Yearly Challenge List

It's been a hot minute since I've blogged, but man oh man--time is flying. With Reese's first birthday party (which doubled as my mom's surprise 50th), and various other crazy things, I have had very little time to even wash my hair. Anyway, I've been reading Brendon Burchard's The Charge and getting uber-excited about life (most of the time, anyway). If you need something to pump you up, get your engines charged, and inspire you to be kind, productive, and just generally better, this book is IT. This is one of the exercises Brendon suggests, and I had fun with it because I have a perpetual case of what I call List Lust (although now Reese is crying from her crib, and I guess my night of reflection is suddenly severed. Teething! Ugh!)

I hope that posting this will hold me to it, since I'm the queen of letting life get in the way.

Here's my list:

A YEAR Of CHALLENGES 

June: Learn to sew. (Take a sewing class. Get a sewing machine. Learn to hand-stitch. Practice with journals and crafts. Blog about new projects. )

July: Finish revising my rough draft. (Be DONE. Love it how it is. Be open to suggestion. Pray. Find an editor/editors to work their magic on it. DO NOT allow fear of rejection to hold you back from believing in the power of this little story.)

August: Learn about small business. (Read books. Make appointments. Read message boards. Follow through. LEARN. Knowledge is confidence. Make lists of questions and ask the right people. Continue making things. Create a vision board.)

September: Make things. (Scout for vintage fabric. Learn new techniques. Blog about it. Make those journals. Sell those journals! Start out small, and get into a groove. Little changes now equal big changes later. Be creative. Network. Ask.)

October: Write short stories. (Really focus. Continue crafting, but carve out time—before baby’s arrival!—to really get some good writing in. My favorite month! Be prolific. Write in an orchard. Be alone. Reflect. Use those journals!)

November: Be a mom (again). (Maternity leave. Enjoy it. Take pictures. Exercise. Eat well. Love. Spend family time. Meditate (I’ll need it!). Make & sell journals. Write & send stories to lit mags.)

December: Find an agent. (Focus extra time—aside from family & workouts & crafting & day to day miscellany—on actively pursuing publication. Send, send, beg. And enjoy the holidays.)

January: Focus on health. (Get a bangin’ body back. Train HARD. Eat like an athlete. Pick up a new workout. Take a class. Teach my daughter about exercise & nutrition. Be an example. Make new habits and lifestyle changes. Blog about it.)

February: Carve out time for reflection. (I’m turning 28! Do everything I love: exercise, write, craft, spend time with people I adore. Focus on abundance. Write down what I’ve learned and what I’m grateful for. Take photos. Read Buddhist books. Smile more.)

March: Make special time for special people. (Plan something lovely for each person who means so much to me: a phone call, a date, a trip, a card.)

April: Read. (Studying to be a good writer means reading good books. Pick 2 novels, and habitually read short stories and poems. Get inspired. Be a student.)

May: Tie up loose ends. (If I haven’t spoken to someone in a while, I will call them. If I haven’t done enough with my book, I’ll do it NOW. If I haven’t published enough stories or poems, I’ll send more. If I haven’t created a business to my fullest ability, I’ll focus my efforts on it. And I’ll make my new Challenge list, and get even better next time around.)