As 2018 draws to a close and a new year is on the horizon, I’ve started to reflect on my year and what I would like to accomplish in 2019. For the past several years I have not done New Years Resolutions, but after the dumpster fire that was 2018 I’ve decided to take the time to set mindful goals for my bookish and personal life. I want to live the best life possible and with that comes being mindful about my choices and practicing self-care.
This has been a rough year for a lot of people, and I was not exempt: from work stresses to career disappointments to friendships crumbling, it has been a difficult year for me. The best thing that happened this year was starting Reader Voracious and meeting all of you, hands down! I am looking forward to starting the next year of my life with positivity and carrying it through the months to come.
2018 in Books Review
I didn’t set any goals for 2018 except for my Goodreads Reading Challenge, which I originally set at 52 books. When I surpassed that goal in April, I upped it again. And again. My final goal wound up being read 125 books, and as of December 29th I have read 136 books!
I have one book remaining on my Currently Reading shelf – Firefly: Big Damn Hero – and I intend on finishing it before the end of the year. I’m driving back home from San Diego tomorrow (er, right now as this post goes live) and can’t wait to pick it back up!
My average rating for the year was 3.6, which is higher than I would have expected! 19 of the 136 books that I read were 5-star reads, and my list of favorite books will be published in early January.
Bookish & Blogging Goals for 2019
Read 52 books I know this is a low goal but I like setting attainable ones that don’t stress me out. One book a week is a fabulous goal and who knows, maybe I will actually get promoted this year and my situation will change.
Continue to read more diversely and boost those stories I want to continue to actively seek out stories by POC that feature non-white characters and use my voice to boost these books.
Continue my commitment to read review posts & leave thoughtful comments we all know that reviews tend to be the least viewed kind of posts on our blogs. I don’t know about you but I started my blog to post reviews and they are my favorite kinds of posts to write besides discussions. About six months ago I made a commitment to read reviews in my reader and leave a genuine comment if I have something to say, and this is something I want to carry over into 2019.
Blog hop daily/every other day to avoid being constantly behind I started to be about five days perpetually behind on my reader about two months ago, and I don’t like it. I prefer to hop daily in the mornings and want to get back into that habit.
Life Goals for 2019
Practice / keep up Spanish language fun fact: I used to be fluent in Spanish, but despite living in California I have let it get very rusty. When I backpacked in South America during the summer of 2014 I was able to get back into practicing and regain some of that back, and I want to continue practicing. I will use Duolingo at least 3x a week.
No more non-social eating out I have had a really fantastic time ordering takeaway or delivery, causing my waistline to increase and my bank account to hemorrhage. No more going to the food trucks for lunch at work unless I genuinely need to, and no more going out to dinner unless they are with friends.
Saving $2,000 for emergency savings fund my financial planner urged me to build at a liquid savings account for emergencies, and recommended at least $2,000 before I can look at increasing my retirement contributions. Now that I have sorted out my debt this year, I am ready to tackle this – which would have come in handy when I had to take a medical leave from work for 5 weeks at the end of 2016. If I save $77 per paycheck, I will save this in 12 months.
Self-care 2018 has been the year of learning that I am worth taking care of. For me, self-care is as much about getting outside in nature as face masks and bubble baths. I have become far too lazy and complacent in my depression and the habits are strong – I want to take the time to do the activities that I enjoy doing like hiking and camping.
Start walking and hiking I’ve let myself go physically and one of the big reasons that I don’t start is that it is too hard when I am out of shape. Well… I will continue to be out of shape until I get out there! So I am committing to walking during my lunch 3x a week and at least 2 outdoor hikes per month. Being outdoors brings me a lot of peace and joy, and I know the more that I move the easier it will be.
Hike the West Highland Way in September the main reason I am committed to walking and hiking is that I am finally going to hike the West Highland Way in Scotland! I’ve wanted to do this ever since I took the train along the Way in 2013. It’s a 96-mile thru-hike that goes from Glasgow to Fort William through the highlands where you can camp along the way, and I will probably aim to complete it in 10 or so days. I’ve chosen September because the heather will still be in bloom and the weather should still be good, plus off-season tourism. I turn 35 years young next month and I want to celebrate my birthday on this adventure in the outdoors and my favorite country.
Train for a fall half marathon I used to be a runner, and I want to be again. This is a tier 2 goal because my primary focus is hiking the Way, but as I get fitter I can incorporate some running back into my life. I’d like to maybe run another half marathon in late October or November if I can manage.
