Goals check for the week of January 1

I'm actually a day late posting this -- perhaps predictably, I forgot all about my idea to post my progress and keep myself accountable to what I said I was going to do during 2013.  Also, I know last week didn't start on January 1st, but since the year did, that's also when my goals went into effect.

Without further ado, here is the lineup:

1. Novels: Since the family I work for came back from vacation on New Year's Day, I went back to work on the 2nd, and I was working longer days than usual that Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.  I realized I wasn't going to get anything done, and reset my to-do list app with a deadline of Monday for working on my novel.  However, I had some time on Saturday and decided to work on it then, and ended up writing nearly 6,000 words over the course of the weekend.

2. Website and blogs: I haven't started on this yet, but I have set up tasks in my to do list to remind me to work on one every month until they are done.  My DollStringing.com site is the first on my list -- an intimidating task, since I have the most to do on it, but also one of the most important ones, since I failed to migrate the blog a few years ago when Blogger stopped offering FTP publishing, and I haven't been able to update the blog since.

3. Other writing projects: Again, I haven't started on any of this yet -- my first priority is finishing the novel I'm currently working on, and getting the necessary revisions done on the first novel.  I'm planning on starting on one of these projects in the spring, once most of the blogs have been overhauled.

4. Books: This is about my reading list for 2013, the classics I want to (finally) read throughout the year.  I haven't started on any yet, but I am planning to read Les Miserables first, before I see the movie (we'll probably wait until it's available to rent).  Again, I have set tasks and reminders in my to-do list app, spaced throughout the year.

5. Horses: This wasn't on my original list on this blog, but it was one of my goals for the year nonetheless: to ride both my horses three times a week.  I'll still post my progress here, even though it's not writing-related, because I think it has some bearing.  It's a goal for 2013, after all, and it reflects on a larger goal of mine: to balance my writing life with my hobbies, and still get stuff done in both arenas, without neglecting either one in order to succeed at the other (something I tend to do).  I failed miserably at that last week, riding Panama twice and Rondo once.  In fact, as a perfect example of why I'm blogging here about my progress on this goal, I gave up the opportunity to ride in order to work on my novel both days over the weekend.

So it's not a perfect start, but it's not bad, either.  I'm making solid progress on my novel -- so much so that I think I'll have finished it by the end of the week (I was close to the end when NaNoWriMo ended).  I think there is a lesson here, though -- I am not good at focusing on more than one goal at a time.  I think it's reasonable to focus on one writing goal at a time, but I need to get better about balancing my writing/work goals with my personal goals, such as riding!