What Are Your New Year’s Goals?

It’s a cockapoo.

Is that even a real dog?

Half cocker spaniel, half miniature poodle.

Six pounds of fluff and big eyes and curiosity.

Puppies sleep a lot.

Except when they don’t.

She likes to get up every couple of hours and roam the house.

Ten weeks old and she’s mostly potty trained.

Except when she’s not.

Zoe.

Changed from Cookie, though Dot and Poppy were in consideration.

I didn’t get to pick the name.

It’s not my dog.

Les got it for #10.

I just get to watch it on the overnight shift, when I’m not spending my 3- 12’s over the weekend.

I get to babysit. I get to walk, and feed and go on poop patrol.

I am the Cockapoo’s maid.

BUT

On the bright side, at least the dog likes me.

Wags her tail every time I walk into a room and she catches sight of me from whatever distracted her.

AND

Staying up late means I get to binge on some television.

I watched DEXTER’s new season. Caught up on BILLIONS. Plan to visit YELLOWJACKETS and see what Lord of the Flies looks like with an all female cast.

I read the new JD KIRK  COME HELL OR HIGH WATER over the weekend.

And now the New Year approaches.

It’s got me thinking about changes and resolutions and all the things in my control.

I wrote a Master Plan for 2022.  Goals. Wishes. Plans.

I broke the Master Plan down even further by month.

Because I think the warehouse work is just six weeks of overnights.

Thirty days before I can apply for a day shift, if they have one open.

Oh yeah, and 30 days to get all my credentials uploaded in the talent system, and maybe they realize I’m better suited for something different.

But there is a plan beyond it.

The author biz plan, which uses paycheck money to grow.

The author revenue which gets reinvested into the biz, plus expansion.

Twelve books next year.  A new one or two in each series, at least, plus a new series I’ve been sitting on.

Twelve audiobooks next year.

A new video each week on Youtube. A new blog post every week. A new article every week.

And hiring people to do stuff while I sleep.  1099’s are going to save my life this year.

There are personal goals too.

Running more. Spending more time in nature.  Hiking trails. Biking single track. Tent camping in once wild places on a hunt for silent spaces.

Things I’ve gotten used to remembering to forget.

If I was woke, I would call it healing, or self care.

I forget which one taking care of yourself is considered.

Lose weight. Eat a little better. Move more. Sit in a sauna and sweat for an hour or more three times per week.

It’s called heat training and it’s amazing for bloodwork, and fast recovery from running damage. It also works well for meditation, and just sitting, thinking.

It’s a good plan for 1Q at least, though I know I’m going to be tired.

Sleepy.

6 pm – 6 am on Thursdays, Friday’s and Saturday nights.

The new puppy and the kid won’t let me sleep much on Sunday’s, BUT it leaves 4 days a week to focus on writing and running and recovering.

I’ve always been a fan of the phrase, pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.

Which means, with the right attitude, you can endure almost anything.

My 30 day plan might turn to 60, but it’s just a short amount of time.

Time to build the author biz back up with some alien invasion and zombie stories.

Time to turn ads back on because there is money to invest in promotions and advertising.

Time to hustle, and hope other avenues of revenue pan out.

And time to take the puppy for a walk.

Because puppers are always curious, always exploring, always watching the world around them so they can learn.

Which seems like great advice for 2022.

What do you want to learn?

Cheers,

Chris