For those tuning into this round my master goals list is here. I personally format my check-ins as an after action review, then the setting of intentions/minigoals for the next check-in.
 
I finished out a couple big chunks right in time for the midway point on this 80 journey~ It wasn't intended for that time slot, it was due to me going on vacation this upcoming week and wanting to make sure everything was done so that I could freely relax, but it's a nice quiescence. Onto the goals!
 
AFTER ACTION REVIEW
Big Goals:
1) Responded to a couple emails from the professors, but otherwise nothing done because I'm all caught up!
 
2) Completed the next major step here! All emails for the upcoming anthology have been sent and all critiques are up to date! This was the big goal, because I know getting it done early would make life easier for everyone in the long run.
 
3) Big successes here too! Finished watching the movie. I think I can watch it a couple more times, and it's easy to watch in sections, during lunch or what have you. The idea is that I'll be able to think back to the dialogue of the movie whenever I need a reference on how to pronounce something. I also watched Sweetness and Lightening. It was adorable as always and I did understand more of it than before, but not as much as I would like to.
 
4) Doing lesson 3 took longer to get around to than I would have liked. Starting to write a piece with comedy in mind is out of my comfort zone. But earlier today I sat my butt down and did it, and I think it turned out pretty well! That was a pleasant surprise. My previous posts have been saved and responded to as needed. Overall solid.
 
Small Goals:
1) The morning schedule went very well for the end of the week. I got a new pillow which I think is helping me sleep, although it's also really stirring up some long and weird dreams.
 
2) I did get more sleep! In fact I put myself to bed early one night almost by accident. I haven't been reading before bed and I would like to get back to that. I suspect it's because the bedside book right now is a bit tough to read. I might need to drop it, we'll see. I'd like to give it another chapter or two.
 
3) Listened to my audio meditations twice. I feel ready to make a new one, but don't have the time right now. Perhaps I'll write down a draft, we'll see.
 
4) Overachieved! I canceled three auto subscriptions to save $270! I also remembered an old investment account I had put money into years ago. I looked over the return rate, and it's less than the interest rate on my student loans. Thus I'm liquidating it, although it can't be done quickly due to the nature of things. I got $30 out of it this month and I should get similar chunks from it over the next couple months. It's feels like finding money in your pocket~
 
Lastly I took advantage of a free listings sale that eBay had up to post an extra 20 items or so. I'm saving my normal 50 free listings for after my vacation. It's nice to find things around the house that we've been meaning to get rid of and finding out it's worth something on eBay. Plus the item gets a second life helping someone else. That's a win/win/win in my book.
 
5) Nothing, as planned.
 
6) Finished one of my audio books and made major progress in the other. Haven't sat down to read much lately though.
 
7) Did read this a couple times during lunch. We're at an interesting section about figuring out values that I definitely want to dive deep into!
 
INTENTIONS AND MINIGOALS
Relax, enjoy the vacation, enjoy life, connect with family and friends. The only rule is don't go over budget.
 
See you all in a couple checkins!
Shannon

For those tuning into this round my master goals list is here. I personally format my check-ins as an after action review, then the setting of intentions/minigoals for the next check-in.
 
As expected it was a very busy start of the week. Luckily it's looking like the rest of the week will involve time for relaxing and getting stuff done.
 

AFTER ACTION REVIEW
Big Goals:
1) Finished two journal entries, sent email, and finished/edited/handed in another piece of flash fiction. It was tough, honestly I did almost all of that two hours ago. But it is done before checkin!
 
2) I ended up sending 15 emails today, instead of spreading them out like I intended.
 
3) Watched the movie at two different times, not the full three, and read two lessons in the book. Overall I'll count this as a solid achievement.  
 
4) The comedy in mysteries class is twice as active as either of my other classes were. I love the banter but it's hard for me to keep up with it all. I'm mostly focusing on the class and challenges themselves, and I'll dive deep into reading everyone's responses in two weeks.
 
 
Small Goals:
1) The morning schedule went really badly. I've been really tired due to staying out late, so I've been hitting the snooze multiple times every day. I also haven't been hungry in the morning so I've been skipping breakfast which as supposed to be my focus.
 
