July 2024 Goals (bookish AND non-bookish!)

July 1, 2024

Let’s talk about my July goals!

I used to only post a monthly TBR, but in honor of branching out a little with my blog content, I thought it would be fun to make a more general “goals” post each month that discusses my TBR, other media goals, and life goals for the month ahead.

📚 bookish GOALS 📚

My reading slump over the past couple of months has made me realize that I burnt myself out by making too many bookish goals. I typically always choose 8 TBR titles for my list, which is doable, but I also have my annual goals lists that have been adding a lot of pressure (like my “24 in ’24” and my 2024 “series to complete” list). TBR lists are typically a fun way to keep me motivated and on track, but they can get overwhelming at times. I’m not ditching my annual goals altogether, but I have decided to stop tracking them so closely and to start viewing them more as “guidelines”!

June goal check-in: 

  • Post to IG 4+ times per week ❌
    • I only succeeded at this one week, I think.
  • Post to my blog 3+ times per week ❌
    • I also only succeeded at this one week!
  • Write 25 mini reviews ❌
    • Nope!

My bookish goals for July are: 

  • Stop worrying so much about what time of day I post to IG or my blog
    • Half the time, I don’t remember to post until the evening and then I don’t post at all because it feels like it’s too late in the day to bother. 🤡
  • Finish or DNF some current reads to get back down to 6ish
    • I have 13 current reads right now and it’s too much!
  • Reorganize my ARC tracker
    • My ARC tracking spreadsheet is a mess right now and isn’t serving me well at all.

My TBR for July is: 

  1. A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvia Cathrall: BOTM pick for my Discord server
  2. Your Coffin or Mine by Jaclyn Hyde: buddy read with Misty & Malli (moved over from last month)
  3. Bespelled by Laura Thalassa: buddy read with Misty (moved over from last month)
  4. A Broken Blade by Melissa Blair: buddy read with Malli
  5. Beast of Burden by Judith Sonnet: Dead Readers Society group read
  6. Cannibal Vengeance by Carl John Lee: Dead Readers Society group read
  7. Whalefall by Daniel Kraus: TBR & Beyond horror BOTM
  8. You Like It Darker by Stephen King: Horror Aficionados group read

🍿 other media goals 🎮

Last month, I decided to start setting myself some “non-bookish” media goals and I ended up loving it. It motivated me to spend less time scrolling and more time gaming, plus I watched a few movies I hadn’t seen before. It was so nice to get back into two hobbies that I love a LOT and had been neglecting this year!

June goal check-in: 

  • Get KK to play a concert at my new ACNH island ✅
  • Re-install The Sims 4 and spend some time on it ❌
    • I re-installed it, but never got around to playing it!
  • Pick a random unplayed game in my Steam library to try out ✅
    • I played a LOT of new-to-me games in June!
  • Watch one movie per week (even if it’s a re-watch!) ✅
    • I think I missed one week, but I watched more movies in June than I have in a while and I’m counting it as a success!
  • Write a non-bookish media review/recap post at the end of the month! ⭕
    • I haven’t written it yet, but I’ll be posting one this week!

July goals: 

  • Watch 5 movies from my watchlist
  • Play 3 games from my TBP (to be played) list
  • Listen to 1 episode of a podcast (another hobby I’ve been neglecting!)

💪 “real life” goals 👪

I really enjoyed setting these “real life” goals for myself last month! I didn’t succeed at all of them, but it was helpful to be conscious of them and track them. Plus, I just like getting real on here and talking more about my everyday life stuff! It makes this blog a lot more fun for me when I feel like I can totally be myself and not worry about oversharing or posting stuff people don’t care about. 😅

June goal check-in: 

  • Go to the gym 4 times per week ❌
    • My gym partner and I both had very unexpectedly busy months in June, so there were a couple of weeks I didn’t hit this goal.
  • Cut back on sodas ✅
    • I think I might have had 3 sodas total in the month, which is a number I’m super okay with!
  • Work an average of 30 hours per week 🤷‍♀️
    • I completed this a few weeks and got close the other weeks, so it’s almost a success!
  • Try out digital journaling/planning for the whole month ❌
    • Nope, I quickly forgot about this one! But I did take a break from physical journaling for the month and it definitely helped rejuvenate me and made me miss it!

July goals: 

  • Go to the gym 3+ times per week
  • Go to bed on time 5 nights per week
  • Work 30 hours per week
  • Keep up with my physical reading journal all month

What are you looking forward to this month?


destiny

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More about Destiny @ Howling Libraries

Just a horror aficionado/geek girl trying to juggle motherhood, reading, blogging, gaming, and everyday life.

3 Comments
    1. Goals definately sounds doable! Im not a gym person- i loaded this one dancing app, and though I gained 5pounds twice while exercising 100+ mins a week, I finally see results ???? some back fat has shredded off- so thats motivating! No need to travel, and dancing is fun so I stick to it ??

    1. Yay for cutting back on soda. 3 a month has been my go to for a while now. I was going to try cutting it down even further but I think 3 is my sweet spot. Also I just realized that August will be a full year since I started cutting back on soda. I love seeing all of your other goals aside from your bookish goals. Even if you don’t reach all of them you’re still killing it.

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