Love in Dark Settings

I actually didn't set goals last fall, because . . . well, you'll see why. It was sort of like having someone shove the United States's multi-trillion-dollar debt in one's face, saying, "Here! Figure out what to do!" It took me months after my mother's death to even work out where the exact problems lay in my life, much less start to come up with solutions.

In this series of four posts, I'll be listing the physical and mental objects in my life that I gradually realized needed to be organized, the goals I set for myself over the past year, whether I met them, and my goals for next year.

First Priority Resolutions
Internet, Writing, Etc.

INTERNET

Situation last fall:
--427 hours spent online between January and July 2009 - an average of two hours a day.

Problem:
--I don't want to spend that much time online. Especially not in the fall/winter, when Internet usage kills my Muse.
--My Internet usage is compulsive, uncontrollable, and has a damaging effect on my offline life.

Goal:
--Go online once a week in the spring/summer and once a month in the fall/winter.
--Develop a method of Internet usage that prevents my usage from being compulsive and uncontrollable.
--Have my apprentice take over certain of my online activities.
--Find ways to minimize my time online.

What I actually achieved:
--I achieved all of the above at the end of summer. We'll see how the winter goes.
--Internet goal met.

My goal for the coming year:
--Stick to my current spring/summer Internet usage and develop a successful way of controlling my Internet usage in the fall/winter.

LIBRARIES

Situation last fall:
--My Internet addiction and library browsing addiction are exactly parallel to one another. The only difference is that libraries shut down at night, while the Internet doesn't.

Problem:
--My attention span is frazzled by heavy library browsing and book skimming.
--My Internet addiction is triggered when I spend time online trying to find books to borrow from the library.
--I bring home lots of books that I never read.
--I already have plenty of books to read at home.
--On the other hand, I need more Muse-friendly novels. How do I find them?

Goal:
--Go to the library no more than once a week.
--Limit my time there, and the amount of books I take out.
--Spend more time reading the books I already own.
--Figure out a way to find more Muse-friendly novels without spending lots of time browsing in libraries.

What I actually achieved:
--I'm spending more time reading the books I already own.
--I figured out a way to find more Muse-friendly novels without spending lots of time browsing in libraries: locate recommendations lists for mid-century children's historical novels.
--I'm still working on limiting the frequency and quality of my library visits.
--Library goal partially met.

My goal for the coming year:
--Only go the library when I need specific items.
--Spend more time reading the books I already own.
--Read Muse-friendly fiction slower.

WRITING

Situation last fall:
--93,815 words written between October 2007 and March 2008 - an average of 15,635 words per month. (Total including previous spring/summer figures: 144,265.)

Problem:
--That is so not enough.

Goal:
--150,000 words over the fall/winter of 2008-9.

What I actually achieved:
--178,100 words over the fall/winter of 2008-2009 - an average of 29,683 words per month. (Total including previous spring/summer figures: 208,035.)
--Writing goal met.

My goal for the coming year:
--360,000 words over the fall/winter of 2009-10 - an average of 60,000 words per month. (This is partly to make up for the fact that I'm producing hardly any wordage during the spring/summer now.)
--Find a way to fit in time for writing recommendations and nonfiction.

EDITING/PUBLISHING

Situation last fall:
--I churned out a lot of e-books last year, but spent too much time on editing and publishing.
--I made $84 last year.

Goal:
--Spend less time on editing and publishing.
--Figure out ways to get more profit from my e-books.
--Publish my first paperback.

What I actually achieved:
--I'm still spending too much time on editing and publishing, but I'm continuing to work out ways to resolve that.
--So far this year, I've made more than twice as much on my e-books as last year, due to me exploring new solutions. I'm continuing to explore additional solutions.
--I didn't get my first paperback published this year.
--Editing/publishing goal partially met.

My goal for the coming year (the same as last year):
--Spend less time on editing and publishing.
--Figure out ways to get more profit from my e-books.
--Publish my first paperback.

RESEARCH

Situation last fall:
--Lots of research to do for my fiction . . .

