Goals of Autumn and Three Years of Blogging

Text reads "What are your autumn goals."  Background is of fall leaves scattered on the grass.  A foggy translucent box frames the words and obscures some of the leaves.

    Last month brought us the first day of Autumn and the 3rd anniversary of my blog.  Three years, can you believe it?  I'd love to keep going.  I want to take my blog, my work, and my life to the next level.

    Back in May I sat down with a pen and a legal pad.  I asked the question "Where do I want to be in 5 years?"  I wrote down my answers.  I have been trying to use those answers as a guide post in my goals since then.  I want to make sure that my short term goals work toward that future.  It has helped me to feel more focused.

    While I do not feel comfortable sharing all my answers to my five year question I can tell you that a good portion of them have to do with my writing and my education.

    This season I have picked 8 areas I want to work on and one simple goal.  I realized that there are so many things I want to do and many of them can be grouped together.  I also have found that I am having trouble with writing goals that are too specific.  With depression eating at a good portion of time I have to focus on what I can do.  So I have decided to work on making progress in areas of my life and work.

    Throughout the season I will continue to add subcategories and tasks to my lists here at home.  That way I can make progress and continue to keep my goals current.  Maybe some items will get marked off if they become unimportant or unattainable.  Maybe some will be added to future lists.  I think Evernote will be a great help with all of this.

    So what are my goals this season?  In no particular order:

Read more

   I have mentioned Bookshare and accessibility.  Well it is time to make more time to read.  No more not being able to read when I am really sick.  No more not being able to read late in the day or first thing in the morning.  I still need some semblance of quiet or white noise when I am reading, but having so many of those obstacles removed for a good portion of my reading is exciting.  Time to make up for years of slow and difficult reading!

A small pumpkin sitting on a wooden picknic table.  The pumpkin has been painted with leaves in autumn colors.

Pumpkin patch

    This is my simple goal.  To visit a pumpkin patch.  Between work, illness, and schedules we didn't get to do this last year.  So It is on the must do list.  Got to make up.

Continue to Improve my Health and Wellness

   My health has made many things difficult over the years.  There are several things I can do to improve it, but it is not just physical health I am focused on.  My mental health also needs a lot of work.  Depression makes everything difficult and can leave me without energy for days at a time.  Trying to tackle several habits and needs at once can be overwhelming and end up in failure in all of them.  I am going to try and take it one thing at a time.  As slow as that may sound slow progress is better than no progress.

Build my Brands

    Fairy Oasis & Petticoat Pedaler could both use a lot of work and love.  They could be so much more than they are now.  And there are plenty of resources out there to learn how to make them better.

A snail figurine with a nest of robins eggs on it's head.  The shell is is colored as several different shades and tints of purple in strips.

Create More

    Whether it is art for sale or decorations for my home or  just something for the fun of it.  I love creating and I want to make time & space to do more of it.

Finish Konmari 

    This is something I started some time ago and then life happened.  Has that ever happened to you?  lol  Well I want to finish it up.  I am rereading [[The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing]].  Then I plan on diving into restarting and finishing my tidying festival as soon as possible.  I want to tidy up my work spaces and my living spaces so that things are more accessible and I can easily jump into activities without having to move boxes or clean first.

Drawing of a Victorian girl writing at a school desk with a pencil.

Study More  

    As I said above.  It can be really difficult to stay motivated when your mind and body seem to be fighting against you.  So I want to study more.  I have a list of topics I want to learn about and others I need refreshers in.  I am also going to work at only tackling one or two topics at a time.  I can do four on days I am feeling up to it. But otherwise I can pick a pair of topics at the start of a week that are my primary study goals and then work from there.

Work Toward Completing my Associates 

    Getting my associate's degree has been on the back burner for probably the last year, while I worked toward getting the testing I needed to get my print disability status.  I am not sure how to explain the frustration of not being able to progress in my studies due to not having access to the assistance I needed.  I can not thank those that donated to getting that testing enough.  Thank you thank you thank you.

    That was not the only thing holding me back though.  My previous job had made it very difficult to take classes without facing punishment.  In fact I was even told out right that I could not be guaranteed hours, which led to several losses that I was not happy about.  I have a lot of work to do to get back to a place where I can attend school and afford it.

Vintage black and white image of a little girl and a plushy cat toy at a typewriter.
Image from The Graphics Fairy

Write More  

    Always!  I love writing.  It is like air to me.  This sort of goes along with create more, but due to how much it matters to me it really has to have it's very own category.  My current novel project, all the poetry I need to finish & start, this blog.  I have so many writing things to do.  It makes me excited just thinking about it!


    So that is a look at what I will be aiming for this season.  I am going to work at not overwhelming myself and setting off my anxiety.  It has taken me some time to admit to myself that I have anxiety.  But that is a topic for another time.

    What are you working on this season?  Have you asked yourself where you want to be in 5 years?  Let us know in the comments or if you have a post of your own please share a link to it.

    Want to see what someone else will be working on this autumn?  My friend  +Jennifer McCoy also has some goals for autumn.  Check out her post at Just Plum Petite.

 Tata,
Lilian A. Brennan

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