Are you a believer in resolutions for the new year? I am generally anti-resolutions, but after our last talk I decided that I need to make some bloggie changes. I need to cut back on the ammount of time I spend doing blog related things. I spend a lot of time reading, not when my boys are awake, but when they go to bed and that is fine. I want to cut down on the ammount of time I spend staring at the computer screen when they are up. I have never been an all-out type, I never burned any bras or broke any bad CD's...I do know that simplifying brings so much peace and that is my goal. I don't know what it looks like exactly, but I know for sure it means accepting less ARC's or Review Copies and not feeling guilted into accepting them because I feel bad for the author. It also means setting a timer and closing the mactop when it is chiming. No more saying, "oh, in just a second (ten billion times in a row) to my kids". Yes, I will still be present, still be here, and reading, just better at organizing my time.
So far for next year I have only signed up for one challenge, The Latin American Lit challenge. I had no problem using the ARC's and Review copies this year to finish up my challenges....still next year I will play by ear. I am relieving myself of pressure, that is the part that makes this feel like a job, the tenseness of having to finish a book, needing to review it...that is the part I can do without. The community aspect is really sweet and what keeps me here, I will stick with the community part.
Thanks for all your comments on my last little debate! It was not about Twitter or blogging or reading, it was about how much time we spend and if we are happy with that or think it is a little out of control. If you spend more or less it is for sure a personal thing, and I am not at all trying to make you feel singled out....I just wanted to hear where you all were at, to learn from you all!
I am sure we all have year end goals, weather it is finishing up some of our challenges or reading a certain number of books. I have a goal of finishing up 100 books. I started book blogging and reading like crazy in march, so I am missing three months, still I don't want to cut myself any slack for that. I want to finish 100 books. I am at 91 read and reviewed and I have 3 more that I have read but haven't reviewed. That means I need to finish 6 more this month. We'll have to see if I can do it!!!
What are your goals, are you embarrassed to admit them because you are so far away or do you think you will go all out this month and be determined to finish them?? Oh, there are plenty of goals that I haven't reached, this one, this year I think I will accomplish. How do you feel after an accomplishment? I am usually very excited and then there is a let down. I think that is normal....maybe. Does it happen to you too?
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I want to wish you luck with your new year resolutions...I can never seem to stick to mine.
I set reading goals every year and will have my post up in the next couple of weeks. I have started thinking about them but I am not ready to post them just yet.
Well, this coming year will bring a lot of changes for me since I am going off to college. It's hard for me to plan bookish things around that, but I definitely have some goals, this calls for a whole post!
This next year I'm going to be more organized so I don't waste a lot of time flittering from one activity to the next. I'm thinking this also means cutting down on the amount of blogs in my Google Reader. I need to make a commitment to not get on the computer between the time husband gets home from work and the kids go to bed.l Good luck with your goals!
I'm going to try and spend less time on my computer and wasting time. I know I could plan my lessons better at school and also clean the house more often and read much more if it wasn't for this. I come on to check my emails, then two hours have passed. I also have studying I'm supposed to be doing, and a dept to take over from July.
I want to read 100 books by the end of the year too, I'm on 95 and a half at the mo, so should be do-able
Best of luck with your challenges and your resolutions. What you said about relieving yourself of the pressure is spot on - I find that it's so easy to lose heart in an activity you enjoy when it begins to feel more like "must-do" rather than "want-to"
For me, I had 2 goals - read 100 books in the year which I completed and the A-Z challenge of 52 books which I am still needing 5 books to complete before the New Year. I will try, but if I don't make it I can still say I did my best :)
My goal is to read 100 books next year. This year I had hoped to read 52 and did much better than I was expecting. I'd like to commit to only checking the computer at certain times of the day. I'm addicted to email and Google Reader!
I don't have any goals. None at all. I join challenges, so that I can decide on what kind of books I want to read and catogerize them and have a reading discipline! I don't get ARCs, so I am sure I can work on the challenges. I love reading, and I do it at myown pace. During the day, I hardly spend 2 hours before bed time reading :) [ yah ! I dnt get time during the day!] and blogging I do in the mornings and evenings![ when I start work, if I have very little work, i blog a lot.. and if i have, you know i seem to disappear!] !
I think I Have never been able to fulfill any of my resolutions, so i stopped making them years back :)
This coming year is going to bring in lot of changes though, I am getting married and I don't know how much time I will getting to read :)! SO Lets SEE! :) LOL!
Love the new look of the blog--very clean! I really want to overhaul my look but can't find the time (geez...isn't that what your post is about!).
My goal this year was set REALLY low at 36 books. After finishing 58 last year and missing my goal by 2, I thought I was going to cut back on the reading and really enjoy. I did really enjoy and I haven't felt the stress that I did last year, but now I'm looking at twice my goal with 72 books. I'm thrilled because that is more than I've ever read. Next year I'm going to take it easy. I'm really picky about which challenges I'm joining...even if I know they will be easily finished. I really want to branch out like I did this year with the OT challenge and some of the others.
The timer is a great idea and I've done that as well. I've also started using the labtop while hubby is watching TV so I'm at least in the same room as him and being productive (I hate sitting in front of the TV for too long, but if I'm multitasking I don't mind).
You just need to find what is right for you. I'm sure it's hard with little ones and I can imagine that time would be unpredictable. I'm definitely not accepting near as my ARCs as I was (not that I ever had a lot to begin with). There are too many other great books that I *know* I already want to read.
You brought up some great points. I've only been blogging since August but have been reading my whole life. I've been in online bookclubs for a few years and they are lot of fun. I'm learning so much with blogging and meeting nice people. I haven't joined any challenges but I already feel the time crunch just with my reviews. I've received quite a few ARCs over the months and they're terrific but I need to pace myself in the future. They can make reading feel like such a chore sometimes and I don't ever want to lose my love for it. Of course my real life also gets in the way. Those pesky things like cleaning, laundry, getting and making meals for my family...and forget about Christmas coming! I have a ton of stuff to do for that!! Good luck with your challenges!
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