As I do with each changing of the calendar, I’ve spent the past few days thinking about my goals for the new year. What I want to accomplish, what it will take to get there, and what changes I need to make in my daily routine to stop roadblocking myself.

I’ve railed against new years resolutions in the past, and I still feel strongly that if you want to make a change in your life you shouldn’t wait for a certain date on the calendar — you should just do it — but I’ve had the past two weeks off and it’s given me a lot of time to asses my habits and see where I’m holding myself back. I’ve come to the conclusion that the only way to STOP holding myself back is to stop some of the bad habits I’ve developed over the past couple years.

This year marks ten years since I became a published author, and I have accomplished a lot. But the discipline I once had has slipped. A lot of people tell me I’m prolific, dedicated, and a lot of other nice words. They say I inspire them to reach for their goals. It’s wonderful to hear, believe me, but I feel like a fraud. My writing time is every morning before work, but more often than not, by the time I let the dog out and get my tea and check my email and oh maybe check my social notifications, that turns into 30 minutes. Thirty minutes each day is not enough time to run a business as an author, and it’s definitely not enough time to elevate my career to where I want it to be. To where I almost was a few years ago.

Now, I firmly believe that the current state of the world should allow us some habit slippage, but I’ve watched friends absolutely CRUSH their goals — all things I could do if I just focused a bit more — and I’ve taken a hard look at how I can continue being a mentally balanced individual while still doing all the things I want.

A few things I want to do but “never have the time”:

• watch free online writing/marketing tutorials
• color in the 15,000 coloring books I own
• do puzzles
• listen to music
• spend real time plotting my next books

One thing you might notice about this list is that NONE OF THEM HAPPEN ON MY PHONE. Do you want to guess how much time I spend on my phone each day? I’m not going to tell you but it’s a lot. Now, much of that time is spent on social media building my author brand and interacting with authors and readers, but a lot of it is mindlessly scrolling Twitter and playing silly games.

The games in particular are a time-suck for me. Those crafty developers have set it up so that if you log in every day, you get bonus widgets and gems and what-nots, all of which can help you advance to the next level. I play three daily (Words with Friends, Bejeweled Blitz, and Bubble Pop) and only WWF is against actual people (hi Mom!) and could possibly be said to possibly be slightly educational. Do you want to know what happens if I don’t log in every day (besides my Mom having 3-4 fewer moves to play each day)? Nothing! Just a general sense of angst that I’m missing something. But those moves will be there tomorrow! Or Saturday! (I’m not saying never because I’m trying to be realistic.)

I’m a big proponent of making time for yourself and allowing some downtime. We’d go crazy if we never stopped go-go-going. But there has to be a balance. A word I landed on while thinking about all of this is JOY. I want more joy in my life. The things on the list above bring me joy. Do you know what doesn’t bring me joy, or at least not the long-lasting joy that stays with me for more than a few minutes? Losing hours on my phone.

I need to give my brain the space it needs to wander. My best ideas often come to me when I’m exercising (especially outside) and showering — two places where I’m not staring at a screen — and if I change how I spend my downtime, I’m hoping my brain will get back in the habit of dreaming.

All of this will take DISCIPLINE, especially as I’m reestablishing my habits, but I’m optimistic because I’m one of the most disciplined people I know. Or at least I used to be. I considered making that my word for the year, but ugh, who wants to be led by such a harsh directive?

Instead, I’ve settled on CONFIDENCE.

I’ll need confidence to:

• break some of my bad habits
• make the time for the things that bring me joy
• believe that I can achieve my goals
• put in the work to attain those goals

I’d love it if you’ll help me stay accountable.

If you’re still reading, here are a few things I’m hoping to achieve this year:

• finish writing Chasing the Moon and publish it, finishing the series(!!)
• reread and edit The Other Me (the book I’ve been querying)
• outline my next book, which is currently called the revenge book
• design and launch new covers for the Flicker series to celebrate the 10 year anniversary
• write a free short story featuring Theo from the Campfire series
• watch the Writing Gals’ free online videos

Seeing it written out like this makes it feel like a lot, but I have all of this broken down into monthly steps, and as long as my current life situation remains the same, there isn’t a reason I can’t accomplish all this.

I’d love to hear what your goals are this year. Or if you have any tips for staying focused, please share in the comments.