I want to preface this whoooole post by saying that I’m using the term “resolution” very loosely here.
As it turns out, I’m very bad at resolutions. Who would’ve guessed the person with attention issues has … problems focusing on things? Huh.
I actually don’t like the term “resolutions,” in general, because to me, resolutions are things you break in January. See? I told you I was really bad at them. I prefer to try to make life choices and have goals, and to me, there’s less pressure on goals. Goals can begin and end anytime during a year, and they can be changed as situations change.
This week’s Top Ten Tuesday is resolutions/hopes for 2021. I decided to make it bookish goals, because I don’t actually do resolutions. I just make goals as they’re needed.
These resolutions are really going to be goals, because that’s how I roll. I should also mention that when I make goals, I tend to do tiers (lowball goal, flex goal, and stretch goal). A lowball is a number I think I can easily attain, the flex goal takes a little more work (some flexing of muscles, if you will) but still mostly attainable. The stretch goal is one I expect I might not be able to get to, and if I don’t, that’s okay. I like having multiple things to strive for, though. Makes the goal more fun to me, because I’m weird.
Read 100 Books
Low: 100 books
Flex: 150 books
Stretch: 175 books
I’ve officially set up my Goodreads challenge for 2021. I read 178 books in 2020, but since I’m working full-time now and starting grad school, among other things, I decided I’m going to drop my expectations a little bit to something potentially more realistic.
Catch Up On Outstanding ARCs
Low: Read 30 ARCs
Flex: Read 45 ARCs
Stretch: Read 60 ARCs
I feel like this is a good goal every year. 2020 sort of took me by surprise and rained all over my carefully laid plans, so I’m more behind than I wanted to be on blog stuff. I currently have 150 ARCs (many of which are actually upcoming, but I don’t want to actually go and count them). I read 46 ARCs in 2020 that were just requests from NetGalley (which doesn’t count tours I received NetGalley widgets for), so I used that to kind of determine how much I think I’ll be able to read this year.
Read some of these books I bought in 2020
Low: Read 10 owned books
Flex: Read 20 owned books
Stretch: Read 30 owned books
I did really bad in 2020 with reading books I own … but I was a darn professional at buying books. The two don’t really match up, do they? So in 2021, I’d like to read more of the books I already have and donate some of them to the library when I’m done to maybe clean up my already crowded shelves just a little bit.
Continue Making Blog Posts Every Week
Low: 2 posts a week
Flex: 3 posts a week
Stretch: 4 posts a week
I know there were stretches during 2020 where I had a blog post every day, but that’s just no sustainable for me. I’ve had to be really intentional about this, because I know grad school will eat up a ton of time for me. I love participating in the few weekly memes I do, so Top Ten Tuesday and First Line Friday 56 are things I’ll keep doing regardless, since I enjoy them so much. Mix that in with reviews, and I think 3 posts a week at least is totally doable.
Get new blog followers!
Low: 50 new followers
Flex: 100 new followers
Stretch: 150 new followers
I had 308 followers at the start of 2020, and now I’m sitting right around 513. That’s 200 followers in a year, which absolutely blows my mind! (Why are you guys listening to me? Are you all right? Should I send help?!) I know my interaction is going to tank this year, so I don’t expect to meet that many new people or gain as many followers, so I tried to take that into account when setting follower goals for this year.
Post on Instagram/Pinterest Regularly
Low: 2 days a week
Flex: 3 days a week
Stretch: 4 days a week
I sort of let Pinterest and Instagram fall by the wayside, especially at the end of 2020. I want to get back to doing those, because I really enjoy them (especially Instagram). I’m working on scheduling one day a week where I’ll do both for the entire week so it’ll be a little easier that way, but it’s going to take a little getting used to, I think.
Use Kal’s Glorious Spreadsheet
In case you don’t know, Kal @ Reader Voracious makes the most awesometastic spreadsheets, and she’s already put out her 2021 Ultimate Book Blogger/Reader Spreadsheet. I was pretty excited about the 2020 version, and I used it religiously … for three months. Then it sort of fell off a cliff. Oops? The data on it is so ridiculously handy, so I think I’m going to try to schedule set times to make sure I’m going in and updating like I should this year! This is just one more step on my never-ending quest to actually be an organized individual rather than a whirlwind of chaos and randomness.
What are some of your resolutions/goals for 2020? If you participate in TTT, drop your link below so I can visit you back.
Good luck with these! Two main goals of mine are to compete the Popsugar Reading Challenge and Book Riot’s Read Harder Challenge.
Lauren @ Always Me recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday: Best Sequels That I Read In 2020
Good luck! Those challenges always seem hard to me, because I can’t picture fitting in what I read over a year like that. My brain short-circuits. xD I love some of the prompts they have, though!
