Solving for Tsundoku: 2019 Q1 Goal Check In

April 20, 2019

 

 

 

 

 

is a series of posts focused on making peace with the piles.


 

It’s hard to believe that we’re already in the second quarter of the year! Working for corporate America, I find that my brain has settled nicely into thinking about things in terms of quarters. Three-month chunks are long enough to push yourself to get something admirable done, but short enough you can check yourself and make a change before going too far down a path. 

I’ve been looking at a handful of goals in my monthly wrap-up posts, but I’ve been neglecting many of them. To keep me on track, I am trying something new: Quarterly graded check-ins with a goal for the upcoming quarter. We’re already a bit into Q2, but that’s life, hm?

I hope that this format will give me the freedom to be flexible with my goals throughout the year. But it will also help me keep them in the back of my mind, and help me focus on something specific to improve this quarter. You never know until you try!


 

Break up cordially with NetGalley.

This means finish reading all my ARCs and submit reviews for them before the end of 2019, when I stop using NetGalley entirely.

Yikes. I have hardly done anything to move the needle on this goal. I did everything BUT forget it exists. I’ve looked at my list a few times, but haven’t read anything let alone review them. I’ll give myself this quarter to pick up progress on this. But, honestly, if I don’t do anything for it this quarter, I might as well walk away now.

Q1 Grade: F
Q2 Goal: Write and post reviews for the three books I’ve already read My Little Ikigai JournalWe Were Eight Years in PowerPerdition.

 

Keep up with reviews as I finish reading books.

I am definitely not perfect here. But I have improved my review system to help me better see what I have ahead of me in terms of reviews! When I’m stressed, I read and stop blogging/reviewing. A lot of stress has been around lately, so it’s not surprising I’m behind on writing reviews.

Books Read in 2019: 43
Outstanding Reviews: 9 (20%)

Q1 Grade: B
Q2 Goal: Have fewer than 15% of my books with outstanding reviews.

 

Finish all these in-progress series I’ve got.

Yes! One I was actually focusing on! Mwahaha! I thought long and hard about this and decided that I will attempt to finish 10 in-progress series this year. In the first quarter, not only did I come up with the 10 series on my list, but I also made progress on three of these 10 series. I haven’t finished any of these series yet, but that doesn’t mean I don’t get a good grade!

Series Completed: 0/10
Series Books Read Last Quarter: 5

Q1 Grade: A
Q2 Goal: Complete three in-progress series.

 

20 Newbery Award Winners. 

I am on a quest to read all the Newbery Award Winning books before the 100th anniversary of the Newbery in January 2022. So far, I’ve read 47 of these books. This means I need to read about 17 Newberys a year to make my goal. I am currently aiming for 20, meaning 5 a quarter.

Q1 Newbery Books Read: 4

Q1 Grade: B+
Q2 Goal: Read 6 Newbery award winners to get back on track!

 

Overall Reading Goal Q1 Grade: B-


 

Bring more creativity to my blog.

As I addressed in my original goal-setting post, focus was going to be critical to make progress on this goal. You might be surprised to hear that almost no progress was made on this goal. Why? I didn’t focus on it. I started off strong, but with everything happening in my life… this was no longer important.

Q1 Achievements: Started a new Graphic Novel/Manga mini-review format.

Q1 Grade: C-
Q2 Goal: Come up with a concrete list of things I’d like to spend more time exploring in Q3.

 

Work more with other bloggers.

It feels a bit like cheating, what with Melanie @ Grab the Labels and I hosting #ReadingValdemar this year… But there is more to this goal than just #ReadingValdemar. As I learn about how changes in my life are affecting my blogging, I need to find other ways to keep my relationship with the bookish community at large alive.

I’ll be keeping track of 4 stats. Buddy Reads (books read and discussed with another person while reading), Buddy Read Posts (posts where we cross-post on each other’s blogs, through discussion or answering questions), Guest Posts Published (my work is published on someone else’s blog and credited to me), and Guest Posts Hosted (another blogger’s post is hosted and credited on DbT)

Buddy Reads Completed: 9
#ReadingValdemar, The Thing About Jellyfish, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop CafeHitty: Her First Hundred Years
Buddy Read Posts Written: 6
#ReadingValdemar conversation posts, The Thing About JellyfishHitty: Her First Hundred Years
Guest Posts Published: 2
2019 Reading Challenges @ What the Log, JRR Tolkien: The Father of Prog Rock and Metal @ Pages Unbound
Guest Posts Hosted: 0

Q1 Grade: A+
Q2 Goal: Complete at least 3 buddy reads and 3 buddy posts. Complete at least one guest post for another blog and host one on my blog.

 

Be timely about posting content.

Ah. Yes. This goal is about meeting the deadlines I set, not just for myself, but for others. Watching Q1 go by, I recognize this can no longer be about meeting my own arbitrary deadlines. Instead, this goal will change to be about meeting the deadlines I set with my friends and peers.

Deadlines Set: 16
Deadlines Missed: 4 (25%)

Q1 Grade: B-
Q2 Goal: Miss fewer than 20% of deadlines set with friends.

 

Get ahead of my blogging.

My ultimate goal with this particular goal is to have at least one blog post a week scheduled months in advance. This will allow me to take breaks from blogging and feel less pressure to dedicate long swaths of time to blogging during a busy week. I got pretty good about drafting posts in advance, but I didn’t really make progress on my ultimate goal in Q1, sadly. Time to crank up the heat and really try to make progress!