2) I knew that the evening schedule wasn't going to get done, and I predicted correctly. Life happens.
 
3) Listened to my meditations twice.
 
4) I kept up with eBay and did not spend anything. A solid win.
 
5) No news, and that's fine.
 
6) Finished one audiobook, and actually didn't pick up the other at all. Seven might be the max number of books my brain can track at the same time.
 
7) Read another chunk of 7 habits. Haven't implemented too much yet, but I am finding the concepts interesting and have been mulling them over.
 
 
INTENTIONS AND MINIGOALS
I'm getting ready for vacation, so I'm trying to finish out project portions without starting new ones.

Big Goals:
1) I don't think there's anything else I need to do here. Keep up with emails/uploads/readings.   
 
2) Everything. Finish sending emails. Do any needed critiques. This will be a lot of work to get done before leaving.
 
3) Big goals here too. Finish watching movie. Read one lesson in the book. Watch Sweetness and Lightening without subtitles. (It's an adorable anime about a child and her dad learning to cook. The child uses simple Japanese and speaks slower, so it's much easier for me to understand and learn with.)  
 
4) Maintenance mostly. Respond to my previous posts. Save posts and responses. Read and do challenge for lesson 3.
 
Small Goals:
1) Keep trying! When the morning schedule works it's awesome!
 
2) Get yourself some sleep! Maybe I should put this as a post-it somewhere.
 
3) Listen to audio meditations twice.
 
4) Keep up with eBay, set up eBay for vacation, cancel two more auto subscriptions to save $200, and don't spend money.
 
5) Respond as needed.
 
6) Nothing planned. I'm already ahead of schedule and need to focus to get the other stuff done. (That being said I'm sure some progress will get made here anyways.)
 
7) Nothing planned.
 
Thanks for reading.
Shannon
 

For those tuning into this round my master goals list is here. I personally format my check-ins as an after action review, then the setting of intentions/minigoals for the next check-in.
 
Overall a lovely weekend. I took Saturday off as a completely unscheduled day at home. It was good to relax and game and read. I came back feeling refreshed and ready to get more done. I've been thinking about planning more of these to help keep motivations high, probably one a month. Even with that happening I ended up getting a lot done today, so this is a pretty long check-in.
 

AFTER ACTION REVIEW
Big Goals:
1) Finished as much as I could for this. The websites were down for all of today due to flooding. Luckily I had saved the paper requirements for World Civ and the notes with links to the videos. I write an outline for the next piece of flash fiction, I plan to write it up tonight when I'm at writers group.
 
2) Success with a bonus! Sent 5 emails every day and finished 6 critiques over the weekend! My reward to myself was allowing myself to finish the season of Taskmaster I started on my unscheduled Saturday. It makes me feel good about getting the critiques done and gets rid of the distraction of an unfinished season. (Plus, of course, I enjoyed it and laughed a ton!)
 
3) Asked a friend for help in finding a penpal. Watched 15 minutes of the movie. I think it's going to be a much better fit than the previous one, it's about renting cats and is overall adorable and easy for me to follow even though I'm still very young in Japanese. Watched the new episode of Dogen. Read one pretty long lesson in the Japanese book. Overall reasonable, though I'd like to spend more dedicated time on it when I can.
 
4) Finished the classes and backed up all of the lessons plus my work. I did end up signing up for another class for this month about Comedy in Mysteries. I'm not sure if I'll do all of the lessons as they come up, or if I'll simply read the lessons and save them for later. I'll decide after seeing another lesson or two and judge how my schedule is looking.
 
 
Small Goals:
1) The morning schedule went well for the rest of the week. I ended up getting up at 6AM on Thursday and cleaning up the kitchen a bit. On Friday I got up at 6AM and did some schoolwork until I went to my appointment and then to work proper. Those were really productive hours, though I still don't love getting up at 6AM, for some reason my body really prefers 7AM (if I'm on a day schedule at all) and maybe one day I'll have a schedule that will accommodate that.
 
2) The before sleep schedule hasn't been ideal, with me working fairly late to get everything done that I wanted to get done. It hasn't been affecting my sleeping as much as it sometimes does, so that's good.
 
