When I set my goals for the year, I said I’d do regular check-ins. We’re more than a week into a new month, so I ought to check in.

I tried to set very concrete steps for achieving. Inspired by a friend’s suggestion, I tried to identify a better habit to replace each bad habit. So how am I doing?

Goal: Reduce the outrage.

Step: Listen to the Wait! Wait! Don’t Tell Me podcast once a week, limit the amount of time I read news during work breaks.

Progress: Not only did I listen Wait! Wait! every week, I also listened to a lot of the H.P. Lovecraft Literary Podcast. There are a few hundred episodes of this great little show about the horror writing of H.P. Lovecraft. It’s a little sad to realize that when the real news gets too depressing or outrage-inducing, that I can listen to a voice actor read passages from a horror story about how individuals like us are completely meaningless and powerless in the face of great cosmic forces (and listen to two funny guys dissect the stories) can be so uplifting.

Goal: Write more regularly.

Step: Spend the reclaimed break time writing. Find other ways to motivate myself to write rather than twiddle the keys.

Progress: I didn’t do much new writing.

I signed up, again, for Camp NaNoWriMo, with the goal to complete the final revisions on my novel. And while I made a lot of progress, I didn’t quite complete the goal. Yet.

Goal: See friends for fun more, as opposed to all of my social interactions being driven by various projects.

Step: I tried to just plan a few things.

Progress: July was busy. We attended two conventions at the beginning of the month, where I spent a lot of time hanging out with Jared and Sky. I hung out in the bar with my laptop and got more than a little bit of writing done. We also had a trip down to Oregon to go to a wedding, and spent a lot of time hanging out with Jwyl, Jared, and Sky, as well has other wedding guests and the happy couple. That was also the same weekend at the Tai-Pan barbecue, so we missed that.

I specifically scheduled an extra editorial work party last Saturday to coincide with the opening weekend of Guardians of the Galaxy, but that really belongs in next month’s report.

Goal: Paint, draw, and make music.

Step: Go to the Drink ‘n’ Draw gathers. Set aside some time to sketch each week.

Progress: I don’t know if a Drink ‘n’ Draw happened. I haven’t been doing a good job of checking in with the person organizing it. I have done a teeny bit of pencil sketching, but that was all in July.