What about you?
How did you do on your 2018 goals if you set them? What are your plans for 2019? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!
Let’s go on another adventure together!
Such great goals! I also get behind on my reader…
We can do it!!!
I hope you achieve your goals next year!
Thank you, and I hope you do too!
2018 was a surprisingly good year for me and gave me lots of stuf!!
All good goals you have there! And yippee for having read that many books 👏🏼👏🏼 Ive also surpassed my goal, and honestly? Lower is better. I *could* aim for 20books as that’s where I stand from a 12boons goal; however.. i decided im gonna up it slightly to 15, so if anything happens, it wont have me panic and be sad about it.
Happy early new years kal!! Hopefully you’re succeed all of them and that 2019 would be a better year for you xx
Thank you so much, Kristina! And I agree with you, I much prefer having smashable goals that I can up bit by bit! I hope you have a wonderful 2019, and happy new year!
Fantastic goals, Kaleena! I need to get better at self-care too. It’s tough sometimes when you’re so busy, to want to stop for a minute to take care of yourself. The world is stressful sometimes!
I also like blog-hopping daily in the mornings or early afternoon–hate being behind on that as well but it’s happened this month because I’ve just been in a frenzy of reading and in between that very blah. O.o So I hope to get back to my daily routine!
Hope you have a wonderful 2019!
The thing that I find so funny is I spend at least a couple of hours each night lounging on my couch and zoning out to Youtube videos. I have the time to do a facemask and play video games, it is just a matter of doing it. Why am I like this?!
Blog hopping daily is like my favorite thing in the world! Happy new year, Lisa~!
When I do that type of thing (which is often) it’s usually, at least for me, depression related. It sucks because you can’t really just snap out of it either. So lately I’ve just been burying myself in books but then it adds more work to my schedule which makes me even more stressed and it’s a cycle, lol. I usually have to start with something small to work my way out of it. Like ‘i’m gonna do this one small thing’. I hope you’re able to find some relaxation time soon!
I relate so much to this and it is usually depression related for me as well. I think my medication isn’t regulating as well as it has in the past, which is great. I hope you are doing well and that one small thing snowballed! My one thing is replying to some of my backlogged comments
I’m definitely starting to feel more ‘on track’. Hope you do too! Let’s kick depression’s butt!
WE GOT THIS! 💪
Good luck on your goals! Happy New Year!
Thank you so much Katherine, and same to you!
Reading and leaving comments in reviews is such an amazing goal, it’s definitely something I’ll try to do in 2019 as well. I need to start blog hopping more regularly because I’m always behind too and I’m the kind of person that gets overwhelmed and I don’t want to end up reading the posts I missed.
Spanish is my first language, so if you want someone to practice with, just let me know!
Yes join me in reading review posts! We could start a club!!! I also get overwhelmed when I allow myself to get behind on blog hopping and there’s some weird part of me that won’t let me just… miss a post in my reader. So when I get 5 days behind it takes forever because I READ EVERYTHING.
Yess, vamos a practicar!
Sí, deberíamos empezar un club! 😊 It would be a great way to spread some love in the community since reviews have an important role in what we do and take time and effort.
Okay so I always dreamt about going to Scotland but I didn’t knew about the West Highland Way and, honestly? It seems like something I should really add to my bucket list.
Scotland is such a beautiful country and I hope you can visit someday! I spent 7 weeks there previously so let me know if you have questions or want recommendations! I plan on incorporating hiking into the blog and will definitely include WHW content if people are interested!
I would be definitely interested! I won’t be doing it this year because I want to do more like a roadtrip and renting a car is MUCH cheaper if you’re older than 25, so I’m waiting to get a little bit older to do that.
Ah yea, definitely. Renting under 25 is a bummer and getting around parts of Scotland is better with a car, agreed. If I go to Skye again I plan on renting a car I think.
Your Nonbookish goals are great. I also need to work on those things. Eating right was much easier when I was single.
Thank you so much, and good luck with your goals! I definitely can imagine how hard it would be to eat healthy if your family/partner doesn’t want to.
These are some awesome goals! I’m particularly interested in the Scottish hike, I would love to see photos!
YAY and there will definitely be photos (glad someone wants them)! I definitely want to incorporate the outdoor adventures part of my aesthetic into the blog next year, and I’ll definitely be reading along the Way too.
