I think we can all agree that 2020 was not a good year for a lot of reasons. When it comes to publishing, books have been pushed back indefinitely and authors are doing all online tours and marketing events. And for readers, some of us have been plowing through way more books than usual—while others, like me, have found that their reading has slowed to a crawl.
My goal for 2020 was to read 50 books. This post is going up on New Year’s Day, but at the time when I’m writing this (December 22nd), I have read 32 books, and I seriously doubt I’ll be able to read 18 more in the next week or so. I don’t think it would be worth it to try, since even if I did manage to read that many, I definitely wouldn’t remember or enjoy them.
As for blogging, well… it’s safe to say that I kind of fell off the wagon there, too. I haven’t posted very much at all since halfway through the year.
I’ve missed it, though, which is why I’m here now to give you a rundown on how I’m planning to reset my reading and blogging goals to get back on track in 2021.
My 2021 Reading Challenge Goal: 50 Books
I know what you’re thinking. Didn’t I just say I failed to read 50 books this year? And I’m making that my goal again?
Yes, I am because I don’t learn, apparently.
Okay, but really it’s because I really do think that I can hit this goal. In fact, I know I can because I’ve nearly achieved that goal in previous years. I want to kick myself into gear and read more, and 50 books seem like a pretty reasonable place to start. It’s approximately one book per week, with a little wiggle room for books that take me a little longer.
Daily Reading
To help me get there, I want to work hard this year to get into a habit of reading every day. Ideally, I’d like to read at least one chapter from a book every day, but I’ll be fine even if I’m only reading one page, just as long as I’m reading something.
I don’t have a concrete goal on when I want to read every day, but I’ve always kind of liked the idea of starting my day with a book. And considering that currently, I tend to wake up and waste a couple of hours scrolling on my phone or watching YouTube videos, I think wasting it with reading would probably be a slightly more productive use of my time.
My Blogging Goal: 52 Posts
I’m trying to get back to weekly posting in 2021, so my goal is 52 because that’s how many weeks there are in a year.
I’m not going to set a specific goal for the day those posts will go up because I know that I probably won’t stick to that if I do. But 52 posts over the course of 52 weeks seems like a pretty reasonable goal to me. And of course, I’ll give myself a little leeway.
If I miss one week, then I’ll just try to get up 2 the next week. I’m not going to beat myself up too much if I don’t manage to put up a new post every week.
Those are all of the goals I have to talk about this time around. I’m trying to keep it simple this year, so I can ease back into regular posting. I do have a few smaller goals for each of these categories that I’d like to reach if I can, but I’m not going to be too upset if I don’t.
For me, the focus of the upcoming year is going to be rekindling my love for reading and blogging. Because they’re both things that I really do love to do and sometimes I need to remind myself of that.
Anyway, what are some of your goals for the upcoming year? They don’t have to be related to reading. Let me know down in the comments!
-Ariel