Good luck with your goals. They seem super reasonable to me. 🙂
My post.
Thank you! I try to keep them doable. xD
LMAO: “I actually don’t like the term “resolutions,” in general, because to me, resolutions are things you break in January.” Oh, so painfully accurate, Sammie. SO painfully accurate! Also, I love Kal’s spreadsheet so much and I started using it last year for… about the same amount of time as you and then stopped. Why is it so easy for me to just stop doing things that are actually good for me? 🙃 Welp. I love your goals and how you’ve categorised them. You’ve totally got this!!!
Dini @ dinipandareads recently posted…#TopTenTuesday: Goals & Hopes for 2021
Why do we even still do the whole “resolution” thing to ourselves? Do we hate ourselves this much? Why is this a thing?!
I dunno, but it’s super easy to let it fall by the wayside lol. I’m really gonna put in the effort to keep it going this year, because I think there are some invaluable things I can learn from it.
I love Kal’s spreadsheet! Or rather… I love my version of Kal’s spreadsheet. 😉 I modified the 2019 (or maybe 2018) version and have been using my modified version of it, since I wanted to track some different things.
I love your goal tiers! That’s a really great way to both challenge yourself and yet also not overwhelm yourself.
My TTT
Nicole @ BookWyrm Knits recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday ~ Resolutions/Hopes for 2021
I definitely modified the one this year to more suit my needs, since I don’t track nearly as much as other people do.
Thanks! It’s what I’ve found works best for me, and I seem to always at least hit my bottom tier that way.
Good luck with your goals! I feel the same way, I don’t like the term resolutions either and have done so much better with them since I started reframing them as goals.
Jo recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday #298
I think goals is just easier to wrap your mind around! I wish we’d just do away with the idea of resolutions in general at this point.
Good luck on your goals!
My post!
Evelyn recently posted…Top Ten Tueday – 2021 Resolutions!
Thank you!
I really like how you broke your goals down by low, flex, and stretch! Best of luck with your goals!
Rae @ Rae’s Reading World recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday: 2021 Reading Goals
Thank you! They’re so much easier to achieve when I break them down like that. 😀 Cheating my brain a little bit.
WOW! You have a lot of ARCs to read! I have 5 on my shelf and I’m overwhelmed. I hope you make it through many of them this year. Good luck on all of your goals.
Yeeeah, I don’t recommend being like me. Having too many ARCs is overwhelming and ultimately leads to guilt when you don’t finish them in time. xD
Some excellent goals here, and yeah, I too was blown away with how many people have started to follow me. I think that’s down to blog hopping more and trying to leave more comments rather than just using the ‘like’ button. The TTT crowd are some of the best too!
Blog hopping more and engaging more with people definitely helps with that! It’s not always feasible for me, depending on what’s going on each day/week, but I know people are much more engaged with my blog when I do. 🙂 The TTT crowd is absolutely fabulous!
Your approach to goals vs resolutions absolutely rings true for me, and I like your approach to tiered goals. Good luck!
Thank you! I’ll probably need that luck at this point, haha!
Good luck with your goals, Sammi! They seem very doable to me. I’m also going to try Kal’s spreadsheet this year and see if I can remember to use it, lol.
Tammy @ Books, Bones & Buffy recently posted…Blogging & Reading Goals for 2021
Thank you! That seems to be where a lot of people fall down. xD It’s a fabulous spreadsheet, but I apparently struggle with the follow-through lol.
I love your approach to goals. Lots of flexibility! And SO many books!
Thank you! I’ve found that I’m more likely to hit a target if I put less pressure on myself to do it, so the flexibility actually makes me more productive, in some weird way.
I like that you do tiers when setting goals. I suppose if I think about it, I kind of do too–but it’s mostly unspoken. I really like Kal’s spreadsheet too–and tried to use it last year, but it became too time consuming and most of it when to waste. Especially since I was also maintaining my own spreadsheet–the same one I’ve been using for years. This year, I’m just using mine again. I wish you luck with your goals!
Literary Feline recently posted…Bookish Mewsings: Nightlights / The Okay Witch / Book Love
I used to do unspoken tiers, too, and I sometimes still do. I like the feel of writing them down and getting to cross things out, though, too.
I actually ended up tailoring Kal’s spreadsheet this year to more meet my needs and hiding anything I don’t think I’ll use, so hopefully it’ll be less time consuming and more likely to use. I think if you’ve got your own spreadsheet you use, though, that’s wonderful, and I can totally understand why trying to keep up two spreadsheets would be too much. xD
I REALLY need to read more of my backlist – so many books!
