The Quarterly Update

Back in January, I wrote down my five goals for 2015. I thought today I would revisit how I'm doing so far on those goals and what I need to do to keep moving:

1. Prepare for a job in 2016. I've made progress in this, simply by realizing I don't have to have a job after college. I could do a long-term paid internship, volunteer for a year, work at Disney. I like the idea of not jumping straight into a job after college, but there's still research that needs to be done.
2. Read 50 books. Not doing so great on this one. I've only read 9 books out of the 13 I should be at. I know I'll catch up some over the summer, but I need to pick up the pace. Part of it is my lack of interest in books for some reason, but that's a discussion for another post.
3. Waste less time on the Internet. Cough cough... I'm failing at this. I've got to get better. Any tips?
4. Consistently post on the blog. LOL we all know how this is going. Again, I haven't been reading much and therefore don't know what to say a lot of the time. I'm in a slump kids, a slump so bad that when I sat down to write about it a couple of days ago I couldn't think of anything good to say.
5. Run 5 miles. I've been making progress on this goal. I'm up to 2.5 miles right now. I was really excited, because I thought my goal was a 5K, not 5 miles. But if I can make it to a smooth 5K by the end of the summer, I think I can be near if not at 5 miles by December. We'll see!

So, two out of five are going well. That's something! I really need to get on my reading game; hopefully the other two will follow after that :)

How are your New Years resolutions coming along? Any advice for me?

---

Below the Line:

• If you want to keep up with my writings elsewhere on the Internet, check out my professional Twitter @lesausser. I tweet every time something I write shows up somewhere on the web!
• Less than four weeks of school left. Terrifying, exciting, and incredibly sad. All at the same time.

Happy New Year!

I don't know about you, but 2015 couldn't come fast enough. I try not to wish away years (especially since this time next year I'll be looking at my last semester of college) but 2014 was a rough year for me. 2015 brings an opportunity to let go of parts of it and use the lessons I've learned from it to make 2015 one of the best yet.

I don't normally make New Year's resolutions, since I make changes at whatever point in the year I decide something needs to happen, but this year I've decided to make some goals for myself. I'm ready to let go of some of the fears I have about the future and do something about them that lets me take control.

So here my goals for 2015:

1. Prepare for a job in 2016. By this time next year, I want to have a good idea of what I want in a post-graduate job. This means trying different things in my internships, searching the types of jobs out there and what kind of skills I need to learn for them, deciding how far I'm willing to move for a job, and getting advice from recent graduates. Hopefully in a year, I'll feel more prepared for a future outside of education and less afraid of it!
2. Read 50 books. This was a goal for 2014 and I failed. This year I want to take advantage of my free time and use it to read instead of watching TV I don't really care about or scrolling through social media. Which leads me to...
3. Waste less time on the Internet. I often come back from an afternoon class and sit and stare at Twitter for an hour. There is nothing on Twitter that demands an hour of my attention. So this year, I want to only use social media on my phone (where I look at it less) and save my computer for things I need to do. The goal is to see my computer as a productive place, not an unproductive one.
4. Consistently post on the blog. I was doing really well with this in the summer. But as soon as the semester started, I put all my attention to school work. Not this year. Even if it's only once a week, I want to have a schedule for my blog and stick to it. I think I'm going to try just posting every Thursday, and then if I feel like I can return to twice a week I will (and I want to!).
5. Run 5 miles. I've been running for over a year now, but I'm stuck at 2 miles. Part of this is how much time I have, but another part is lack of motivation to run further. So this year, I want to be able to run 5 miles without walking by the end of October. I'm hoping along the way I will start to run faster and more frequently, making my exercise routine more of a productive routine.

What are your goals for 2015?

---

Below the Line:

• I've been compiling my stats for 2014, and I'm excited to share them with you! Look for a bonus post coming soon evaluating Scribbing in the Margins' first year.
• I start my winter term internship on Monday with the local magazine. I'm really excited to try a 9-5 "job" and learn about writing/publishing careers.

To Do in June

I was thinking about where I want to go with this blog and just what I can do with it, when I thought I should start putting my thought into action. I love writing the book reviews, but I also want to mix them in with other posts, like my college tips, adventures, and (coming soon!) "what I use" type posts. I want to grow this blog more, and finally pick a name so that I can advertise with pride. So I decided to set some goals for myself for the month of June, both about this blog and my other summer activities!

• Post at least two times a week. So far my posting has been pretty sporadic. I've been trying to post as much as possible, but without any type of schedule or plan. Now I have a plan, and I'd like to stick with it. I hope to up this to every other day next month, but June is crazy for me and I like to accomplish my goals :)
• PICK A NAME. If you don't know, leeanniebananie is just a placeholder name for this blog. I haven't officially decided on what I want to call this blog yet. PLEASE leave me any suggestions you might have. I'm currently looking at my favorite books for quotes to use, so hopefully something sticks out there :)
• Read three books. So I can review them for you, of course!
• Keep a work schedule. I have one other blog and two jobs, along with this blog, so I need to schedule out time for each activity. I don't want to fall behind on anything, and I also want to make sure I have time for the things I love this summer!

So those are my goals for June! What are you hoping to do this month? Please leave any name suggestions below, I'd appreciate the help :)