3) Recorded the new four minute mini meditation. These are perfect for walking from my desk to the just about anywhere else at work, so I think I'll keep listening to them then and using my car time for chunks of audiobooks.
 
4) This goal is so large/long that I almost want to split it into two or three, but I'm taking all of these actions for one overarching reason, to put another $1,500 towards my student loans, so I'll keep them as one.
 
Ebay is going surprisingly well. I expected that anything that didn't sell in the first week would stay around for a long time. Instead I'm selling two-three items every week so far. The total profit is $30, but ebay and paypal both take a 3$ cut, leaving me with 24$. Still it's a fine start and almost covered the new RWA class from Big Goal 4. And, as I've stated before, that's a handful of things out of my house.
 
Etsy is slow to start. I made my account up to the point of posting my first item, which I wasn't prepared for. (I didn't have the weight ready or pictures taken etc.) Those things are certainly obtainable, but I don't want to distract from my other goals right now. I'll pick this up in two or three weeks. I do have a better understanding of how their system works and feel more prepared for taking the plunge when I have the time to dedicate.
 
Financial Review. Well. Let's start with the good news. With everything that I've canceled and the money earned I ended up saving myself 494.99$ which is almost exactly 1/3rd of my goal for this 80 days and right on time. The less good news is that with my current estimates the books still don't add up to my ultimate goal of paying off my student loans by October. Thus I'm going to have to make some hard decisions dealing with more cancelations.
 
5) No news, and that's fine.
 
6) Read a chapter of the physical book, started and listened to two fifths of an audiobook, started and listened to a tenth of another audiobook, but did not end up getting to my eBook. Perhaps I will tonight at writers group, depending on how the flash fiction goes.
 
7) I did read the next two sections of 7 Habits. The views are excellent and make a lot of sense. I can see why this is so highly recommended.
 
 
INTENTIONS AND MINIGOALS
It's going to be a busy couple of days so the goals are light.

Big Goals:
1) Write two journal entries for World Civ. Send email to prof. Edit and hand in flash fiction for Creative Writing.
 
2) This is tough because I want to do a lot here and I know I don't have the time to do a lot right now. I'll continue to send 5 emails a day and critique one more story.
 
3) Watch 15 minutes of the movie a day. Read one lesson in the book.
 
4) For now read and keep up with new Comedy class.
 
Small Goals:
1) Keep at it. The focus this time is making good breakfasts, particularly since there's lots of fresh food in the house.
 
2) Honestly my evening schedule is booked from now until Wednesday so I doubt I'll be getting to bed on time let alone have enough time to do a proper cooldown. Now that I've acknowledged it hopefully I'll work with it more and be less stressed about not achieving it.
 
3) Listen to audio meditations three times.
 
4) Simply keep up with eBay and don't spend money.
 
5) Respond as needed.
 
6) Continue to listen to audiobooks, particularly since there will be a lot of car time.
 
7) Read another section of 7 Habits.
 
Thanks for reading. This check-in is longer than most flash fiction, which is kinda crazy!
Shannon

For those tuning into this round my master goals list is here. I personally format my check-ins as an after action review, then the setting of intentions/minigoals for the next check-in.
​
I set big intentions for this check-in and got to most of them. Now I'm in need of a low key set of days before gearing up to the next major tasks.
 
AFTER ACTION REVIEW
Big Goals:
1) I finished, edited, and turned in short paper one for class. I started paper two and did the needed research. I'll be finishing it and turning it in before the next checkin. (It's due Feb 19th, so I'm well ahead of schedule.) Wrote up the outline and first half of my short story for creative writing. This will be finished at writers group tonight then polished and turned in tomorrow. (Due Tuesday, so this will be the focus.) Also finished and turned in a paper for world civ.
 
2) This was my main focus, and it shows! Made truffles. Charged and used the tablet. Critiqued the extra story plus most of the poetry. Did the needed research for the upcoming meeting and used it to put together some pointed meeting minutes. I think that the new format worked really well, and everyone seemed happy with many decisions that we made during that meeting. Overall a win/win/win!
 