Yes! That seems to be a very common sentiment. xD
These are great goals and ones I really should strive to achieve, too. I always resolved to keep a detailed spreadsheet and usually never kept it up through January, so I stopped trying, but this year I set up a simple spreadsheet and have high hopes! Good luck with grad school and all your reading and blogging goals!
Sometimes simple is really the way to go! I had trouble keeping up with the spreadsheet last year, so I simplified it to only basically the stats I was particularly interested in, and hopefully that helps, too. Thanks!
I wish your reasoning for avoiding “resolutions” wasn’t as relatable as it is, haha. I love how you have the different “levels” for your goals; definitely a useful thing for those of us who overshoot and struggle with achieving them! I wish you all the best with your goals this year!
Holliehocks @ My Thing About Books recently posted…TTT: Series I Want to Read/Finish in 2021
At least you know you’re not in a boat by yourself in that regard. xD I have a tendency to overshoot and then beat myself up for not meeting it, so that’s what I started doing a couple years ago, and it works so much better for me!
Good luck with your goals! Oh my gosh, I have the same thoughts with resolutions, which is why I never make New Year resolutions 😂 Good luck with graduate school!
Maya @herbookishdesires recently posted…📚Top Ten Tuesday: Resolutions/Hopes for 2021
Thank you! I had to learn the hard way that me making resolutions was really just a waste of time haha.
Hey! I just stopped by and I think that your goals are pretty doable! All the best and let’s see where the reading journey takes us!
Thanks so much! Here’s to hoping 2021 is a good year for all of us.
Trying to keep up with ARCs is always so difficult for me! I need to figure out a better system of keeping an eye on what’s being published and how to get my review up more quickly!
I actually buy a calendar specifically for releases, and I have it on my desk. I write all my ARC releases on it and my blog tour dates (highlighted, so I don’t miss them), and that’s served me really well since I started doing it last year. It’s super easy to see, with one glance, what my upcoming ARCs are and how to prioritize them. 🙂
Tss how do you only have 500 followers? Have they not seen the dragons and world domination plans? Which is my way of saying you deserve so much more <3
Annemieke recently posted…Authors I Read Multiple Times During 2020 | #TopTenTuesday 272
Bwahaha thank you so much. I dunno, maybe it’s the decor? Do you think the dragons are too intimidating? Or maybe the bone furniture? I mean, there’s cushions, so it’s clearly comfortable as all get-out. I’m not sure how anyone could fuss about it, but you never know.
I definitely relate to buying books faster than you can read them. I’m also prioritizing books I already own over new releases. I gotta make a dent in my physical TBR!
Seems like that’s something a lot of us struggle with and are hoping to work on this year. xD Maybe the fact that we’re all working on it this year doesn’t bode well for actually doing the thing, but we’ll see haha.
Great goals Sammie! I’ve also downloaded Kal’s spreadsheet and I’m loving it so far. I seriously need to tackle by ARC backlog as well as my physical TBR so fingers crossed we both get through these in 2021. Good luck with all your goals 😀
Ugh, the ARC backlog is real! I’m really trying to whittle it down this year and not request too many new books to add to it, buuuut … so far, it’s not going great lol.
I think these are all great goals. I know I buy books faster than I read them but I just can’t seem to help myself. LOL. Good luck!
Lisa @ waytoofantasy recently posted…Can’t-Wait Wednesday: The Galaxy, and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers
I really can’t, either. Especially when I see a sale. My mind always goes, well, I’m going to want to read this eventually, and there won’t be this great price later! xD
We have a few goals in common! I have Kal’s spreadsheet on my list, as well. And your number of ARCs make mine sound like nothing. Suddenly my shoulders feel lighter! 😉 I really like your low, flex, stretch system. That’s a great way to push yourself without overextending. Ha! See what I did there??
Good luck on all your goals in 2021, Sammie!
Dedra @ A Book Wanderer recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday: My Top Ten Goals for 2021
You know, I’ve heard that a lot about my outstanding ARCs. On the one hand, I’m glad to have helped alleviate your guilt. On the other … ugh, what am I even doing requesting all these ARCS?! xD
Bwahaha, I see what you did, and I love it. 😉 Good luck with your goals, as well!
What a fantastic list of goals and resolutions! ✨
Victoria @ The Contented Reader recently posted…10 Books I Hope to Read in 2021
Thank you!
Good luck with your “resolutions”. I am a chaos queen myself in some areas. Ah well … guess we take it one book at a time and see how things go *lol*
Vi @Inkvotary recently posted…Weekly Book Wrap-Up #148 – Snow, Snow, And Snow!
Thank you! One book at a time is all you can do sometimes.
[…] last year, I posted by 2021 Bookish Resolutions and included seven different goals that I wanted to achieve that year. I tried to keep them modest, […]