My New Years Resolutions for 2020

It’s that time of year again! It’s time for my New Year’s Resolutions for 2020. I’m a goal-oriented person, so I love setting yearlong goals come the New Year. It just seems like the perfect time for a fresh start and if I don’t meet them, it’s not a big deal in my book. I’ve seen some posts where instead of resolutions, people choose a word of the year like growth or rest that they want to focus on. I love that idea, but it just isn’t ‘me’.

Last year, one of my first posts (peep the blog turning one!) was my New Years Resolutions! That post can be found here. My resolutions from last year were basically a flop. I’m pretty sure I didn’t meet any of them, which I usually meet at least some. One of my biggest goals that I did reach but didn’t plan during January was finishing my first draft of my first novel during NaNoWriMo which I wrote a post on here.

This year is going to be a big year for me. I will be applying (and hopefully starting) nursing school after all these awkward semi-gap years. I’ve been working full time and also taking the pre-reqs for nursing school the last two years, but it just feels like an awkward transition period in my life and I am looking forward to starting something that actually leads to something more. I can finish the pre-reqs but I’m still in the same exact place I was before taking them if I don’t end up in a program. Beginning a program basically guarantees that this was all for something and dropping out of my Bachelor degree program led to something greater. Anyways, let’s get into it!

My New Years Resolutions for 2020

1. Read 52 Books

This is basically the one resolution that I make every year and have yet to make. It does help drive me to read more, and that’s basically the purpose. In 2019 I read 24 books. My highest I think has been in the 30’s. Maybe this year is finally the year that I meet 52? Honestly, if I ready even half of this I feel pretty good about this resolution. I’m just competitive at heart and since I originally made it 52 books and have never reached it, I don’t want to lower my standards because one of these years I will do it. If you’re familiar with the Enneagram and are a 3 like me, you’d understand!

2. Finish Revising my Book

During November of 2019, I completed NaNoWriMo. I basically wrote an entire first draft to a novel in one month, like I mentioned above. During January 2020 I am starting to work on a completely new project, but while I work on that I want to complete the revision of my first book. I am only about 5 pages of the 100 into revision right now. I printed out the draft and I am going to go through by hand before retyping it into a second draft. After that I want to go through and revise again and hopefully after two revisions I will be happy with the final product.

3. Write a New Book

I loved writing a book in November. With that project, I didn’t write the book I really wanted, I wrote the book that seemed most accomplishable so that I could prove to myself that I have the capacity to do it. Now that I’ve figured out my writing style and all that jazz, I am ready to start on a new project! I have an idea in mind for my new project already and the genre will be horror/supernatural (basically the complete opposite of my 2019 romance). I’m so excited and crossing off a resolution right off the bat in January feels like great motivation to get on the rest of my goals. I also feel like I exercise more when I have a writing plan in place because I wake up early to write and will just work out beforehand so that will help my *next* goal.

4. Run a Half Marathon

There was a point where I considered myself a ‘runner’. Throughout middle school and some of high school I was in track and cross country and would run almost daily for most of the year. I haven’t run in forever, at this point. Last summer I ran for about a week straight but it got so hot that I threw that plan out the window. This year I’ve set my sights on a half marathon. I am starting my training plan on January 1st and Lexus will be doing it with me! I’m hoping to race in April and then decide after that if I would want to do a marathon or another half. I loved running and have always regretted not continuing with it, so I am excited to get back into it!

5. Post Once/Week the Entire YEAR on my Blog

It’s been an entire year since I started www.maddiedeer.com, and I feel like I didn’t accomplish as much as I wanted to. Most of that was due to not consistently posting. I have a lot planned for this year and I love my blog and love posting on it. So, this year I want to post once a week. All this requires is a bit of planning and I know it would be easy enough if I wasn’t such a perfectionist. I get overwhelmed if my pictures aren’t perfect or I don’t have the post ready by a certain day. I want to let all of that go, and live by the words of Jenna Kutcher because done is better than perfect!

Those are my New Years Resolutions for 2020! Do you have any New Years Resolutions for 2020? Let me know in the comments below!

I think my new years resolutions for 2020 are totally doable based on what I accomplished in 2019. I mean, I don’t have high hopes for reading 52 books and posting once/week for the entire year seems iffy, but the others I have feel like I can easily accomplish. My theme this year seems to be in the self-improvement/self-development realm. I’m excited to see what 2020 has to offer! Whether you are in to New Years resolutions, goals, and challenges or not, we can all constantly better ourselves. Regardless of the month we can all try to be the best version of ourselves and that, in my opinion, is where resolutions stem from.

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