It’s the last quarter of 2016! I can’t believe how fast this year has flown by, but looking back on the past nine months, I’m pretty satisfied with how this year has turned out for me. I took a cruise, moved into my own place, started a freelancing side hustle, put lots of money towards my debt, and just… settled into myself. I feel really good about who I am right now. I’m finding myself less and less concerned about not hitting the milestones I thought I’d hit by the end of my twenties and more excited about where I am and what the future has in store for me.

So, before I jump into my goals for this quarter, I need to take a look back on the third quarter of 2016 and the goals I set:

1) Write at least 20,000 words in my novel. Incomplete.

I made some progress in my novel, but then fiction writing took a back burner when I started looking for freelance writing jobs. And then, as I tried to get back into the story, I realized some key elements were missing and what I really needed was to spend time thinking about my plot and what I wanted to say with my novel. I decided to go back to the drawing board with my novel and put together a solid background on my characters and a solid outline for my plot. So, that’s where I am on that.

2) Start a freelancing side hustle. Complete.

I am so happy to mark this goal as complete! I completed a bunch of different projects with various clients that I found on Craigslist, Upwork, and Freelancer. Using websites like Upwork and Freelancer isn’t the best way to begin freelance writing, but it was the easiest place for me to start. And I scored some pretty interesting gigs that allowed me to stretch my writing skills, so it was a great experience for me.

3) Have a smooth, seamless move into my new home. Complete.

My moving weekend went as well as I could have hoped! It was a really, really tiring time, though, and I’m so glad it’s behind me.

4) Take a social media/blogging sabbatical in September. Complete.

I had serious thoughts about breaking my sabbatical halfway into September but decided to hang tough and stick it out. I’m debating if I’ll ever do a month-long break again (I missed blogging so much!), but it was good for me!

5) Lose 10 lbs. Incomplete.

Oh, boy. Losing weight has not been easy this year, mostly because I haven’t really dedicated myself to doing so. I’ve toyed with the idea of joining Weight Watchers again, but I don’t think that’s what I need. I think what I need is to overhaul my diet, bit by bit, worrying less about what the number on the scale says and more about how eating certain foods makes me feel.

6) Find a new primary care doctor and dentist. Incomplete.

Oops. Forgot I had this as a goal.

Looking back on my goals for the third quarter, I’m pretty happy with the progress I made! I completed three out of the six goals I set, and those were the more important goals to me, so I’m proud of myself. Go, Steph!

Now, let’s take a look at the fourth quarter of 2016! In this quarter, I have a lot going on. I’m taking two trips: a girls’ weekend in The Villages with my book club gals and a five-day cruise with my mom. I’m turning 29. Dutch has his annual Running of the Weiners race. Then there are the holidays: Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas. A full quarter indeed!

Here’s what I want to accomplish:

1) Submit an essay to an online website.

A secret about me is that I’m scared to put my creative writing out into the world. I’m scared that I’m not good enough. I’m scared that my thoughts are too small. I’m scared of allowing strangers on the internet to read my words. It’s a fear I need to get over and the only way to do so is to actually put my work out there and let people discuss it.

2) Finish outlining my novel.

I was hoping 2016 would be the year I finally finished my novel and sent it to agents, but it was not to be. Instead, 2016 is the year I couldn’t make up my mind about how to plot out my novel. I’ve finally settled on a great premise and inciting incident, so I want to take the rest of 2016 to thoroughly outline my novel so that it is as strong as it can be.

3) Get a tattoo.

So I mentioned that I’m going to The Villages for a weekend with my book club girls, and for those who aren’t familiar with this town, it’s a retirement community. Yes, we are visiting a retirement community where all activities end at 9pm (which is so ideal for me, you have no idea). I think there would be nothing more hilarious than if I go spend a “crazy” weekend at The Villages with my girlfriends and come back with a tattoo. I hope I can make it happen.

4) Start exercising again and drink water daily.

I’m taking the smallest of steps in this journey to live a healthier life. Hopefully, by focusing on these goals and less on eating a certain way to lose weight, I’ll learn to be more accepting of my reflection.

5) Decorate my apartment.

My apartment is mostly put together, aside from the fact that my walls are still bare! I have shelves I need to hang, which will help, but I also want to put together a gallery wall using prints I’ve collected, buy a painting or two, and blow up some Instagram photos to really make my apartment feel more like home.

Do you have any goals you’d like to accomplish this quarter?

If you can believe it, we’re nearly halfway through the third quarter of 2016! Time is flying by. The first half of the quarter has been a flurry of freaking out about finding a place to live in September, freaking out about moving costs, and freaking out about living alone. It’s been fun times in this brain of mine.

But I also found a place to live (with a sweet rent price!). I have picked up freelancing work to ease the burden of moving costs. And, well, there’s not much I can do about my worries about living alone. I can only prepare myself and make sure I have lots of romance novels, comforting Netflix shows, and boxes of brownies on hand to help me during the transition. 🙂 Self-care, right?

Let’s take a look at the goals I set for this quarter and see how I’m doing!

1) Write at least 20,000 words in my novel.

