I Thought My First Quarter of the Writing Year Burned to Ash

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The first quarter of twenty twenty-two disappeared with me flaying myself for not getting anything done. Similar to other Americans, I suffer from "must be busy and productive" syndrome. Busy, busy, busy. You’ve got to cram in as much as you can.  

There wasn’t much happening around here writing wise. No, let's be more honest about that. Zero fiction writing happened in the first quarter. NONE. It hurts to even type that. 

When I sat down to evaluate my yearly goals and adjust the second quarter goals, I discovered even when I’m not on point, I still get some things done. This hit me in the face like Will Smith slapped Chris Rock. 

Photo by Eunice Lui: https://www.pexels.com/photo/blurry-photo-of-a-neon-signage-4151043/

Let's look at the numbers.

The three projects I wanted to complete in The First Quarter: 

1.     Get more followers on Instagram.

2.     Finish Killing me. Has twenty thousand to go.

3.     Finish Rescue me. Has nineteen thousand to go.  

I got more Instagram followers. Not as many as I wished for, but forward we go. All quarter long, I was consistent in my messaging and in my posting. I use Plann to schedule and edit photos. While I’m getting better at it, I’m not aggressive. Maybe that’s the introvert in me.  

Nothing got done of Goal two or Goal Three. NOTHING.  

What did I get done? Here are few things I marked off from my annual goal list? 

  • I blogged every Wednesday. I think there was a time I missed. Maybe two. But I’m happy with where I’m at with this goal for quarter two.

  • I took another Canva class and completed a Pacing Class I’d signed up for last year. Down to four more classes I need to take to make my goal of six classes this year. For the next six months, I’m taking a self branding class. It includes social media, graphics, substack, newsletters, articles and such. It’s packed. Looking forward to it.

  • I cleaned my Dropbox. Couldn’t believe I would ever get through that. I spent fifteen minutes a day moving files around. Glad to have this off the list. Now I need a better system for book folders.

  • I’ve been active in the four writing groups I’m a member of. Am I really using the groups or just paying them money? If I’m not engaged, then I need to cut my losses.

Photo by energepic.com: https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-pointing-on-the-screen-of-a-laptop-313691/

Listen, I’m happy I got stuff done even though I didn’t know I was doing it, but if I didn’t write goals down, I wouldn’t have anything to compare my first quarter to. Having the list of projects every quarter helps me. And while I admit to burying my head in the sand occasionally, knowing really is better than not knowing.  

Having things written means I remember most things I want to get done. Sometimes I ignore them. The voices in my mind have been quiet while I read other books, work on health goals, and try to be a better human. We can’t get everything done at once. This quarter I worked on other things.  

There are some problems I'm not sure how to fix, though. Am I stuck in my plot black moments and that’s why I’m not able to finish two books in a row? How can I keep the pace of last year’s writing when I’m committed to other things this year? Do I play with the amount of words I write at a time?  

I’ve not been brave enough to write next quarters goals. Right now, I plan to get through this week and percolate over the weekend on the next three months.  

Where are you at with your writing? Are you getting words on the page?