Problem:
--. . . but how to balance that with keeping off the Internet and out of libraries?
--The more time I spend on nonfiction reading, the less happy my Muse is.

Goal:
--Minimize the amount of time I spend on online research.
--Minimize the amount of time spend in library research.
--Have my apprentice do more research on my behalf.
--Spend more time on at-home research.
--Take research trips, which can double as time spent with Doug.
--Do most of my research by reading period fiction.

What I actually achieved:
--The research situation was very icky at the beginning of this summer, with me spending too much time researching online.
--Toward the end of the summer, it evened out, with me spending more time on at-home research. I also have research trips planned for the next couple of months and will be reading period fiction over the winter.
--I resolved not to take on new writing projects in the future that would complicate the type of research I do.
--Research goal partially met.

My goal for the coming year (the same as last year):
--Minimize the amount of time I spend on online research.
--Minimize the amount of time spend in library research.
--Have my apprentice do more research on my behalf.
--Spend more time on at-home research.
--Take research trips, which can double as time spent with Doug.
--Do most of my research by reading period fiction.

SCHEDULES

Situation last fall:
--I'm fairly well organized on my writing days.
--I'm not at all organized on other days.

Problem:
--When I don't know what to do with my time, I go on the Internet.
--I get more done when I follow a regular schedule.
--I'm much more at peace when I follow a regular schedule.

Goal:
--Solidify my writing schedule.
--Develop non-writing schedules.
--Keep to those schedules.
--Develop lots of offline activities, because Internet usage is the primary way in which I break my schedule.

What I actually achieved:
--I solidified my writing schedule and developed lots of warm-weather offline activities.
--Schedules goal partially met.

My goal for the coming year:
--Refine my writing schedule.
--Develop non-writing schedules.
--Keep to those schedules.
--Develop lots of cold-weather offline activities.

E-MAIL

Situation (as of August 2009):
--Current e-mail (general): 343.
--Current e-mail (family): 21.
--Current e-mail (posts): 103.
--Old e-mail: Heaven only knows. It's on my other computer.
--Unfiled Sent mail: 5000.

Problem:
--Lots of unanswered mail.
--My Sent folder is about to explode.

Goal:
--Clear my inbox of new e-mail each week.
--Answer everything in my Current folders. (I'll start on the Old folder next year.)
--Minimize the amount of incoming e-mail, especially in the winter.

What I actually achieved:
--As of late August, I've begun to get better about answering my new e-mail each week, but I still haven't completed this task weekly.
--I haven't made significant progress in answering old e-mail.
--Failed to meet e-mail goal.

My goal for the coming year:
--Find a way to regularly answer e-mail.
--Simplify my e-mail filing system.
--File my Sent e-mail.

COMPUTER FILES

Situation (as of August 2009):
--Hard drive: 53.5 GB (out of 55 GB).
--Red flash drive: 1.63 GB (out of 2 GB).
--Grey flash drive: 366 MB (out of 500 MB).
--No CD-ROM drive (that I can write onto), DVD-ROM drive, or external hard drive (other than my laptop, which is its own mess).

Problem:
--I've nearly run out of room on my hard drive and flash drives.
--My "To File and Read" folder (which is 3 GB) is chaos incarnate. I can't find the things I need in it.

Goal:
--Go through my "To File and Read" folder and file or delete everything there.
--Check whether I can delete any big files elsewhere.
--Stop downloading stuff. Okay, that's impossible, but download the absolute minimum I need.
--Look at what I've downloaded before downloading more new stuff.
--Set up a workable online backup system.

What I actually achieved:
--As of late August, I haven't made much progress in sorting and deleting files.
--I'm making a little progress in downloading less and in looking at what I've downloaded before downloading more new stuff.
--I've found what appears to be a workable online backup system but haven't actually set up the software yet.
--Computer files goal partially met.

My goal for the coming year (the same as last year):
--Go through my "To File and Read" folder and file or delete everything there.
--Check whether I can delete any big files elsewhere.
--Download the absolute minimum I need.
--Look at what I've downloaded before downloading more new stuff.
--Set up a workable online backup system.