Awesome goals & good luck!
You did great with reading this year 🙂
Eating out is a big thing for me as well. I spent so much on deliveries this year, i don’t even want to think about it.
Spanish is such a cool language. I wouldn’t mind learning that too! When i was learning greek, i used greekpod101 and they have spanish as well. I found that app much more helpful than duolingo. But i’m a beginner, so i guess it’s better when you already know what you are doing 😀
Thank you so much, Norrie! This was my best reading year ever and I am so thankful.
I’m glad I am not the only one with the delivery issue! I uh, spend an embarrassing amount and everytime I look at my bank account I get mad at myself. No more! Oh thanks for the app recommendation, I will check it out! Duolingo is good because I had 8 years of formal classes on the language so for me it is mostly a refresher & reminder on vocab/speaking in a tense other than present. Hahah
oh wow go you! I failed half my 2018 goals, but I did make progress in building habits and achieving smaller milestones so it’s not a total loss! resetting a lot of the same ones for 2019, but hopefully I actually reach them this time 😅
There is no failure if you learn from those hurdles, which it sounds like you have! Good luck with your goals this year, and happy new year Isabelle!
Very cool post, Kaleena. Made me really think:)
Uh oh, thinking is dangerous! 😉
Bahahhaaha! Love that!
My 2018 was okayish too. Nothing that was super important but I also started my blog this year (though I am not too active rn) and it has been a wonderful experience that I definitely want to continue.
Hope your 2019 is good and all the best for your goals ❤️
I also started my blog in 2018 (March!), and it’s been so wonderful. Best of luck to you & your goals for 2019, Nia!
Great goals! I am joining you in a book read goal of 52 for 2019 – I didn’t meet it this year but 1 book per week sounds achievable (she says, having *not* actually achieved it) so I will spur you on with encouragement!!
Self care is such a good thing and I think it’s easily forgotten and so if you manage to top anything on your goal list I hope its that one 🙂
We can do it! And if not, there’s no shame in lowering your goal!
Thank you so much, I will be happy if I accomplish nothing but self-care and loving myself in 2019. Happy new year, Gerry!
Ah I can’t wait to see you smash these goals Kal, I have every confidence that you’ll do this and possibly more….I mean when we truly set our minds to something. It’s amazing what we can accomplish. And if for some reason you don’t reach all your goals, then it’s ok, cause it’s the trying that counts.
That’s something I’ve always had to remind myself, that it’s ok to not reach everything, as long as you tried your hardest and gave it your best shot. You did well. As for some of my goals, I mean I have 3 yearly goals *chuckles* but then I’m gonna be setting monthly goals too. So hopefully, I can live my best life in 2019….we’ll see. <3
Aww thank you so much for your vote of confidence, Clo! I think that by putting these out there and holding myself accountable, I can accomplish them! I just need to remember the long game rather than the instant gratification!
Best of luck to you for your yearly and monthly goals, I know you can accomplish the world. ILY and happy 2019!
Great wrap up post!
I’m so glad to come across another blogger who finds writing reviews their favourite kinds of posts. 😀 I always feel in the minority with that!
Hiking the Scottish Highland Way sounds amazing! I’m going to add that to my bucket list. 😀
YAY someone else that loves reviews!!!
I encourage you adding it to the bucket list. I can’t wait to share the experience with the blog later this year!
These are some excellent goals! Good luck!
Thank you so much, and happy new year!!!
I love your goals. Wishing you all the best in their pursuit. 👌
I can’t wait to hear about your Scottish Adventure. 😊 My bf’s parents did that hike a very long time ago and still mention it now and again. I’m sure it will be epic. And Scotland is so beautiful 😍, I really want to go back there soon.
I am still figuring out my goals. I’ll choose a word for 2019 and then will theme those goals around it. I am toying with a few words but they still don’t feel quite right.
Happy New Year 🥳 🎉🎉🎉
Thank you so much, Vera, and good luck with your goals once you settle on them. I like the idea of choosing a word and theming around that, what a neat idea. Scotland is absolutely magical and I honestly think about my time there a few times a week, minimum. Happy New Year, love!
My biggest plan is to finally move out (freedom!) and I think I’ll set my reading challenge to 150. I’m not so sure that I can reach it but we shall see.
Oooh good luck with your goals, Jamsu! Those are both good ones.
