Goals and Hopes for 2021

After last year, it almost feels a bit daft to set out goals and hopes for 2021!

We’ve all seen how enormously plans can be derailed by circumstances beyond our control. But, despite the mess 2020 made of some of my goals, I’m still glad I set them. And looking back, I found I’d done better with some than I thought I had.

With that in mind, I didn’t want to completely abandon my practice of goal-setting for the coming year. I’ve come up with some goals around writing, and some for my life more generally.

Writing-related goals and hopes

I’m planning to do another thorough round of edits on the contemporary YA manuscript I finished last year. Once I’ve made the final cuts and tweaks, I’m going to query it. So that’s one goal for 2021!

I’m already working on a new project, but I’d also love to have a go at some more essay-style writing, or short stories. I find it really hard to come up with ideas that suit short stories. But that’s something I’m hoping to work on this year!

I’m also stepping up my commitment to my blog, trying out a new schedule in January to see how sustainable it is. Hence this cheeky Thursday post you’re getting! I love sharing insights from my work as both a freelance writer and editor, and I want to do more of it this year.

As part of that, I’m also going to try to be more consistently active on social media. I actually love Twitter, so in many ways this is no great hardship! But I do have a tendency to drift away from it (and Instagram) for days at a time.

Personal targets

I have a couple of goals for myself which are somewhat writing-related. Writing-adjacent, you might say. One is my reading goal: I’m aiming to read 80 books this year.

That should be pretty doable, since I read 1-2 books a week most weeks last year. One for my podcast, one for a review on here. I also want to keep focusing on reading from and supporting a wide range of authors, so for each book I buy from a white author I’m going to try to buy one from a writer of colour.

Onto the less bookish goals and dreams… I’ve been vegetarian for a little over a year now, and I’ve been edging towards a more plant-based diet.

It’s tough, because I hate mushrooms and I’m allergic to nuts, which rules out a lot of great vegan food! But I’m aiming for one vegan day per week in January, and I’ll try stepping that up gradually throughout the year.

I also want to learn and grow more this year. There are so many great online courses and resources for learning new skills. More so than ever, now that everything has had to go virtual! I’m going to try and take better advantage of that than I did last year, and try to develop some new skills in 2021.

It would be great to see more of my family and friends this year. While that might not be possible in-person for a while still, I want to look for creative ways to keep in touch with the people I care about from a distance.

What goals and hopes are you taking into this year?

You might not have set specific targets, which is totally fair! If you’re not in a goal-setting mood, what are you hoping for from 2021? I’d love to read your answers in the comments.