December is my test month, 24 goals in 2024, & starting a bullet journal?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 ก.ค. 2024
- December is almost here which means it's time to test out my delusional goals for 2024! Let's chat while I set up my bullet journal, habit tracker, and 24 in '24! Also right now, the first 500 people to use my link will get a one month free trial of Skillshare: skl.sh/katecavanaugh11231
T I M E S T A M P S :
0:00 December is my "test month"!
1:16 setting up quarterly vs. seasonal vs. monthly goals & bullet journal stuff
3:20 My 24 in '24 (aka my big goals for next year)
5:52 Astronomical vs. meteorological seasons
6:29 Scaling back TH-cam for this coming quarter (and maybe even the next year??)
8:08 December specific plans, systems, & habit setting!
11:44 Bullet journals set-up shenanigans
16:14 Some lessons learned from November
19:04 A vlog of the lunar cycle goal method!
32:14 Wrap-up thoughts on the experiment & would I recommend it
34:00 Questions for youuuuu!
D I S C U S S I O N Q U E S T I O N S :
Have you already started thinking about 2024? (Or do you also need December to be a "trial month" to tamper back expectations for the New Year? Lolol.) Please share any you feel comfortable with!! I'd love to hear about your goals or resolutions. :)
What goal setting system works for you? Do you enjoy tracking your progress on goals?
Do you use a bullet journal or planner? What's something you'd recommend to someone that's really helped you?
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I love my bullet journal, but I think the most important thing to remember about it is that it's about function over form. If you ever find yourself feeling like you can't plan out your week or day because you haven't done the "setup", then it's not working and it's time to really rethink what you need from it. I have some goals set up, one of which is to get something published, even if I'm not getting paid for it, somewhere that has a process of picking what gets published (so, Ao3 doesn't count).
YES ABSOLUTELY. I really want something I can stick with so I'm hoping to make it as easy, and seamless, as possible.
Is the "something published," inclusive of short stories or shorter fiction? I really love that as a goal. I love getting to share art without obstacles, but it's also nice to have a curator (whether that's a big publisher or a small press magazine or whatever) specifically choose your art.
Yeah, there's a writing in challenge in January called Stories on Fire, which is one short story per day in one month, and I hope to use that month to get enough things to edit or expand to submit to a magazine. I don't think my current novel is going to be ready for queries by the end of the year, so it'll have to be short stories @@KateCavanaugh
Kate ! Are you okay ? Because it’s 2024 , check in !
2024 is certainly a year that will happen.
Looool truly the best way to look at it.
I started using a bullet journal years ago after a traumatic brain injury when I was having memory loss. It was a life saver. I’ve kept one ever since. Function is key, I alter the form as needed. Tracking, goals, to do, planning, brainstorming etc. It can literally streamline your life, making many things go more smoothly. I know what’s coming up, can reference previous things in an instant. It gives me peace.
I've been using a bullet journal for years and years and love it so much. I don't use it as a planner that much, rather a tracker of sleep, habits, books... I have fun setting it up every month because I do whatever I feel like, it doesn't have to look the same.
I love letting yourself be free to decorate it however you choose that month! No rules other than you want it that way. :)
Back in 2016 I gave myself explicit permission to have the ugliest bullet journal IN THE WORLD and I'm still at it.
Yesssss, gonna join you on that. Ugly bujo because that means I’ve used it bahaha.
Oh I 1000% feel you on biting off more than I can chew in terms of goals. I love the idea of a goal-testing month though!! Personally I've scaled back on setting hard routines/goals in regards to writing (I left my agent earlier this year so I'm trying to treat writing as a creative outlet as opposed to work!) but I keep track of my daily word count with a spreadsheet and that really helps contextualize my productivity over time!
Loved this video
I love the idea of using December as a test month, I'm totally going to steal this. I have some things I want to accomplish next year and getting a head start in December plus finding the right rhythm and systems to help me reach those goals will make everything easier come the new year. The first week might be sloppy, since I'll be figuring things out but I am excited to see what the month holds.
I see you… the moon, Yule and Imbolc on your calendar 😏 me too
Have you already started thinking about 2024? Yeah! Turns out 2024 is a "Wood Dragon," year: starting in Feb. Very much looking forward to the new year plan to celebrate when possible. And plan to start a new novel, Pantser, no planning required.. Just need to wrap this last one up first.
The only way I found that I would actually fill out a habit tracker is if I have a weekly one on my weekly spread. If it's on its own separate page, I never go back and look at it.