These are amazing goals and I have faith that you are going to kick 2019’s ass! ♥
awww thank you so much, love!
Of course I’ve been sick for like 4 or 5 days, so 2019 is trying to kick my ass. NOT TODAY!
Oh no! 🙁 Feel better soon!
The last half of 2017 and the first half of 2018 was terrible for me too. I want to be kinder to myself this year. I’m also working on my budget but mostly I have the goal to save up for a used car and put $300.00 towards student loans each month. Hopefully, I can go for full time by the end of this year to increase money going towards my loans and savings. I just started my journey to become debt free. It’ll be a long road… Good luck on getting your emergency funds. It’s actually recommended to have six months of expenses as emergency funds but that would take a while.
I tried using duolingo and I was pretty good for a while. I rather have a way to talk to someone and practice. I have people who speak Spanish in my own home but they lecture me when I try to talk to them in Spanish which is annoying. I hope you are able to get back to speaking fluently.
I want to see if I can do another 5k this year but it’s not a priority. I should be making exercise a priority but I’m more concerned with learning new skills and organizing right now. I do want to walk my dogs more so maybe that can be a good side resolution to have. I love that you are hiking in Scotland. I think I like the idea of hiking but I live in such a flat area that it’s hard to imagine how I would prepare. You must take lots of pictures and share them! Good luck with all your goals 😀
https://shesgotbooksonhermind.blogspot.com/
Thank you so much for your thoughtful comment, and I sincerely hope that 2019 is better for you; I love that you want to be kinder to yourself and that’s a great goal to have. I’ve been working on cleaning up my debt, definitely a slow process but I switched to Standard Payments on my federal student loans this month to pay them down faster, I think it will be better for me in the long run. Definitely would love to have that 6 month emergency fund set aside, but it will take some time – some is better than nothing, I suppose. And if I actually pay off and stop using my credit cards, those will be there for an emergency, too.
Organizing and new skills is great, and I think that if you don’t want to be exercising it’s fine to not make it a priority (I guess unless your doctor says otherwise). I also live in a flat area, so I have to drive a bit to get any sort of elevation! When I was doing “hill workouts” a few years ago, I was running over an overpass because that is as close to a hill as we have here.
Good luck with your goals and happy new year!
Congrats on achieving so many goals – sooo impressive! I hope you have a wonderful 2019 and achieve even more goals 🙂
Grace Louise || http://www.gracelouiseofficial.blogspot.co.uk/
Thank you so much, and I hope you have a wonderful 2019!
You totally smashed your Goodreads goal, I think 52 is a good baseline goal if you manage 136 in a year.
Hiking in Scotland would be beautiful, I also want to get into hiking in Northern Ireland this year. I’ve started running and I’m enjoying it so far.
Yea, 52 seems easy enough for me so that I don’t stress if I have reading slumps. Especially because I have some goals this year that will take some reading time away; I just don’t want too much pressure, you know?!
Yay for running! I would love to go to Northern Ireland, I have seen some stunning photos and hope to get there someday. If you go hiking please take pictures!
I completely get it! I set my goodreads goal to 1 just so I can see how many I read in a year but not stress over a number.
I will, the Mournes are lovely to got to, I can’t wait to see your photos of hiking!
These are awesome goals! Best of luck on them in this coming year!
Thank you so much, and I hope you have a wonderful 2019!
Great goals! I am totally with you on trying to keep up with my blog hopping and especially making sure to read reviews that others have done. I love to write them too and it’s a great way to find new books or cross some off my TBR.
Blog hopping is probably my favorite part of blogging, honestly! And yay for another blogger that enjoys reading reviews; they definitely do some damage to my TBR, though.
You’re gonna hit every single one of those goals & I’m gonna be over here cheering you on the entire way! <3
Aww Bex ILY so much, thanks for your everlasting love and support!
I love you!! I will always be here to support you, love! <3
THE BEST THING IS INDEED CREATING READER VORACIOUS. Much happiness indeed. Have no regrets. <3 I hope you'll get promoted at work and get the chance to read more without any stress. Unlike you, I'm being adventurous and aiming for 100 books, although some of it will be finishing Mangas… which are quick, LOL.
Good luck with emergency savings fund and hooray for no debt! And I agree… having one would be handy for sure and I should do that as well because wow, that wrist isn't going to get any better. What if I injure myself more? Apparently another worker at another store is in the same boat and injured herself really bad when she attempted something I said no too. Good thing I didn't go for promotion at least.