3) I did watch one video a day, did not record myself speaking Japanese.
 
4) Completed both lessons and the homework.
 
Small Goals:
1) The morning routine has been getting better. I got up at six am twice and got a lot done. It also gave me the flexibility to leave for work early and with the nasty weather we've been getting I used it.
 
2) The going to bed routine went reasonably well too, as long as I was home on time. When I'm out I end up getting home at my bedtime or later, meaning no time to cool down.
 
3) I listened to my meditations two times. I've been enjoying quite time in the car lately, and I don't think that's a bad thing.
 
4) I've sold 6 things on eBay! It hasn't brought in much, about $20. But it's money I didn't have, and items out of my house so that's a win/win. I also did canceled humble-bundle subscription to save $144 for the year. I did splurge on anther indie eBook at $3. Considering how much food I haven't splurged on lately I think this is a very reasonable reward, plus it's helping other authors!
 
5) I thought this was paused but one of my contacts emailed me again with a more finalized date, and I took it. Waiting for her confirmation that I'm on the list then I can start advertising!
 
6) Overachieved by finishing my physical book, and reading over half of the Kindle book!
 
7) As planned, no progress on this one.
 
 
INTENTIONS AND MINIGOALS
Big Goals:
1) Finish and hand in short story. Finish and hand in short paper 2. Call into both classes. Do other homework as it comes up.
 
2) Start sending out 10 acceptance/rejection emails a day until everything is accounted for. Do a critique a day on accepted pieces. (These will be going on for a while.)
 
3) Watch new movie and read learning Japanese book three times.
 
4) Lesson 7 plus homework for both classes.
 
Small Goals:
 1) Continue working at it. I took out morning journaling and I think that helped.
 
2) Continue working at it. I've been specifically keeping a book next to my bed, that I can only read before bed. We'll see if that helps motivate.
 
3) Write a page for the next meditation. Listen to the ones I already have three times total.
 
4) Keep up with eBay. Look into etsy. There aren't any other obvious payments I can cut, but I'll look over my finances again at the end of the month and confirm that.
 
5) Respond to emails as needed.
 
6) Finish Kindle book. Read a chapter of physical book and eBook.
 
7) Read a chapter of 7 habits.
 
Thanks for reading!
Shannon

For those tuning into this round my master goals list is here. I personally format my check-ins as an after action review, then the setting of intentions/minigoals for the next check-in.

It was a reasonable time and kept up with my reasonable goals. Kicking the big goals up a notch fo the next checkin though!

AFTER ACTION REVIEW
Big Goals:
1) I forgot that since it's MLK day that we didn't have class. Thus I have attended one class by calling in and did all applicable homework for both.

2) I ended up having to log in and rename some documents. Not too big of a deal, not quite the hands off I was thinking of. 

3) Choose my Japanese reader book from the shelves and read/did the practice assignments for two lessons. It's definitely a good addition for what I was already learning, and helps since I generally learn more through reading. I've been focusing on pronunciation, so that requires listening even if it's harder and slower for me to learn from. Switching between the two seems to be helping so I'll keep it up for a bit.

4) Completed both lesson 5s. The PTSD class had a link to a fascinating documentary clip which I'd like to see more of, if I can find a place to buy it. Seriously Creative has been focusing on the introspective, and my introspection has really summarized to, I should be nicer to myself. Particularly by reminding myself that I am choosing to do a lot of what I am doing, and focusing/enjoying what I'm doing instead of thinking about what I *should* be doing. 

Small Goals:
1) I have been getting up early, not always right at 6, but still early enough. I had oatmeal with blueberry's and a decadent spoonful of brown sugar along with a cup of tea. It's been a lovely way to start the day. I decided that the morning journal isn't working for me, and instead I've been doing small tasks during the morning. Catching up on some reading and such. I might actually try doing morning writing again, or perhaps morning homework. We'll see.

2) The evenings haven't been as on schedule, mostly because I've been very tired (due to the weather) and therefore going to sleep without reading. (Expect for the one night I read 7 Habits before bed and my mind was racing for at least an hour. Got to keep to fiction.) Overall a medium success.

