UPDATE: The winner is…Debra Guyette!
*~*~*

Hello, everyone! I want to start by thanking Delilah for letting me come play here with you all again. I always have a good time when I visit.

So, about that title…my countdown to the new year isn’t in hours or minutes yet, but I am counting down the days. I love looking forward to a new year, don’t you? It’s always so full of possibility and opportunity, and all kinds of good things we can’t even imagine yet. It’s almost like getting ready to start reading a new book by a favorite author or seeing a movie you’ve anticipated for months.

I don’t make ‘resolutions’ for the year. I quit that a long time ago, but I do work out goals for myself every year, personal things I want to get done, and writing goals (still working on the new goals as I write this). ‘Resolutions’ seem so…inflexible, I guess, like passing a new law or something. Too daunting that way.

If I call them goals instead, they become something I want to do, not have to do, and I can break each one down, and figure out the steps and time needed to accomplish them. For example, most authors have a general idea of how long it will take them to write a book, so they can break that time frame down—if it usually takes someone three months to write a 90,000-word story, they can figure out how many words they need to write each week, each day to make their three-month goal on time, and if there is an off-day, they can adjust to make up for the words they didn’t get done that day. That sort of goal-setting feels to me more achievable than simply writing a list of resolutions for the year—ie, for the next year, I have to lose X pounds, organize my life, look for a new career, etc.

Besides getting my goals finalized this week, we have a family dinner to start the new year, so while the basics of the meal are always the same, I do need to figure out dessert. Something else I will do to wave the old year goodbye is write down a few wishes for the new year, and then near midnight on New Year’s Eve, I’ll burn that list and send the wishes to the universe. If our weather forecast for this weekend is right, I may have to improvise to avoid the rain, but I have time to figure that out.

I would love to hear how you bring in the new year…do you set goals or make resolutions? What other traditions do you enjoy? Everyone who comments between now and the start of the new year will be entered into a drawing for an eBook copy of one of my three books, winner’s choice.

Happy New Year to you all, and may all your New Year wishes come true!

About Elizabeth

Lifelong book addict Elizabeth Andrews fell in love with romance novels at an early age and now writes her own, full of sexy heroes and strong heroines. Her stories range from paranormal to contemporary, to who knows what her imagination might come up with along the way, but happy endings are a guarantee!

She is a married mother of two who’s got a room overflowing with her book collection and a garden full of herbs and veggies that needs occasional attention between writing and reading binges.

You can find out more at ElizabethAndrewsWrites.com

As I’ve said before, I’ve been pulling cards on Sundays to try to make it part of my planning process. On Sundays, I update my work and personal plans to ensure I record what I accomplished and didn’t, before turning my sights on the coming week. It’s not that I “believe” in the tarot, but the practice reminds me of aspects of my life I wouldn’t otherwise consider when I set my plans. So, onto this week’s card…

Wands! I love wands. Let’s just look at the picture first. Here we have Jason of Greek mythology. If you remember, Jason was sent on an impossible mission to retrieve the Golden Fleece by the king who had usurped his father’s throne. Knowing he’d face many dangers, Jason formed the Argonauts, a group of heroes, to accompany him. In the end, he defeated mythical beasts and supernatural warriors to take the fleece. This picture depicts him carrying the fleece while his warriors appear dressed for a celebration behind him. So, what does all that mean for me? I think it means I’ll conquer some beast this week and that everyone around me will give me attagirls. I have no clue what that beast might be, perhaps it’s a small one (meeting all my goals? cleaning my office?!).

Maybe I should consult the book… Okay, I did pretty good. The card represents triumph and recognition from others. As for Jason, he’s not quite done. He still has to deliver that fleece… Hmmm.

Y’all have a wonderful week. If you’re bored, you can always come see what’s happening here. 🙂 ~DD

Open Contests

1. Diana Cosby: Nature’s Beauty in Pictures! (Contest) — Last day to enter! Win a tote and a mug!
2. Flashback: Texas Cowboys — The Cowboy & the Widow (Contest — 2 Winners!) — This one ends soon! 2 Winners! Win a FREE book!
3. 10 Things That Make Me Sigh in December (Contest) — Win a FREE book!
4. Ava Cuvay: TIN TOY — Brand New Release! (Contest) — 3 Winners! Win a FREE book!
5. An End of Year Ritual — Mind Mapping (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
6. Michal Scott: Continuing the Family Legacy: Sarah Jane Woodson Early (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
7. Saturday Puzzle-Contest! Counting Down to Christmas! — Win an Amazon gift card!

When I worked in the corporate world, I underwent all kinds of efficiency training. To-Do lists are supposed to be small, with the most important things at the top to tackle first. However, life doesn’t work that way.

Some things have to happen first before you can get to the highest priority things. Plus, once you finish something that requires a brain cell, you need something that requires less of the gray matter to follow in order to rest your feeble aging brain, right?

I’ve already failed to follow the order of my list that I made last night. I started at #1 because as soon as I’m up, I make kids’ lunches so that they can get out the door to school. But #2 felt like too much exercise before my first two cups of coffee, and I didn’t yet know what I was going to blog about, and #4 requires too many clicks, so I skipped to #5. Now that I finished #5, I’m trying to get back to the “proper” order of my list, and I’m doing good with this blog, right? That list was top of my mind, so I’m typing word-vomit while I’m sort of complaining about the fact my list is too long and I want to blame that piece of paper, but it’s all my own dang fault for committing to too many things this week… And on, and on.

And now, I’m ready to turn the list over on my desktop and just do wtf I want to do. What’s the worst that can happen besides two clients having heart attacks because their edits are due and me missing a book deadline? I’m turning it over….slowly…I haven’t yet laid it down…

Fuck. On to #4.

Open Contests & Giveaway

These contests and offer are still open! Take advantage while you can!

1. Global Happiness (A Puzzle & a Contest) —Will close Saturday! Win a download of your choice from my backlist!
2. Tell me a holiday story… — Will close Saturday! Win an Amazon gift card!
3. Something or someone is marching along… — Win an Amazon gift card!
4. An early holiday gift from me to you… (FREE Read)

Planning for 2020

December’s actually a little late for me to begin planning what I want to accomplish in 2020. Any other year, I would have begun in November by drawing a mind map to start organizing my thoughts about my biggest priorities.

In fact, until this year, EVERY year, I led a group of authors through building their mind maps and then in December, I conducted a “Write 50 Books a Year” workshop to help them—and me—plan our work for the New Year.

However, this year, I stepped back from my Rose’s Colored Glasses group, needing some time to heal after two years of terrible losses (my grandmother and father). I’ve been a bit aimless as my publishing schedule this year will attest. I lost my ambition and focus.

Now, I’m trying to get back in the groove, so I’m “bribing” myself with new treats to try to encourage some excitement in me. I’ve always planned my work goals on Excel spreadsheets, and I’ll do that again this year, with an emphasis on “realistic”. My integrated plan—life and work—has been an evolving thing. I was a Filofax girl forever and then for several years, a Bullet Journal girl. I don’t have the energy to do the BuJo thing again. So, I bought a very pretty Erin Condren notebook. It’s shiny, rose-gold and pink, has tons of stickers and pretty pages. I spent yesterday assembling it, but then I opened it to January and froze.

I was afraid to commit pen to paper and mar those pretty pages. Or maybe, I was afraid to commit to a schedule because I know I won’t take it seriously…? Perhaps, I need to spend time playing with my Excel worksheets some more. I’m not sure.

However, 2020 has to be better than 2019. I have to be better. So, to you, my friends, any suggestions to help me buckle down and get the work done? What planning system do you use? I’d love to hear your suggestions.