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the winter arc (also know as home stretch goals by one specific youtuber i like) is a thing that instagrammers and youtubers call the rush to achieve something/often a bunch of somethings before the new year. i'm (sort of) accidentally participating this year as i set up a 12 week year (of "do as much as other people do in a year in 12 weeks" self help fame) that runs until the 1st day of january 2027. i like neat endings or neat beginnings, and as many fresh starts along the way as i want or need are something i've got comfortable with.
i have three goals:
1. regular movement (at least once a week-ish, ideally daily-ish)
- stretching counts!
- ideally though, gym and powerlifting or weight machines is my target 3 days a week with stretching and other gently movement alongside
- cycling practice (still haven't cracked road cycling or under-my-volition steering, sigh) would have counted but i stopped for fear of cold, dark and injury and am starting again in the spring
- has revealed to me how i HATE a home workout, and calisthenics will only be fun once i feel stronger
2. regular creative writing and reading (daily-ish)
- i journal and have been encouraged to view that as creative writing, but sadly the daily-ish habit (of 202 days!) doesn't feel like it "counts" so i also do other stuff.
- try to add new ideas and thoughts to my capacities space daily-ish
- doing this blogging challenge counts and on working days that is usually the extent of my creative writing annoyingly.
- reading i really want to keep a fiction and non-fiction on the go at all times, but have struggled to stick with fiction as i find i get too sucked in and don't want to do anything else all day, or am trying to prevent that from happening by not reading? so i will take suggestions on how on earth to calmly read fiction lol.
3. regular creative output (at least weekly-ish)
- blog posts, weeknotes, articles published elsewhere, and youtube videos, so help me god, all count towards this one.
- i originally put down social media posts as counting too, but unless it was one where i need to speak to camera i don't think it's sufficiently challenging. i was made to yap on a keyboard, not on camera, and that's okay, but i do want more practice at the latter.
all the [time period]-ish is a pattern i have taken from reading Oliver Burkeman, the 4000 weeks and meditations for mortals author. tl;dr? it means that i don't particular care if i do any of those every day without fail every day for the rest of the year, but i would like to do it say, every other day, or most days. the softer aspiration has turned out to be helpful, the one i'm doing the worst with is movement but i have been stretching daily-ish? so i guess that counts for something. i want to get to the gym as i have powerlifting aspirations but hasn't yet been possible for reasons outside of my control for the last month or so.
i'm entering week 6 of 12 today, friday the 13th november. i think the original 12 week year techniques calls for a proper check in at this point. what i've been doing is reviewing each week as it passes, so i know everything is on track but my exercise goal.
i read careless people for the reading goal, am re-reading all about love (hooks), and will try and read love in exile and love in a f*cked up world too, it feels nice to read a thematic set. taking recommendations for science fiction and fantasy, i really love the broken earth trilogy, ada hoffman's the outside and slow gods by claire north.
i also have another more in-depth goal system but i need to check with the creator if i can talk about in detail here, called the constellation system. it speaks to the fictionalist technopagan in me, but between the magic and terminology maybe a bit convoluted for some! if you check it out and enjoy it we should definitely chat though lol.
are you locking in for the end of the year? do you have any goals that need the dust blown off them or are you taking each year as it comes? let me know as ever
this is my thirteenth post in my writing month challenge, which i decided is "one post for each day of november".
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