3) Finished the knitting book. Even though I don't knit I still found it to be enjoyable and applicable to many of my other crafts. I also listened to my meditations 

4) Mailed out two sales! Not much, but it'll start my ratings and it's stuff that I wasn't using/enjoying out of my house so that's a win. I also canceled my NYT subscription. They had already charged me for this month, but that's still a 44$ savings for the year. Redeemed some bonus points on the credit card for another 40$. 

5) Nothing new.

6) I read at least one new chapter in all of my books! 

7) Overachieved by finished the first and second chapters! 


INTENTIONS AND MINIGOALS
Big Goals:
1) I wanna clear the field early for my vacation next month, and this is the right time to do it. I wanna do both of my first two short papers for creative writing this weekend, plus write and put together my first piece for class critique. I know that I have plenty already written which could do with some critiquing, but I'd like the extra challenge (and fun) of writing something new. If there is any homework for world civ I'll do that as needed. 

2) Get together detailed notes about what needs to get brought up in this upcoming meeting. This will involve some research, data mining, and preliminary decisions. I want to make sure that we can get the most useful time out of our one hour, so I'll be putting at least two hours into it ahead of time. Then there will be the actual meeting this weekend which I'd like to be both useful and fun. By Sunday checkin I'd like the meeting notes to be online along with the next steps and due dates for our action plan.
   Also I'd like to make truffles for the meeting.
   Also charge the tablet and bring it along in case it's needed, or maybe even print stuff.
   Also critique one more story that got added to my list.
         I knew this goal was going to get lots of attention soon, thus the break for the last couple days.

3) Watch one video a day. Record myself speaking Japanese at least once. 

4) Complete both lesson 6s with homework. 

Small Goals:
1) Keep at it. I'll continue to try working on smaller assignments in the morning. 

2) Try to give myself more time for preparing for bed, even when I'm tired. 

3) I *should* record another mediation. But I'm trying not to should all over myself, and looking at the big goals I don't think I'll have the time. So I'll keep it simple and listen to the ones that are already recorded at least three times. 

4) Continue keeping up on my sales. Cancel my humble-bundle subscription for $144 savings this year. I *should* look into etsy, but I'm going to delay that as well.

5) Paused until next month.

6) I'd like to read one chapter of my physical book and one of my Kindle book. If I get to the others that's a bonus. 

7) I'm already ahead in this goal, so this is a perfect time to take advantage of that and pause while I focus on the big stuff. 

As one of my best friends told me it's not about balance, it's about riding the waves. The waves are focusing on the big goals now, and thus that's where I shall go. See you all Sunday!
Shannon 

For those turning into this round the master goals list is here. I personally format my check-ins as an after action review, then the setting of intentions/minigoals for the next check-in.
 
A strong finish to the week. I had some mild anxiety there, I think it was caused by not putting my school assignments onto my calendar right away, which gave me the impression that all the assignments were due in the next week or two. Obviously that's not the case, all of it should be done by the first week of May and that means plenty of time to spread things out.
 

AFTER ACTION REVIEW
Big Goals:
1) All homework done and turned in as applicable. Happily put all my assignments onto Wunderlist.
 
2) Posted the meeting agenda and the Hens have seen it.
 
3) Watched three Dogan videos. Finished watching the Japanese movie "Tokyo Sonata". Great ending, still won't be watching it again. New movie is "Rent-a-Cat".
 
4) All lessons read and homework completed/posted.
 
Small Goals:
1) Morning routine Thursday was skipped since I slept through it. Friday was solid with me getting up early and getting stuff done. Still not sure what I should do to improve this, other than perhaps having a list of things to do in the morning. (I think I'm less likely to get up for something too routine, I'd rather sleep than ease into the day most of the time.)
 
2) Evening routine has been better with more reading and hot tub time. (Particularly nice with the snow!) It's led to me getting better sleep too, so very much winning!
 
3) Meditation has been recorded and posted here. Please take a look and let me know what you think! It ended up being short, but that's kind of nice when asking for feedback because no one has to dedicate too much time and I can learn quickly. I already learned that I need four outlined pages to fill in ten minutes of time, not one. Progress.
 