Q1 Grade: C
Q2 Goal: By the end of Q2, have at least one post a week scheduled through Q3.

 

Overall Blogging Goal Q1 Grade: B-


 

I will admit, I’m a bit shocked that the average of both goal sets ended up being the same average grade. But that means I’m working fairly evenly on both of these goal sets! Yay! I’m nowhere near where I want to be, but that’s okay — if I was already there, these goals wouldn’t be good!

Setting up specific goals for the next quarter, ones which will stretch me, should provide the focus and attention I need to keep these goals moving. I just hope a quarterly touch base is enough to keep them in front of my mind. Only time will tell.


What do you think?

  • Do you set reading or blogging goals for yourself? What are your current goals?
  • Which of my goals can you relate with?
  • What are your tips and tricks for managing your goals?
  • Are you interested in writing a guest post for my blog? Do you want me to write a guest post for you? Let me know in the comments below!

9 Comments

  • Laila@BigReadingLife April 20, 2019 at 9:28 am

    Great system – it’s important to find something that works for you. You know, I’ve somehow completely forgotten about Quarterly Reports. I used to do them regularly. Perhaps I’ll bring them back. Now my blog goal is at least one post per week. That’s it. I want blogging to be something I look forward to, not something that is a chore. So the least amount of pressure I put on myself, the better. I wish you well with your goals! You look like you’re doing very well!

    • Jackie B April 26, 2019 at 5:12 pm

      A weekly post is an admirable goal in the crazy world we live in. 🙂 I’m just glad that I’m able to juggle more than one goal… But I don’t know if I’m juggling them all well. That’s okay, by Q2 I’ll have enough data to make a solid decision if I keep all of these goals. Perhaps you’re on the right track with just one goal! 🙂

      I’d love to see the quarterly reports come back, even if you explored other concepts. I’ve gotten really into weekly review/wrap-up posts. Life updates, blog aspirations, etc. Anything like that is a lot of fun to read!

  • Captain's Quarters April 20, 2019 at 9:56 am

    I love these kind of posts! One of me goals is to keep better track of answering yer comments. I was going through me list today and saw a whole bunch of yers that I missed. It makes me crazy because I love how in depth yer comment threads can get. I have very much been enjoying the Valdemar ones. Life has gotten a bit bonkers in the last month and so comments are where I seem to be slipping up. Though part of that is the WordPress system for comments isn’t always the best. I hope Q2 is less stressful and wonderful. Arrrr!
    x The Captain

    • Jackie B May 1, 2019 at 8:19 am

      Aww, thanks, Captain! That means a lot to me. I love that we’re able to dig a bit deeper into your books and posts. 🙂 I haven’t been great about blog hopping or responding to comments lately, as life is hectic (you can relate!), but I am still on a quest to be the number one commenter on your blog this year. I certainly don’t forget tying last year! XD

      Yes, the WordPress system for comments isn’t great. But I prefer to use the WP Reader for comment following than emails. I don’t like all that spam in my inbox! I’m not great about catching comments before they “expire” in the reader, however, so I sometimes miss some. Oops! It’ll never be perfect, I guess.

      I also hope Q2 is awesome for you. Here’s hoping you have a wonderful next three months which are SUPER easy going.

  • Kim @ Traveling in Books April 20, 2019 at 10:35 am

    I haven’t made any blogging goals now that my LotR Reread project is over. That was a fun process overall, but it’s nice to have open writing time during the week for whatever comes up. So I don’t have any blogging goals, just month to month reading goals, which I have been getting through without too much of an issue.

  • Grab the Lapels April 20, 2019 at 9:57 pm

    You said you hope to host more guest posts. I think that you could store up such posts, saving them for if you need a blog break. You could also “hand over” your blog for a week to a guest blogger. I’ve seen other bloggers do this, and it looks really fun! Granted, giving someone the password to your account wouldn’t be my recommendation, but they could write posts ahead of time and give you the content to format. I do that sometimes with Shell when she and I buddy read.

    Funny story: when I came to visit you in Wisconsin, you asked if we could have a book club while I was there. I was so confused; were we going to sit there all weekend and read a book at the same time?? Then I saw that you and Amanda read the same book and then visited and had a conversation! Duh! So smart! Of course, when I next visit you we can yammer on and on about #ReadingValdemar, but I just wanted to note that sometimes I’m slow to figure things out 🙂

  • PerfectlyTolerable April 22, 2019 at 2:12 pm

    Ahhh corporate America and quarters. I have started thinking the same way because of my job haha. Good job on your goals so far! a B- average is pretty good! Good luck with your goals in Q2!

  • Annemieke April 22, 2019 at 10:30 pm

    oh yeah finishing those series. I’m making slow progress there. I think I finished two? But its okay. There is always next year haha. What I do get finished is great. AND I still have quite a while to go this year.

  • Evelina @ AvalinahsBooks April 27, 2019 at 3:32 am

    I have like a quagmire of outstanding / drafted reviews now after my hiatus. I tend to put them in my mailbox as unread letters and let me tell you, I hate how it makes my mailbox look xD so I can relate.

    By the way. You need to message me your new snail mail address, cause didn’t you move? I still have hopes of finishing my snail mail letter to you. You know. SOMEDAY.

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