January went somewhat fast in retrospect, but in the moment it felt like the longest month since… October. A lot happened, and about the only things keeping me from losing my mind to utter despair about the world are spending time with my son and having my existentialist grounding reinforced by some appropriate reading.

Did that get too dark? That was probably too dark. Onto the goals!

Last Month’s Goals

1. Write 7,000 words for part 2 of The Herb Witch Tales.
2. Get back to an exercise routine.
3. Finish 3 books.

So how did I do?

Write 7,000 words?

No, but I came so close! I wrote 6,270 words in January, and I didn’t quite have the motivation to cram those extra 730 words on Sunday night. I’m slightly peeved that I missed this goal, but given how close I was, I know it’s not out of reach as a monthly goal.

I’ve written just over 23,000 words for The Herb Witch Tales #2, for which I have a title idea. I’m aiming for 38,000, which is where I ended my second draft of Uprooted, so I have about 17,000 words to go. Before this year, I’d be tempted to race to the finish line, but I know that won’t work. It will be at least another two months before I finish this draft, followed by another rewrite of part 1 to incorporate the ideas I’ve come up with in my time away from that draft.

I’m definitely looking forward to getting back to revisions. Perhaps if I make really good progress on my writing goal for part 2 this month, I’ll start on some no-brainer revisions for part 1.

Get back to an exercise routine?

Yes, although still not as consistently as I would like. I started following a new yoga channel, just for a change of pace — Yoga with Adrienne. She did a 30-day commitment routine to start the year. I think I’m on day 11. That’s not terrible, considering it was never my intent to do yoga every single day, but it’s not great.

This new yoga channel has introduced me to a much different style, which I like. The videos focus more on body positioning and breathing, which are definitely areas I need to improve. One aspect of yoga that may get lost on beginners — and I definitely consider myself a beginner — is that every pose should be active. That is, even if you’re standing still, your core and legs in particular should be engaged. Yoga with Adrienne is great at emphasizing this aspect of the practice. Still, I like Sarah Beth Yoga’s focus on the movements through workouts, so I’ll definitely still use her videos.

I’ve been pretty good about my resistance training as well, and added a second set of pull-ups to my daily routine. Nothing big, but it’s great to see my stamina improving again.

Finish 3 books?

No, but I’m pretty close. I finished two shorts on Audible this month, one of which I’ve already reviewed. I’ll likely post the other review next week. I sort of got stuck in the middle of Crossroads of Twilight, book 10 of The Wheel of Time that I had gotten a hot start on early in January. I’ll save commentary for my Goodreads review, but I’m not a huge fan of this book’s structure, or a gaping narrative hole that Jordan likely left completely deliberately.

I’ll definitely still finish, but I’m already eyeing my next reads.

Goals for February

1. Write 6,855 words for The Herb Witch Tales #2. I promise that weird number has a purpose. My goal is 6,000 words for February, but I decided to tack on the 855 words that I missed for my goal in January. Is this effectively the same as having a 7,000-word goal? Yes. Am I framing it this way because it makes me feel better? Also yes.
2. Do more yoga and resistance training. I just want to be more consistent with yoga, and I want to start doing some of the other resistance exercises I had enjoyed again. I’ll say that I definitely want to finish Yoga with Adrienne’s 30-day challenge. The rest is more about discipline.
3. Finish 4 books. I’m already off to a good start, since I finished one book on the first day of the month, and I’m counting it, damn it. I’m a couple hundred pages away from finishing Crossroads of Twilight, so really, I just want to read two additional books this month, one of those being a full-length novel.

Steve D