4) This one got skewed a bit from the original intentions and ended up as a major overachieve.
 
First I found ten things around the house that I was ready to part with. I find it's easier to make decisions when there's specific examples in mind. I looked into selling them to Amazon. It's a quick option, but not a profitable one. I then looked into selling things on eBay again. It'll be slower but more profitable and not an overwhelming amount of effort, at least for these items.
 
I skipped looking into Etsy, and instead decided to make the plunge into eBay. I tried to open my old account, but found out they deleted it in 2017 due to inactivity. Thus I opened a new account and filled it with my 50 free listings for the month. If they all sell at max I'll make 270$. That's not actually that likely, but a solid 150$ would be lovely indeed.  
 
5) Didn't need to email one more library as the last one contacted me back. Looks like everything is going along, just slowly, for the scheduling.
 
6) Ended up reading a chapter of three books, but not the fourth. No particular reason, just how the cards fell.
 
7) Finished the first 30 pages, which is half of chapter one. I think that's plenty and it gave me enough to think about.
 
 
INTENTIONS AND MINIGOALS
Big Goals:
1) Call into two classes. Keep up with all homework.
 
2) Take a much needed breath before digging into this goal in earnest again. The goal is to not touch this goal for a couple days.
 
3) I need to change it up a bit, so I'm going to choose one of the books I have on the shelves about learning Japanese and read a bit of that. (Heck, I might choose one of the fully Japanese books I have and try to very slowly translate it or something.) Mostly I want to keep the attention high and doing something new is a great way to do this.
 
4) Do lesson 5 for both classes.
 
Small Goals:
1) Warm up to the day. Wake up at 6AM, cook myself breakfast, try doing a small assignment in the morning, warm up the car while shoveling.
 
2) Cool down to bedtime. Try to do the journal before this time. Instead keep it to just brushing teeth, showering, and reading a book.
 
3) Listen to my personal audio meditations twice. Continue to listen to knitting meditation book in the car.
 
4) Keep on top of my eBay sales. Cancel my NYT subscription. At $4 a month that's $48 for the year. Redeem credit card bonus points for ??? money.
 
5) Keep up with emails. Might send a reminder in Feb if I don't have finalized dates by then.
 
6) Read one chapter in each book.
 
7) Finish chapter one in 7 habits.
 
Thanks for reading! (I swear these things get longer with each post.)
Shannon

For those turning into this round the master goals list is here. I personally format my check-ins as an after action review, then the setting of intentions/minigoals for the next check-in.

 
AFTER ACTION REVIEW
Big Goals:
1) I checked for online updates, there are none, responded to one professors email, and tested the tech needed for class.
 
2) Overachieved! Critiqued 12k words and reviewed all 20 stories that were on my list. Getting this done ahead of goal one starting in earnest gives me more room and is already lowering my stress levels.
 
3) Watched all videos. Should watch that movie later today, but didn't have the time yet. (That's ok, focusing on goal 2 yesterday was much more important.) Recorded myself speaking once out of the goal of three. I'd like to focus more on this next week.
 
4) Completed the second lesson for both classes.
 
Small Goals:
1) Thursday and Friday morning schedules went well. Getting up early to get stuff done. Not always in tune with my original plan, so I suspect that it'll need to get modified soon.
 
2) End of the day routine is going medium. There's much more likely to be phone time when there shouldn't be on Fri-Sun. There's also been a lot more reading going on this weekend though, instead of the end of the day being the only time to read. So, this might even out a bit more over the next two weeks as the routine rounds out until May.
 
3) Found an old audiobook called "Meditations for Women Who Knit Too Much" and have been listening to that in the car for a bit. It's fun and is giving me ideas for my own meditations. I did write an outline for my next meditation, but I left it in the wrong spot. Thus the recording is postponed until the next checkin.
 
4) Packed a lunch every day this week. Woot! After some health related reading I did purchase a new vitamin to try on Amazon, to the total of $15. Health is important, so I consider it a worthy investment.
 
5) Nothing new.
 
6) Finished the book! It was enjoyable, but not quite good enough for a permanent slot on the bookcase.
 
