my 2020 goals
Hi friends—
I hope you all had the most wonderful holidays. At the end of every December, I set time aside to think about my goals for the coming year. I know they're not everyone's thing, but I will take advantage of any opportunity to organize my life within an inch of its... life. 🤔Without further ado, here are my goals for 2020:
#1: Finish book 2.
I'm hard at work on my second novel! A quick update: I received editorial feedback on the first draft and am now in the brainstorming phase before beginning revisions. A LOT needs to change in the book. I'll end up rewriting more than half of it, which is daunting but I've done it before. With Rose Gold I threw away the entire first draft except the two main characters, came up with a new premise, and wrote another 90k words. The biggest challenge for me is getting through the messy parts to the point where I have a plan. This might be why I most struggle with character development, which is what I'm focusing on now: making my three narrators come alive on the page. There's no easy formula for getting that done, so the process can feel arduous some (most) of the time. But just this week, a lot of things have clicked into place, and I like the story even more now than I did in its original form. The trick will be finishing this second book while promoting the first one!
#2: Germinate the idea for book 3.
I know, I know, I'm insane. But ideas can take a longgggg time to sprout! And the thought of waiting to come up with an idea until I'm ready to start writing sends me into a panic. I've had a vague third book idea for a few months but I've intentionally left it on the back burner so as not to overwhelm myself. I also tend to get the most excited about the latest and greatest story idea, so don't want my passion for book 2 to flame out by overindulging book 3. At this stage, it just needs a little poking and prodding here and there to see if it has legs to become THE idea instead of just *an* idea. Stay tuned. 😈
#3: Eliminate meat from my lunches.
I've been eating ham and cheese sandwiches for lunch for as long as I can remember—not because I have a particular fondness for them but because they're easy, brainless. Which is not a great reason to keep eating them, since there are limitless options. I figure this is one small way to help the planet.
My preferred method of cooking dinner for an average week at home is to make large portions that leave a lot of leftovers, which is the strategy I'll use for lunch now. I've been making this Roasted Vegetable Baked Ziti for well over a decade, and I never get sick of it. There's a number of fantastic vegetarian recipes in Chrissy Teigen's Cravings cookbook, including: Vegetable Tortilla Stew (p. 55)—I make this once a week, it's the BEST CHILI—Roasted Cauliflower, Feta, and Orzo Salad (p. 63), and Sriracha Caesar Salad (p. 64). I was also recently gifted Nadiya Hussain's Time to Eat cookbook, and I'm really excited to make her jacket potato (baked potatoes for American friends) recipes, particularly the Cottage Cheese and Onion Potato Skins (p. 90), as well as the Pesto/Feta/Cheddar Skins (p. 92). To be clear, my veggie lunch picks are optimizing for flavor, not health-consciousness. 😋
#4: Get 8 hours of sleep a night.
I've struggled with sleep on and off (mostly on) since I was a teenager. Once I get in bed, my mind starts whirring, and I find it hard to turn it off. Most days of the week it takes me 1-2 hours to fall asleep, and that's been the norm for years. The excitement of the publishing process this past year has not helped! In an effort to wrest control of this sleep inefficiency, I read Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker a couple months ago, which I highly, HIGHLY recommend even if you don't have sleep issues. I learned the single most important thing you can do to achieve better sleep is set a consistent bedtime and wake up time.
To that end, I've gotten really strict with myself in setting a routine. By 10:15 I'm getting ready for bed. I've started taking quick ten-minute baths as part of that routine; they increase the temperature of your extremities, causing your core temperature to cool, which is supposed to make you sleepy. I'm not sure they're aiding my sleep, but they are relaxing and it's been fun buying fancy Lush bath bombs. Self-care, right?
I make sure I'm in bed by 11 and set my alarm for 7:30, with the hope I'll fall asleep within thirty minutes and get my desired eight hours. I've set up the Bedtime mode on my iPhone (you can find it in the Clock app), which reminds you to go to bed, sets an alarm for waking up, and also hides your notifications during your bedtime hours. Finally, I've started using the Calm app more frequently. I like the sleep-focused meditations narrated by Tamara Levitt and have recently started her "7 Days of Managing Stress" series.
It's too soon to say whether all of this is working, as I've only been sticking to the new schedule for a few weeks, but I'm hopeful. It does feel like I'm falling asleep much faster these days. Maybe? Could be wishful thinking. I feel off to a good start, at least!
Perhaps an appropriate fifth goal would be: don't lose your mind when your book comes out THIS YEAR. 🥳Speaking of, I'll be in the US next week and in March/April, first for pre-publication events and then for a book tour. You can see the schedules below—I would love to see you there!
Your turn: what 2020 goals are on your list? If you're feeling uninspired, reading more books is always a good one. 😉
Here are US retailers where you can pre-order my book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books A Million | Apple Books
IndieBound | Kobo | Google Play
And UK retailers: Amazon | Waterstones | iTunes | Kobo
2 months until publication!