As of today, I’ve written 8,000 words in my novel. It’s a little under where I should be at, but I’m not all that worried. I think I’m going to have a lot more time to focus on writing in September, as I’ll be on a social media and blogging break. I’ll make this goal!

2) Start a freelancing side hustle.

Yes! I am working with four different clients, two of which could potentially turn into long-term contracts. (Fingers crossed!) My weeknights and weekends have been a lot crazier since I’m now working an extra 5-10 hours a week on freelancing, but I can’t lie: I LOVE IT.

I mean, it’s exhausting, too. The hustling side of things can be really hard sometimes, which is why I don’t think I’d ever want to freelance full-time. I like the safety of a regular paycheck, having benefits, etc. But it’s nice as a way to earn some extra income to ease some of my financial burdens.

3) Have a smooth, seamless move into my new home.

Well, I haven’t moved yet so I can’t say if this goal will be a success or not. I hope so, but ugh, moving is just the worst, isn’t it? Especially because my lease ends on September 10 and I don’t get keys to my new place until September 9. So that Friday and Saturday will be crazy with moving and cleaning the old apartment. (I’m planning on taking the following Monday and Tuesday off work to decompress!) Hopefully, all goes well!

4) Take a social media/blogging sabbatical in September.

Another goal that I won’t complete until the second half of the quarter! I am really excited to take some time away from the internet for 30 days. It’s much needed and will be nice to just slow down and stop needing to document every moment, think about blog topics, or keep up with my social media feeds. (I love all of the above, but sometimes you just need a break, you know?)

5) Lose 10 lbs.

Ehhhh… no. I’ve been doing better with my eating habits and workouts, but I’m not seeing a ton of results on the scale. Oh, well. The important part is I’m trying, right?

6) Find a new primary care doctor or dentist.

I have made zero progress on this goal. Oops. But I’ll get this done. Promise.

Final thoughts:

Well, I’m considering the first half of this quarter a success because I managed to make progress on my biggest two goals: working on my novel and earning money via freelancing. And two of my goals can’t even get started until September, so I think I’m doing great! Go me! 🙂

I’ve always loved the process of setting goals. It’s why I’m constantly doing so. In the past, my goal-setting M.O. has been to set long-term yearly goals and short-term monthly goals. But I’ve been toying with the idea of setting quarterly goals and doing away with yearly and monthly goals.

Yearly goals are fun because it’s always exciting to envision what I want out of the year and to set goals to make it happen. But I usually wind up looking at my list of goals three or six months later and thinking, Why did I want these goals in the first place?

Monthly goals allow for this constant refreshing of goals and envisioning all I want to get out of the month ahead. But then I feel so much pressure to achieve the goals and become disappointed in myself when I don’t put in the work.

So, for now, I am going to set quarterly goals. If I like this process, then I’ll keep setting quarterly goals. If not, no biggie. It’s just an experiment.

So, with all that said, here are the goals I want to achieve in the third quarter of 2016:

1) Write at least 20,000 words in my novel.

I’m trying to write 500 words a day, which means, ideally, I’d be able to write 45,000 words in three months. But I also know myself very well and I know that I don’t want to write myself into a hole if there are days (or weeks…) when writing falls to the wayside due to life and other projects. So, I am committing to 20,000 words, which is a little less than 1,700 words per week (or three days a week of writing 500-ish words). That feels completely doable!

2) Start a freelancing side hustle.

I have put this goal on the back burner for too damn long. I want to freelance. I know I have the skills and the experience to build a solid side business through my writing. I just haven’t put in the effort. A few weekends ago, I added a “Work With Me” page on my blog and pulled together some of my writing samples. And last weekend, I began to apply for freelance writing gigs and gathered a list of websites to pitch to. I’m so ready for this. From my experience, it’s not just about the bank but also about the additional services they offer. Some banks provide financial advice, workshops, and networking events for freelancers. For more information, check out https://www.businessfinanced.co.uk/freelancer-bank-accounts/.

3) Have a smooth, seamless move into my new home.

My move will take place in September, and I am not looking forward to it! Ha. The packing, the unpacking, the physical act of moving from one apartment to another, the buying of new things… it can be so overwhelming and stressful. I just want to move to go smoothly and easily – and that my anxiety remains relatively at bay as I settled into my new home.

4) Take a social media/blogging sabbatical in September.

I like to take one month off social media and blogging every year, and I’ve decided to make that month September this year, since that month will be crazy. And I’m worried about my anxiety levels because moving usually wreaks havoc with them, so I figure that forcing myself away from being online will help me focus solely on the present moment.

5) Lose 10 lbs.

I continuously have a goal to lose weight, and maybe I shouldn’t. Maybe I should focus more on building healthier habits, less on the result of weight loss. And yet… I like to set these weight loss goals for myself, even if I rarely achieve them. Health-wise, I need to lose weight. I really want to lose 30-40 lbs to be at a place where I feel good about myself and happy with my reflection. I want that for myself. I deserve that. It all starts with those first 10 lbs.

6) Find a new primary care doctor and dentist.

Oof… it’s been a while since I’ve had a regular doctor and dentist. I’m putting this on my list to hopefully inspire me to finally knock these tasks out. Adulting… not always my strong suit!

What’s something you’d like to accomplish over the next three months?