November is usually the end of my year/start of my year for a variety of reasons but especially when it comes to figuring out where I want to go creatively for the next year. I think it is really useful to start the planning and prep a month or two in advance of the actual new year because it really gives you extra time to put in place the systems that help you succeed. I always loved New Years resolutions and never really noticed that the struggle I had with meeting them came down to that initial warm up time being critical to the success of goals.
For journaling/habit/health tracking, I've maintained a journal consistently (more or less) for well over a decade and I think it helps to have extra reasons to journal/plan/track. Lately I've got stickers that I find cute and fun and some collage materials that I utilize to get me to the page. I think for awhile I didn't want to do it because it feels a bit young for where I am in my life BUT the instant reward aspect is really fun and I think that when your work is writing there's this point where more writing, more tracking, more brain work often feels like too much. The stickers absolutely make me feel like a kid and I think there's a necessity as a writer to set up little things that trick you into having that feeling because otherwise it takes a toll.
I did try adding my own art to the journaling/tracking experience but I prefer stickers/collage materials because of the instant gratification aspect. We really don't get much of that in the writing or art journeys so it's nice to find something that can provide that respite.
I've done the bullet journal thing and it was a lot of setup effort at the time so it was a mix of fun when I had the time and stress when I didn't. But recently I was flipping through one and it is so cool to explore vs my usual basic journal/planner. I would love to do it again but also, it can get pretty stressful if you don't give yourself flexibility to change things if they're getting in the way of the things you are using them for.
I love, love, love this video! Planning and laying out goals are some of my favorite things to do. I usually spend quite a bit of December creating my own planner that will span a year. It's a sort of mix of a bullet journal with sort of the layout of a hobonichi planner plus a few other things thrown in that I tweak from year to year. It's one of my favorite things to do in December!
you are so fun! I feel like I'm listening to myself when you're talking. Can't wait to watch more of your videos!
So many goals to make in 2024 and I am feeling hope to see them through. Health, writing, financial, creative, business, exercise, lifestyle, and overall working towards health and happiness for me and my loved ones. Cheers everyone!
I am trying quarterly goals for my projects this year, so I can have more focus on single projects. And YES for 24 in 24! I'm excited to get through my list, and it's great to see you giving it a go! I'm planning on spending December filming as much of my bullet journal set up as possible ready for the new year- I end up failing to set it up as the months go on, but that shall not happen next year, no siree.
Your problem could be that you're demanding a 7-day production schedule on 5-days. You need to modify your goals/demands on yourself in terms of hours/worked or words/written. If you can lower these expectations, you'll be a lot better off. Otherwise, by removing 2 workdays, you're just ensuring a stressful 5 workdays and that is going to mean burnout for Sat/Sunday NOT rest/relaxation.
In terms of not feeling like writing Thursday/Friday, when that happens, you need to have options. Option 1: That's its completely okay NOT to write any day of the week when you don't feel like it. Even if that leads to more than 2 non-writing days. Option 2: Give yourself permission to swap out 1-2 days out of the week for a Saturday or Sunday twice a year. That gives you more flexibility. You still have your "no weekends rule" but you also have two work-weekends that you can swap for MTWTHF whenever you need them.
Yeah I think you’re definitely right! It’s just going to be a slow modification to make that a comfortable normal, but I feel like I’m off to a good start with November’s No Working Weekends, and maybe December, January, & February can help me learn to goal set for only those 5 days.
I love bullet journaling! I've done it for 4 years. It really helps my anxiety. Also, being sort of artsy is fun. :)
As always, you are a planning genius! I am finally coming out from under the "accident" cloud and starting to think in terms of production and publishing again. Take care of your health and be kind to yourself when real life interferes with your plans. (Says the woman who -finally- had to do the same when she couldn't walk). Love you! Take care!
I am SO GLAD you're finally coming out from that time!!! Still sending you SO MUCH LOVE. This NaNo has really shown me that I'm capable of waking that walk and taking it easier on myself when I need to. Wish I could've fully encoded this five years ago, but that's okay lolol. :)
My plan is to use a Hobonichi Techo planner A6 for work and journalling, and an A6 weekly suppliment for health and wellbeing. I use Midori sticky trackers (in the A6 planner) to track a few things that I need to do more often. My therapist also suggested that I use a separate notebook (or app) to write down all the tasks that pop up in my brain and categorize them into A-task, B-task and C-task. This way it should help my ADHD brain see better what to do and when.
I’m so glad you’re trying a bullet journal! I might try out the test run idea out for December.
Oooh yes do it! Especially if you have any goals you're wavering on, I know it helps me clarify a lot of things!