HOUSEWORK

Situation last fall:
--Housework? What's that?
--I think my laundry is about to turn into a living organism.
--My humidifier needs to be cleaned regularly. And not just when Doug despairs of me doing it and does it himself.
--My desk usually looks as though a nuclear bomb has just gone off upon it.
--The rest of the house is forever acquiring new clutter.

Problem:
--Poor Doug bears the brunt of the housework.
--Self-discipline is good in all areas of life, not just writing.
--I'm setting a heck of a bad example for my apprentice.

Goal:
--Tidy my desk and sweep the floor below it once a week.
--Tidy the rest of the house periodically.
--Do my laundry once a week.
--Clean the humidifier once a month.
--Take on some other housework tasks regularly.

What I actually achieved:
--None of the above, except that I'm now the one who loads the dishwasher. That's not really enough to call this a victory.
--Failed to meet housework goal.

My goal for the coming year (the same as last year):
--Tidy my desk and sweep the floor below it once a week.
--Tidy the rest of the house periodically.
--Do my laundry once a week.
--Clean the humidifier once a month.
--Take on some other housework tasks regularly.

FRIENDS & FAMILY

Situation last fall:
--I've become a virtual stranger to my friends and family, other than Doug and my apprentice.
--I'm not spending enough time with Doug and my apprentice, and I'm not paying enough attention to them when I do.

Problem:
--The above says it all.

Goal:
--Call or write my father once a week.
--Call my friends regularly.
--Write to my correspondents regularly.
--Spend more time with Doug, especially through day trips.
--Pay closer attention to my apprentice.
--Hold regular leather seminars and evaluations with my apprentice.

What I actually achieved:
--I've been paying more attention to my apprentice and spending more time with Doug.
--I'm just beginning to call/write family and friends regularly.
--Friends & family goal partially met.

My goal for the coming year (the same as last year):
--Call or write my father once a week.
--Call my friends regularly.
--Write to my correspondents regularly.
--Spend more time with Doug, especially through day trips.
--Pay closer attention to my apprentice.
--Hold regular leather seminars and evaluations with my apprentice.

SPIRITUALITY/ETHICS

Situation last fall:
--I'm finding monastic/eremitic practices helpful, but I'm not practicing them regularly or enough.
--I need to go back to reading about ethics regularly, because my brain is turning to mush.

Goal:
--Regularly read writings by monks, nuns, and hermits.
--Regularly practice lectio divina, meditation, and any other monastic/eremitic practices that turn out to be helpful.
--Find some way to connect with the monastic/eremitic community without misrepresenting myself or disrupting the simplification of my life.
--Read ethical writings regularly, and find a way to attend Great Books seminars without disrupting the simplification of my life.

What I actually achieved:
--I ran an ad in Raven's Bread newsletter for hermits, seeking correspondents. It's too early to tell whether anything will come of that.
--Failed to meet spirituality/ethics goal.

My goal for the coming year (the same as last year):
--Regularly read writings by monks, nuns, and hermits.
--Regularly practice lectio divina, meditation, and any other monastic/eremitic practices that turn out to be helpful.
--Find some way to connect with the monaster/eremitic community without misrepresenting myself or disrupting the simplification of my life.
--Read ethical writings regularly, and find a way to attend Great Books seminars without disrupting the simplification of my life.

SIMPLICITY

Situation last fall:
--My surroundings and mind are cluttered.

Problem:
--I'm still not oriented toward simplicity.
--I'm spending too much time socializing with people I don't know well (online and offline).
--I'm leaving home too often. (Every time I leave home, my life becomes more complicated, and my attempt to achieve greater simplicity begins to fragment.)

Goal:
--Read about simplicity regularly and devote special time to simplicity matters.
--Stop taking part in Internet forums, except when I need to for professional reasons.
--Don't join any offline groups.
--Spend less time away from home.

What I actually achieved:
--All of the above.
--Simplicity goal met.

My goal for the coming year:
--Keep on track.
--Figure out ways to keep from scheduling too many activities each day (which was my main problem this year).
--Figure out what is essential in my life and eliminate the rest.