about the business’s future – DONE
  

What are your plans for 2024?

~ ☆ ~ ☆ ~ ☆ ~