I started a bullet journal at the beginning of 2023! Not a traditional one, my own version because I was mostly into the tracking… I lasted about 5-6 months but in the end the formatting took too long for me and it felt like a chore to use. Plus I kept adding more and more things to track which got very confusing and time consuming. The insights were nice to see at the end of the month but most of it was what I’d already suspected so it wasn’t super worth it for me. After burning out I left it for a while and I’ve recently started again but really minimalist. I only have a yearly and weekly spread, and on the weeks I only record appointments, to-do’s and things I’m grateful for with a space for a word vomit summary at the end of the week. I only work in one colour ink and barely draw anything on the page - it’s more useful for me to just get it down!
Ironically I’ve also been planning my 2024 goals not even two days ago. I’ve taken a leaf out of NaNos book and making time based goals rather than other forms of measurement. I’ve got four goals for fitness, reading, writing, and socialising - doing more than that and I’d probably lose focus. This is the first year that I’m going to run a trial run in December, it fuels my need to be perfect at something before I’m expected to actually do it 😅 I hope we can both learn valuable things from the experience! (Sorry for the extremely long comment lol)
Yes, a test run! I’m doing that with a digital planner next month. I’ve been a paper planner girl for years, so we’ll see! Also, love the tarot and moon practices ❤
Ooooh definitely let me know how the digital planner goes! One of my favorite planners -- Passion Planner -- has a digital version and I've been so curious.
I've been using a bullet journal for my writing life (so it only has work things that happen outside of work hours - nights/weekend) and a little of my personal life. I set up the entire journal all at once (over the course of several days of course) for the 6 months that fit in each book. That way I get to do the fun creative part a couple of times per year but then have 6 months already set up and don't have to do it monthly. I've figured out over time what I like to track (I have spreads for daily word count, writing sprints, special events/challenges, etc.) and then have space for notes (not about my stories themselves - I do that in my story bibles) but more my writing headspace and other things going on. No using creative energy each month to set up the next month's spread really helps me. It's also been really helpful to see how my writing phases seem to work (I'm a binge writer so I regularly have a 50-60k month followed by a 5-10k month(s). Being able to go back and see this in trackers is helping me figure out how to take advantage of my creativity flow. I realized that while I've only written 110 days of the year so far for 2023 (which will total less than half the year by the end) that I average about 2300 words per day when I do write, so my output for the year so far is over 250k, which isn't that bad. But when I'm in the midst of a month where I struggle to write 6 days total, it feels like I'm not making any progress. Anyway, it's fun to figure out what kinds of systems work for you :)
Hurray!!! I'll comment after I watch. 🥰🥰🥰🥰
As a fellow suffer of 'tummy trouble' (gallstones, followed by IBS), I get the frustration with food and recipes so much.
My doctor put me on the FODMAP diet (which is a *very* short term elimination diet to figure out triggers). It was hard but did help. I cant really have onions or garlic though which makes cooking a balls. It also rules out most jarred sauces, so thats fun. I dont mind cooking but it eats up so much time when you can't take the short cuts other people can. I have to put aside a day for Batch cooking whenever I can, and trying to find meals for me and my family is a nightmare. It also steals away writing time and takes up planning and mental space in the brain.
So, in short, its annoying but doable. Good luck with your doctor.
Yay bullet journaling! Mine are a mix of bullet point goals, diary, and scrapbook. And submitting to Black Hare Press! Did you write for the doppelgänger prompt? The “fatal flaw” prompt is so open ended. I found an anthology opening for folk horror short stories I’m going to try my hand at. Spent last night doing research on the hallmarks of folk horror.
this year I'm have my own book published after writing it so it can be sell on the shelves
Awww, that's a wonderful goal and event to look forward to!! Let me know when it's out!
YES to planning and bullet journals!!!
I knew you'd approve! Lolol.
@@KateCavanaugh Haha! I am a bit predictable in my love for all things bullet journaling. If you ever want ideas, or names of people to follow, let me know!
Just last night I was thinking of starting my goals/resolutions in December so I can have momentum once 2024 comes and I took this as a sign that yes I should definitely do this. December is a very busy month so I think is the perfect month to start because you can get a better picture of how things would go for you. I haven't decided my 2024 bullet journal yet or my 2024 notebook lineup but that's what December is for, right? I wish you all the luck with your December resolutions!
I'm switching back to bullet journaling after having done a Rocket Book panda planner for almost two years. The idea was to reduce the amount of paper I was using and immediately digitize what I wrote down. This did not work. Anything I did digitize is lost in my Google Docs and the data isn't together or lost, making reflections difficult. I think you'll be glad that you stuck with pen and paper even if you end up abandoning or changing the layouts or usage over time. You can see what did and didn't work in a very tactile way.
I relate to you so much! Pen and paper (and markers, stickers, etc) have a special magic, don’t they?