7) The book "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team" was so good that I finished the first 50 pages in one sitting. Then I finished the whole thing over the weekend. Absolutely fantastic, and honestly a shoe-in for writers because it teaches using a character focused story. This has earned a permanent spot on my bookcase and I suspect I'll be rereading it often.
 
 
INTENTIONS AND MINIGOALS
Big Goals:
1) Call into my first two classes. Check for any online information before next ROW 80 check-in. Put all assignments on my calendar/Wunderlist.
 
2) Check-in with team about our current workloads and how they'll affect our schedule. Establish next due date in schedule.
 
3) Watch three Dogan videos. Record myself speaking Japanese once. Ask for Japanese penpal. Finally watch that Japanese movie.
 
4) Complete third lesson for both classes.
 
 
Small Goals:
1) Keep trying. Consider reformatting, and if so what the new proposal should be.

2) Keep trying. Consider reformatting, and if so what the new proposal should be.
 
3) Record the meditation I outlined. Implement something new I've learned about recording. Put it onto my website and ask for feedback.
 
4) Time to get more aggressive here. Cancel my subscription to Audible to save $165 this year. Cash an old check I found for $25. Get at least $2 back from Ibotta (usually from grocery shopping) then cash in my savings for a full $40 back.  
 
5) Follow up before ROW 80 check-in on Wednesday.
 
6) Finish one chapter each in the four books I'm reading right now.
 
7) Choose the next self-improvement book to read.
 
Thanks for reading!
Shannon

For those tuning into this round the master goals list is here. From what I've seen everyone formats their posts a little differently, so I'm going to do what feels natural for me; an after action review and then setting intentions/minigoals for the next checkin. 

AFTER ACTION REVIEW
Big Goals:
1) The semester doesn't start until the 14th so I took a little time to prepare. There is no syllabus up yet, so I couldn't order books. I did add the class dates into my calendar with reminders.

2) Did an initial round of 4 critiques to get into the groove. I'll need to go through them again to give them the attention they deserve, but overall a good way to get into the groove.

3) For learning Japanese I supported Dogen on Patrreon and started to watch his linguistics videos. There's about 50, so I'm intending to watch five per week for the rest of the round. 

4) Successfully logged into one of my RWA classes and set up my profile. No email from the second one yet. 

Smaller Goals:
1) Still getting into a proper schedule after the holidays, so warming up for the day is hard. I haven't been ready to eat breakfast in the morning so I've been skipping it. (I'm not going to force myself to eat.) This morning was particularly good, with me getting up on time, getting my journal done early, and unloading the dishwasher and cleaning some of the car. 

2) As with the warming up goal, it's tough to get back into the schedule after vacation. I've been very good about reading four at least ten minutes before bed. I've been pretty bad about putting my phone away at 9 o'clock though, and it has been negatively affecting my sleeping.

3) I made another meditation and it sounds pretty good! I did some research on making better ones as well which I'd like to implement soon.

4) I have no spent anything thus far this round for myself. I did just order some house supplies (a new brush for the pets and toothpaste) from Amazon. So far so good!

5) No progress yet.

6+7) Started to read "Think and Grow Rich". I'll probably keep to my self-improvement books while doing critiques because switching between reading for work and pleasure is hard.



INTENTIONS AND MINIGOALS
Big Goals:
1) Check for syllabus again on 1/11 and buy books as needed. 

2) Review the 4 stories I started the crits on and add additional comments. Crit another 20k worth of work before my blog post on 1/6.

3) Watch five Dogen videos. Watch recommended Japanese movie once. Record myself speaking Japanese and listen for intonation, then record again. Recording time should total 15 minutes.

4) Check in on both classes before my blog post on 1/6. (To be checked on the 6th at some point, not earlier.) 

Smaller Goals:
1) Keep trying. Perhaps try to have additional breakfast options.

2) Keep trying. Consider autolocking my phone at 9PM, or something.

3) Make one more meditation. Implement at least one of the ideas I researched.

4) Continue to pack lunch and play/read what I have in the house.