AWWW THANK YOU! I do agree though that creating my blog was a definite high point of 2018 for me, because it brought YOU in my life and I am so thankful! You can totally read 100 books, and so what if mangas are fast? It’s still reading.
Oh gosh, yes please be careful with your wrist! And if you hurt yourself at work… is worker’s comp a thing in your state? I know when I hurt my wrist at work all my medical care and physical therapy was 100% paid, but that could be a California thing.
Wow you gave some really great goals! Hope you achieve all of them 💖
Also I started learning Spanish on Duolingo this year and it has been so much fun! 😊
Thank you so much, Charvi, and I hope you achieve your goals this year as well!
Duolingo is a fun app, I really enjoy it! I just need to make it a habit.
Wishing you success in achieving your goals.
Thank you so much!
What wonderful goals! I definitely need to work on not ordering take out so much either (my wallet has been weeping lol), and focusing on self care is SUCH a great resolution! Also, congrats on reading so many books! That’s AMAZING! I hope your 2019 is absolutely wonderful! ❤️
It is honestly how warped my spending is, I have no qualms ordering pizza for $20 but won’t buy a $5 delicious one from the grocery store?! I definitely am hoping to be a bit smarter and healthier with my choices, and just focusing on making myself as happy as possible. Good luck with your goals this year, Kelly!
Good luck on everything! I would love to do a hike like that. I’m hoping to do one in the next couple years.
Thank you so much, and I hope you can do a fun thruhike someday! Do you have any idea of where?
My dream hike is the Camino de Santiago. A friend went and it sounded amazing!
Oooh I just looked up pictures and WOW. Gorgeous. YES!
Much proud I am of you Kal! You are indeed #goals. Here’s to an epic 2019 for you and your goals!
awww thank you so much, Sam! We are going to kick 2019’s ass!
These challenges are so ambitious and I am sure you will cross them off fast enough. Good luck. Blog hopping daily sounds so organized!
Thank you so much! Blog hopping daily is like a pipe dream at this point because I am so behind and it stinks. A lot. WAH. I miss my daily routine!
I’m glad you were able to reach your goals last year. 2018 was a rough year for me and all of my goals fell by the wayside. So I’m going to try again this year. I would love to begin learning a new language like Spanish. I want to complete a thorough study of the Bible. I actually have a reference bible that will help me with this. Lastly, I need to lose 20 pounds. The key is to make a plan and stick to it. “Commit to Jehovah whatever you do,And your plans will succeed.” (Proverbs 16:3)
Good luck with your goals this year and I hope 2019 is kinder to you!
Good luck with your goals! They make mine look like a piece of cake 🙂 Have a lovely year!
Fellow bookworms, here’s my blog: https://thevoraciousbibliophile.wordpress.com
Thank you so much, and good luck with your goals as well!
Wish you all the best for all the goals this year!
Thank you!
I love the health-focus and self-care in your goals! Two things that pretty much go hand in hand most of the time and are so important. Even though I want to focus on exercising myself, I’m going to let it go for another year. Self-care will be top priority since I have no clue what I’ll be like once the little one’s born. For some reason, I have this weird feeling I’ll struggle mentally after his birth? I don’t know why.
In any case – you set yourself some amazing goals and I do hope you get to tick off all – if not most – of them during the year! 🙂 Go you!
Thank you so much, and you are so right – self care and health really make a world of difference! Honestly just being mindful about my choices and not feeling guilty for them, doing a fun “spa day” in my bath with a sheet mask is so nice. I think letting the fitness go (without guilt!) for the year is a good choice, if you move around, great. With a little one you will have enough to focus on without the added stress about losing weight.
Exactly! It’s horrible how we sometimes feel guilty about taking some time for ourselves.. And it’s a good thing so many of us realize we shouldn’t feel guilty at all. Spa days are fun! I honestly can’t wait to unpack my scented candles and light my entire bathroom with them to take a bath and read, haha.
Exactly! The boyfriend does want to mind his weight a bit during the year, but I told him we’ll just see how life goes. We can always see about having a biweekly walk in some park with the little one if things work out that way. 🙂
I think that approach may be more mentally healthy and possibly more helpful than outright focusing on losing weight or getting fit, I think that you have the right attitude!