My 2021 Goals: January's Online Diary

Well, January has come and gone in a flash! Tomorrow is February 1st and I must say...where has the time gone?

I feel like I've been in 2X speed all month, and that goes for my goals as well!

Although I have spent January in lockdown due to COVID-19 restrictions, I have reached my goals this year faster than I could imagine!

In my Goals Journal (which I highly suggest you get - it's just a regular old notepad I turned into a journal to keep track of my goal failures and successes!), I had four goals written out for January.

1. Write one Vocal article.

Completed Goal.

This article in itself has confirmed I've completed this goal. This month I have written three articles, one of which was chosen as a Staff Pick: the "Using Vocal to Complete My 2021 Goals" article.

That article is why I'm writing this diary today - because I'm keeping myself accountable for the goals I reach and how long it takes me to do them.

2. Read two books.

Completed Goal.

To me, reading is just as important as writing. I completed this goal on the 2nd of January, and I have read three books this month.

'The Mortal Instruments: City of Heavenly Fire' was the first book I finished in January as it was nearly finished.

The second book I read - 'Say Her name' - I finished within a day, and the third book I finished was one from 'The Walking Dead' book series.

Hopefully by the time today ends, I will have finished reading a fourth book. Even though I work full-time, I am so glad that I make the time to read books. It helps my mental health so much and I'm grateful that I have a hobby I can delve into whenever I choose.

3. Continue driving lessons.

Okay so this one didn't go as planned.

Unfortunately as lockdown was placed back onto the UK just before New Year's I have had to stop driving lessons with my instructor.

It took a couple weeks of my boyfriend convincing me to drive his car, and I have now restarted driving with him. Although my confidence was knocked as it had been nearly a month since I had sat behind the wheel of a car, I'm glad I made the effort to try and keep up with this goal, even with the restrictions.

4. Work on draft two of my WIP

Completed Goal.

So back in December I finished the first draft of my dystopian YA novel with roughly 78,000 words and a messy manuscript that I created within four months.

I have now started on my second draft, reading through the first draft and making edits.

It's a difficult process as I find editing much more dull than writing itself. But, I didn't give up and I broke it down into smaller goals so it felt maintainable and not so much of a scary process.

Work still needs to be done, so safe to say working on my second draft will be a goal of mine for many months but I'm hoping that by the summer I'll be onto a third draft and doing research into query letters and publishers. Exciting times ahead!

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As well as these monthly goals, I also have manifestations and goals for the year.

One of these said goals for the year is my boyfriend and I buying our first home.

I don't want to jinx it but...we could be living in somewhere we bought by May!

That is crazy exciting and scary to me and I can't believe this goal happened/is happening so early on in the year. I'm very lucky to have this experience and I can't wait to see what other goals come from living somewhere new!

Popularity on my writing account is also a big goal for me. My writing accounts (@leigh_writing on both TikTok and Instagram) are one of my main ongoing goals, and the goal is to eventually end up with 10K followers.

It's a big ask and I honestly doubt it'll ever come to that, but I have faith in myself and want to believe I can make it happen.

Recently I created a TikTok stating I'm giving myself sixty days to quit my 9-5 job and start making a career for myself by doing what I love: writing, and making social media content. Here's the video below:

The point is, I really want this goal to become my dream. I want to be successful in something that I love doing, which I don't think is much to ask for.

January really has been a month of sticking to my goals and getting them done, and I'm proud of myself for that. It starts the year off quite nicely, and I hope the rest of the year is just as successful!

If you want to keep updated on my goals, then come back next month to see my February Online Diary!