Reflecting on 2021 & Goals for 2022

Salutations friends! Can you believe the year has finally come to an end? Where has the year gone? For real though, I think we were all ready for 2021 to be over with already. Although, 2021 did feel like it was moving at light speed. Does anyone else feel that way?

Anyway, this is going to be a little different from the typical things that get posted here. I thought it’d be nice to do a little reflecting on 2021 and then talk about the goals that I’m setting for 2022. I promise, this is still related to book stuff. So if you want to do a little reflecting and goal setting with me, then let’s grab a cup of hot cider and dive in.

Content/Trigger Warnings: Talk of mental health, brief mentions of the pandemic, talk of physical health, mentions of toxic relationships, and talk of near loss of a loved one

If you don’t want to read through this section or need to skip, then scroll on down to the 2022 goals!

2021 Reflecting

When 2021 started, my goals were easy or “simple”, get back into reading more and getting back on a more consistent posting schedule. – If you were here at the end of 2020, then you may have figured out that things would have drastic changes. Little did I know 2021 would be a hard year of life lessons and putting my resilience to the highest of tests.

2021 hit me like a ton of bricks with nearly losing my mother not once, but twice within a short amount of time. It would then escalate to later on in the year where I almost lost her for a third time. That was one of the hardest things I think I’ve ever faced and truly, I don’t think any of us are equipped to face the grim reaper when it concerns our parents. So that was something I was heavily processing throughout the whole year and a lot of my attention was consumed by helping my family.

2021 was also the year where something inside of me said, “Enough is enough.” This turned into a revelation of realizing really toxic friendships and family relationships that were stealing every ounce of joy and peace from me. Have you ever wonder what a descent into madness looks like? Yeah, like that Lovecraftian stuff you’ve heard about before! Well, this is literally how it felt before something inside of me snapped me awake to the reality that was actually happening. As someone who’s the type of person who would defend others, teeth bared, without taking myself into consideration – choosing myself was one of the toughest act I’ve done in a long while and it was so liberating.

Also, I had major surgery this year while all the pandemic protocols have been in place. And let me tell you, not having my spouse by my side through that experience was a horrible feeling I never want to experience ever again. It was such a lonely, hollowing feeling, but when I was finally able to go home, that was the best part.

And overall, 2021 really did my mental health in. There were a lot of things that happened and there were a lot of things to process through. Even now there’s still things that are healing and processing. Sadly, probably my biggest regret, is my reading and bookish content creation suffered a lot due to all of this. I ended up retreating to a place that has always been a safe harbor for me and I can say, with 2021 ending, I feel better about starting my serious reading again.

2022 Goals

This section is going to be a bit divided between personal life, reading, and content creation goals!

Personal Life

Time Management: I struggle so much with time management. Truly, I do. From doom scrolling to multitasking (like I’m definitely not doing right now), my time management isn’t the best. With that being said, I want to rework the way I spend my time and start using it in more productive ways that aren’t hurtful to my mental health.
Daily Routine: Honestly, I already have a daily routine, but I feel like I could improve it to be more efficient than it already is. I’m very much a creature who needs a well-structed routine and to be honest, it’s fallen into some serious chaos over the last couple of months. So this is my way of just holding myself accountable.
Quality of Life: I don’t talk about it enough, but having three chronic illnesses that all impact each other is a lot to manage. If I’m being honest, I’m not always the best at realizing when I need to stop doing something before things escalate. So, I’m making this a priority to get equipment I need to better manage my illnesses, to feel less guilty about getting what I need to feel better, and to help manage the symptoms a little easier.
Moving: I’ve mentioned this a few times, but we’re in the process of moving. We’re hoping by 2022 to be moved into a new place and honestly, I’m ready for it. I think this will be a huge improvement to so many things in my personal life and I’m ready to start this new chapter.

Reading

TBRs: I love making tbrs even though I don’t always read everything on them. I really enjoy making them and so my hope for the new year is to start making tbrs again. I’m hoping to make them shorter so they’re easier to complete and manage.
Choosing review copies more carefully: While a lot of my books come from NetGalley and though I’m already pretty thorough when I pick arcs. However, I want to make sure I’m being a little more conscious of how many arcs I’m requesting so I don’t get overwhelmed by arcs. I’ve started doing this since November and it’s been going well so far. I’m hoping to keep this ball rolling as we move into the new year.
Read more current releases: With being gone the majority of 2021, I realized that I’ve missed so many new releases. This was put into more perspective once the GR Choice Awards rolled around. While I love reading my backlist or discovering new novellas to read, I miss how on top I used to be with new releases. So I’m hoping to change that this year.

Content Creation

More bookstagram content: Again, 2021 was the year all my bookish content suffered… a lot. Which I feel really sad, really guilty about, but as I mentioned on IG already, I’m hoping to slowly come back. I want to get back into posting as frequently as I can, within reason. I miss making bookish content and showing yall what I’ve been up to book wise.
Consistent blogging schedule: I’d be lying if I didn’t mention that I haven’t missed blogging. I’ve stated before, but I really do love content creating. I love making reviews and bookish content for my blog. So I’m hoping to get back into the swing of blogging as the new year rolls in.

And with that my friends, I think that covers all of my goals for 2022! I know this may seem long or maybe even unachievable, but I promise, I wouldn’t have made this list if I didn’t think I couldn’t accomplish it. Chalk it up to my overachieving personality. I also want 2022 to be a fresh start. A year of reclaiming my happiness and joy in 2022. Truly, I’m ready for 2022 and the start of this new chapter.

Were you able to unlock all of your goals for 2021, or have any exciting goals for 2022? Let’s chat in the comments below or link me to a similar article you wrote! I’m wishing us all the best of luck as the new year approaches and as we all begin tackling our new goals! 💚