That sounds super sensible and you are so right about needing recovery time. I am so thrilled for you that the new job is happening and that you can now finally see past all the tension of the past couple of years. I am rooting for you and here if you ever need anyone to listen or cheer.

Hooray! This sounds like a great plan!

How did it go?


Writing Goals

Write 17,000 words: 19,732/17,000

Write 10 luddite pages: 2/10

Write 10 little mini-fics for the Rom Com Remix from RATs prompts: 10/10 

Non-Writing Goals

Finish reading 3 books from my Goodreads own-unread shelf: 3/3

Finish watching 2 DVDs still in plastic: 0/2

Do some work on my models. Literally any work on my models

Finish knitting the front of the cable jumper

Consistency Challenge: 9/7

5K Weekend: 5,082/5,000

New Moon Madness: 1,061/900

Full Moon Madness: 2,207/1,000

Keeping Warm in February: 10,575/10,000

---------

So it wasn't the most productive of months, but I'm still on track to meet my yearly goal, and as I said in my previous post, the first months of the year come with no real expectations. And I managed to do some work on my models, which I was despairing of ever getting back to.

One Flew Over The Cookie's Nest (peanut and raisin cookies) joins the literary recipe crew, and I also made a pineapple crumble.

Writing Goals

Write 17,000 words: 00,000/17,000

Write 5 luddite pages: 0/5

Non-Writing Goals

Finish reading 3 books on my own-unread shelf: 0/3

Watch 2 DVDs still in plastic: 0/2

Finish knitting the front of the pink cable jumper

Kings of War

Purchase superglue
Clean up the polar bear
Build the polar bear
Finishing touches on the Ironguards: 0/8
Anything else is a bonus

All right! Let's see how we go!

Polar Bear?!?!? I wanna see! I know March is going to be a weird month for you so take easy. You are doing fantastic. Good luck with everything *cheers*

Halfway through the month (sshhh, it's still near enough!). How are we doing?

Writing Goals

Write 17,000 words: 16,192/17,000

Write 5 luddite pages: 2/5

Non-Writing Goals

Finish reading 3 books on my own-unread shelf: 2/3

Watch 2 DVDs still in plastic: 1/2

Finish knitting the front of the pink cable jumper

(I also picked up and knitted the neckband and got it halfway sewn up, and I knitted the back of another top. It's been a good month for knitting, apparently.)

Kings of War

Purchase superglue
Clean up the polar bear
Build the polar bear
Finishing touches on the Ironguards: 4/8
Anything else is a bonus

+++

Decent, decent. As usual, I had a good start to the month, then real life threw some more paperwork at me. Sigh. One day I will be free from paperwork. One day.

In baking related news, some more recipes have joined the literary recipe crew! Much Ado About Muffins (triple chocolate muffins), Mansfield Tart (raspberry and vanilla custard tart), Nineteen Eighty Petits-Fours (dark chocolate truffles) and Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Seed Cake (lemon and poppy seed cake, albeit I used chia seeds instead). The results have been... mixed. The muffins ended up rather tough (tuffins?) and I had a few disasters with the seed cake including leaving the baking parchment on the bottom, using very cheap lemon curd, and overbeating the cream cheese icing so that it turned into liquid... Everything tasted good, though!

Wow halfway through and almost at your writing goal already!! Whoo *cheers*. OMG those cake names sound INCREDIBLE! Like I love the word play - so cool!! Sorry about the paperwork but nearly over. Good luck for the rest of the month, I am thinking about you *hugs*

I love the names (and the Ninety Eight Petit-Fours sound amazing!)

Writing Goals

Write 17,000 words: 17,272/17,000

Write 5 luddite pages: 3/5

Non-Writing Goals

Finish reading 3 books on my own-unread shelf: 3/3

Watch 2 DVDs still in plastic: 1/2

Finish knitting the front of the pink cable jumper

(I also picked up and knitted the neckband and got it halfway sewn up, and I knitted the back of another top. It's been a good month for knitting, apparently.)

(I also knitted the front of the top and began the pick up.)

Kings of War

Purchase superglue
Clean up the polar bear
Build the polar bear
Finishing touches on the Ironguards: 8/8
Anything else is a bonus

+++

Well, everything went a bit off in the last couple of weeks of the month, but I think I can be forgiven that, since my life once more descended into paperwork and my brain turned into mad panic mode because of the new job starting in oh god four days.

In baking-related news, I had a baking extravaganza to celebrate my last day at my old job. I made brownies, vegan flapjacks, mini cheese scones, vegan apple pie, and a lemon layer cake (this one thankfully with no paper in the middle of it).

There are no goals for April. I begin my new job in a few days’ time and I don’t know how it will affect my schedule, routine, writing time and ability, general free time and energy to do things…

So April is a month with no goals and no expectations. Anything at all is a bonus.

Good luck with your transition!

Good luck with the new job. My thoughts are with you *hugs* *cheers* *pom-poms*

I can now say it with confidence: April was a weird-ass month. 

Not just because I started my new job and it's so weird going to a new place after spending 11 years and change at my old one. 

But because I actually... did things? I achieved things in April?

I had no goals and no expectations for the month at all, and yet I still achieved things, which to me feels phenomenally good because it means that I still have intrinsic motivation to do things as opposed to the extrinsic motivation of self-imposed goals, or working towards challenges or badges. 

So, what did I get done?

- I actually wrote, which is a miracle. I got down 6,019 words on random little bits and pieces here and there, most of it came from typing up luddite.

- I actually wrote luddite properly for the first time this year! I did 12 pages!

- I read 9 books in April. This is what happens when you spend a lot of time on buses.

- I finally finished sewing up my pink cable sweater. 

- I started a new knitting project that is progressing very slowly, but I'm enjoying the challenge of it nonetheless. 

- I did some work on my models - more work than I've done in one sitting for a long time.

And there was no pressure to do any of that, which is amazing. 

In baking related news! Wuthering Bites (Yorkshire parkin), Shortbread Revisited (traditional shortbread) and The Hobbiscuit (pistachio biscuits) join the literary recipe crew, alongside Speckled Sorcery (blueberry muffins) from my new Bewitched Baking recipe book. 

And onwards we go into May...

So, I'm now beginning phase two of my year: Reconstruct

This is the phase of the year in which I start to get back to a normal structure, finding my work-life balance and getting back into the swing of writing. I've only been in the new job for three weeks so I'm still getting used to that new work-life balance (I work different hours to my old job), but I think I'm getting used to it. 

I'm going to steer clear of hard and fast goals this month and see how I get on following on my successful April, but there are things that I would like to achieve:

I want to write some words.

I want to write some luddite pages.

I want to make progress on my models. I do actually sort of have a deadline for these; I am aiming to have 1000 points of models ready for the end of July, but it's not the end of the world if that doesn't happen.

I want to make progress on my new knitting project. 

I want to read at least one book. (The book I want to read is an 800 page epic so I'll be happy with just that one.)

All right people, let's see how it goes!

Well done in April!!! That was a huge upheaval and you survived and by doing things it sounds like you thrived! I like your loose goals for May, sort of an easy transition back to your usual self. It's all very sensible and I believe in you! *waves pom-poms*