I got the Rocketbook and an everyday planner last year (the letter size, which was my first mistake, I’m a small notebook gal). It worked great for brainstorming and some day-day stuff, but I constantly got frustrated about not being able to decorate or customize the weekly template the same way I did my bujo, plus my docs folder never got organized 😂.
This year I think I’ll go back to the BuJo and experimentwith the Rocketbook for more “erasable” stuff, brainstorming, and messier type of notes. We’ll see how it goes
Ooh, I wanna try doing things in Mooner cycles!
I'm not sure if this is actually working completely. When my twins were born I had to start making lists. So I have 1 notebook that I list my chores, daily routine(basically reminding myself to shower and brush my teeth) and what tasks I want to do to achieve my yearly goals. Then I have my planner and I make a list.
The only habit tracking I've been able to really stay with is to write it in my planner. I've been using the Erin Condren vertical planner and the top box is drink water and taking my meds.
I love this video! 24 goals in 2024 is such a wonderful idea! I’m also loving how you use the Tarot cards to guide your writing. My friend is a traditionally published author and she does this with astrology! So cool!
I didn’t achieve my Nano goals in terms of drafting, so I’m sort of doing a reset and hope to draft a good portion of the first draft of my new YA horror novel by my birthday (on Christmas). I also have a lot of reading goals I’d like to hit for December as I’ve read 83 books so far this year and I want to read even more! Not sure if I could make it to 100 books (which means reading 16 books in December, yikes!), but I’d like to set a reading goal for 2024 to read 100 books. 🤞
Zelda and Buffy remind me of my dogs, Bailey and Lizzy! They love to give me ALL the kisses. 🥺😂
I love my bullet journal if only for the fact that I cannot remember anything at all unless I do the tactile scribble thing 😂 digital lists just do not stick in my brain, otherwise I would be all over notion for sure
Ooooh okay yes! I do love Notion always for very specific things but completely agree with you that there's something about the brain-to-hand-to-page that just encodes itself differently. Very excited to join the bujo group. 😂
Maybe if your bullet journal doesn’t work take a look at time and tide plans here on you tube. Pretty cool system.
I've been using Sarra Cannon's HB90 planning system for several years now, and I'm slowly learning each quarter what I'm able to accomplish and what I can't.
Ooooh, I love hearing that!! Lots of people swear by her system for figuring out limits for goal setting and I love that. One of these quarters, I'll give it a go!!
♥️
Been using the moon phases. Not as great as I thought. Dec is recoup month 😛
YAY I'm early! I see the 24 in 2024 in the title! I'm doing something similar! (okay now to watch)
Ooooh Grayson!! Please tell me all about your version of 24 in '24! (I've seen/heard so many cool ones and now that I'm jumping on the bujo train, would tooootally add more spreads to mine bahaha.)
I have trying new recipes (from different countries or different parts of the US) and a bunch of small things that push me just a bit out of my comfort zone. All writing goals will be part of my quarterly goals so my 24 in '24 can be just fun stuff! @@KateCavanaugh
I just wanted to stop in and say I miss your videos and I hope you're doing ok!
Did I heard correctly? You're going to upload only 2 days in a month from now on?
Strongly suggest language before bed.
December is read everything I can month 🤓
OMG YES. I want to hop aboard that train too! 📚
I don’t set goals and I don’t track 😂 I wrote my second novel start to finish from 30 Jan - 10 Oct this year. Edited it for 2 weeks, wrote the query letter, started querying 30 days ago. Got my first full request yesterday. I have adhd and have no idea how to pace myself 😅
I have ADHD too and goals don't work for me at all. The second something is a goal, it feels like work. Without goals I can easily work 14-hour days year round with zero problem. THE second I make anything a goal, even 1-hour workdays feel stressful. It's very important for writers to know their minds!
Was that Maggi sauce I saw? My grandma used to use that when I was a kid. It is the best.
IT IS. It's my partner's favorite and the one he grew up with too! I'll tell him about your comment, he'll love it.
I would love to know his response. If you don't mind. @@KateCavanaugh 😃
@@KateCavanaugh Hihi, the company "Maggi" was established in 1886 here in Switzerland. 😁
I'm not sure if you'll see the posts I made that I tagged you in. I made my first attempt at the stair step writing challenge.
Kate where are you? :(
This is so cool, but I'm not someone who sets goals for a year, I can never see that far hahaha
I'm also doing a 24 goals in 2024. Cause it just, it is a good number. Hopefully I'll exceed some of the goals. But also I'd just like to achieve several of them
My dr has asked me to take my blood pressure every morning. I’m on a new medication for anxiety
i want to see if i can contact you on my tablet or computer at my house