shaeconnorwrites

Following up from the “Sixteen in 2016” post I did a year ago, I decided to go ahead and do the same for 2017, with a plus-one. So in no particular order, here are the things I hope to accomplish in the coming year:

1. Pay off my remaining student loan. The last payment is scheduled for June, but the balance is so low that I’ll probably pay it off sooner.  DONE
2. Pay off another credit card. I’m down to two with balances, so I might manage both. DONE
3. Increase my retirement savings. I’m currently at 7% and want to be at least 10% by the end of the year. Increased to 9% in July; holding off on more until after home purchase.
4. Set up monthly charitable donations, focusing on social justice/civil rights organizations. UPDATE: Never got this done, but I did to a dozen or more individual donations. 🙂
5. Wean myself back off soda. I drink wayyyyy too much sugar these days. UPDATE: Still in progress.
6. Do more major purging before I move, especially books, CDs, and DVDs that never leave their shelves. DONE
7. Move. I’ll have my own place again for the first time in a decade! DONE
8. Actually finish unpacking this time. Goal: by Memorial Day weekend (~2.5 months). UPDATE: Gave up because now I’m going to be packing to move again anyway!
9. Take my parents to Walt Disney World (planned for February).
10. Finish publishing Hands On novella set.
11. Write/finish writing and submit/publish three new stories. UPDATE: Done! Graphite & Glitter, Falling Together, and Teaching Ben (coming February 2018).
12. Start submitting to agents. UPDATE: Pushed back to 2018.
13. Attend the RT Booklovers’ convention in Atlanta.
14. Attend the Council of Science Editors meeting in San Diego (for the day job).
15. Attend at least one other romance writing conference. UPDATE: Did not, but I have at least three scheduled for 2018.
16. Plan and execute publication of the Daily Dragon for Dragon Con 2017.
17. Finally get together the Seekrit Project I’ve been wanting to do for my mom for years. (Shhhhh!) UPDATE: This didn’t happen, but the moving will help with that because I can sort through necessary materials.

There. That ought to give me plenty to focus on. Happy New Year, everyone!

At the beginning of 2016, I posted a list of 16 goals of sorts for the year. Now that we’re coming up on New Year’s Eve, it’s time to check in and see how I did:

1. Pay off at least two credit card balances. I’ve let these creep up after being free of credit card debt about five years ago. Two balances are low enough that I can pay them off quickly, though. DONE! Card #2 was paid off in August, and I’ve kept those cards paid off since.
2. Stop adding to credit card balances. They’ve been mostly steady this year, but I’d like to get them all headed consistently toward zero. DONE! As of mid-December, still on track with the remaining balanaces.
3. Set up an office space. I’m planning to buy a desk and chair this weekend, and getting those assembled and in place will be about 75% of this goal. Things kind of fell apart on this one later in the year, and now I’ll be moving soon, so I’d say this one was about 50% accomplished.
4. Get a massage at least once a month. I have a monthly membership that I’m not using often enough. If I’m not going to, I should just cancel it—after I use up the extra credits! I’m calling this one DONE! I got a massage a month through October, when I put the account on suspension for a few months. I’ll probably still get one this week, which will be 11 out of 12 months.
5. Start doing stretches/yoga regularly for my neck and back problems. More reliance on movement, less on painkillers and heating pads. I haven’t managed much of this, though I’m a little bit better at maintaining my posture and not slumping over the computer.
6. Get a mammogram. I’m way overdue. DONE! Including follow-up ultrasound with an all-clear.
7. Weed out and donate clothes/shoes I never wear. Pretty much everything that isn’t used is gone. I’ll get the rest as I pack to move.
8. Buy new clothes, especially tops and dress pants. About a third of new clothes I buy end up not working when I actually start wearing them, so the wardrobe turnover is an ongoing issue. DONE! A few rounds of purchases means my wardrobe is in pretty good shape now. Until spring, that is!
9. Finish unpacking and get the last boxes out of my space. I plan to accomplish a good part of this by getting rid of more stuff. How the heck did I end up with this much STUFF?? I made some progress here, and will make more before I move, but not nearly as much as I’d hoped.
10. Finish and submit/publish three new stories. I’m shooting for three novels, but I do have a germ of an idea for a short novella for Christmas, so we’ll go with three total. DONE! I self-pubbed three novellas and have a fourth coming in early 2017.
11. Republish two stories after rights reversions (and on more than just Amazon this time). DONE! Story #1 self-pubbed in August, story #2 published with Dreamspinner in September.
12. Go to Walt Disney World. Planned for the week of the Dreamspinner author workshop. DONE! Went to Animal Kingdom for the first time in March, and hit the other three parks over Memorial Day weekend. 😀
13. Attend the Dreamspinner author workshop. DONE!
14. Attend the RT Booklovers’ Convention. DONE!
15. Attend the Council of Science Editors meeting (for the day job). DONE!
16. Plan and execute publication of the Daily Dragon for Dragon Con 2016. DONE!

So I’m at 13/16 complete for 2016, and progress on one of the others. Not too shabby. 🙂

Coming up this weekend: Seventeen for 2017!