5) Send email to two librarians before 5PM Friday (1/4)

6+7) Finish "Think and Grow Rich" by 1/8. (150/230pgs by next check in 1/6)

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone! Here's too a lovely new year. 
Shannon 

Hello everyone,

Trying something new this year with ROW 80. It's a community that started with friends setting personal writing challenges which take into account the trials and tribulations of a normal life. It started as "a round of words" but from what I can tell it's grown into a wonderful and supportive goal setting and accountability community.

For those in the ROW 80 community, welcome! I'm Shannon, an engineer and chemist, NaNo ML, with a lovely SO and a couple furbabies. I work a good 42 hours a week in the lab and work goals won't be on here, so these might be shorter than some. Probably. I still do a cray cray amount of stuff anyways.

Without further ado, my goals for the first 80 days.

Big Goals:
1) Finish my most recent degree. This will roll over into Round 2, but it would be silly not to have it on here. I'm two classes away, I intend to get an A, hand in all of my assignments on time, and call into my classes twice a week. One of the classes is creative writing, so whatever the class requests of me is my writing for this round.

2) Help publish another anthology. This round will involve choosing the pieces, sending out the appropriate acceptance/rejections emails, doing initial editing on those which were chosen, sending out contracts, and sending the revised pieces to the official editor. This will be picked up again in Round 3.

3) Learning Japanese and getting ready for my Japan trip. I've tried a number of different apps throughout the years and have been slowly getting better. This time I'm kicking it up a notch, the goal is to understand simple anime and manga without a translation. The method is to a) obtain a Japanese penpal who I can call once a week through Google Hangouts or Skype so that I can get used to conversing in Japanese. b) Support Dogen on Patreon and watch all of his linguistics videos. c) order new luggage when I find a set I like that's on sale. d) send in the money for the airplane tickets etc.

4) RWA Classes. I was going to keep this to three big goals, but I found out today that there are two classes during the month of Jan that honestly sound made for me and the novel I just finished. These aren't graded, so the goal is to finish the class with an action list of ways to make my life better and my novel more accurate. (That novel was already slated for revision in Round 2. I suspect that once the classes are done mid Feb that'll give me some time to do additional research with the resources obtained from the class before doing said revision.)

I'll add more specific deadlines as I get more details. (I don't have a class schedule yet and I don't know how many linguistic videos there are until I support Dogen, etc.)

Smaller Goals:
1) Warm up to the day. 5 days a week; Wake up at 6AM. Cook myself A HOT breakfast. Morning journal. A quick walk, or shoveling, or active housework.

2) Cool down to bedtime. 5 days a week; Evening journal. Hot tub/Shower. Brush teeth. Read a physical book for at least 15 minutes before bed.

3) Make audio meditations for my goals and listen to them in the car 5 days a week. I'm still learning the software, so I'm sure there will be some revisions as I learn. The goal is to have 8-20minute meditations that sound professional by the end of the round. I'll post at least one on my website to share.

4) Save an extra $1,500 to put towards my student loans.

5) Schedule two workshops with local libraries. One of my bigger goals next round will be putting together the material for the workshop. Right now I want to get a room and officially on the library calendar.

6) Read one book a week. This is an ever goal, because I think it's a good one.

7) Read a one self-improvement book a month. On the top of the list are Think and Grow Rich, The Success Principles, and 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

I think that's most of them, if not I'll add them as I go. Thanks for reading!
Shannon

1)      Finish MM – Still behind. This is my MAJOR focus this month! I’ve planned some write-ins and accountability times with friends and it’s already helped make slow, yet steady, progress. (I think that might be my mantra for the year. “Slow and steady progress is perfectly fine.”)


2)      NNWM Plotting – I’ve been doing online research. I have a couple more books that I should read soon. Ideally I’ll be doubling down on this once the first draft of MM is done.

3)      Short Stories – Been a bit distracted. I’ll be back at it this month!


4)      Critique Group – I’m caught up, though people haven’t been submitting often. I think we’ll need a discussion about everyone’s vested interest levels again soon. Until then I have a friends novel that’s ready for a full beta read, so I’m working on that currently. (In turn she said that she would be happy to beta read MM when it’s ready. A worthwhile trade.)


5)      Author Visibility – Totally dropped the ball on this. Gotta post more cat photos!

How are your goals going?