Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Top Ten Goals/Resolutions for 2015.
I’m going to try to keep it simple this year, and aim for things I have some chance of achieving:
1) Read on a whim! I wrote a whole blog post about this a few days ago (click here if you want to see it) — basically, I’m making it a priority to read according to my moods and fancies and not because of obligations or deadlines.
2) Read outside the box: This seems to be a yearly goal — I need to force myself to read a bit more non-fiction, including history, essays, and armchair travel. I have books already on my shelf that sound amazing, but I always reach for the fiction instead of pushing myself to spend time on non-fiction.
3) Catch up on the books I already own: Yeah, I know, we all have this problem. If I stick to my resolution to read on a whim, I’m pretty sure I’ll get through a lot more of the books I have waiting for me.
4) Request/accept fewer ARCs: This relates to #1 and #3 above. I have to train myself to resist clicking that tempting “request” button on NetGalley every time something catches my eye! Having a backlog of review copies is what makes me feel tense and frustrated when it comes to picking out my next read and feeling like I need to keep to a schedule.
5) Hang out with Buffy: I’m now a full season behind on my Buffy the Vampire Slayer graphic novels, and have Angel & Faith, Spike, and Willow volumes to read as well. I need to do some serious catching up!
6) Reorganize my bookshelves: I say this every year, but my shelves are overcrowded and don’t seem to make any sense at this point. All sorts of books are smushed into random places, either because of physical size or because I was in a hurry (or for ridiculous reasons, like “oh, I love this author, so I’ll put her book next to this other author I love!”). I’m not a stickler or anything, and have no desire to alphabetize or color-code, but it would be nice to have all my sci-fi in one place, and to keep my non-fiction from fraternizing with my YA novels, for example.
7) Donate, sell, upgrade: Related to organizing my bookshelves, it’s time to slim down and weed out some of the books that I either never read and never will, or read once but don’t feel the need to keep. I plan to donate a few bags/boxes for our next big library sale. I have a small stack of books that are new or pretty close to new but that I don’t want to keep for a variety of reasons, and those I’ll try to trade-in at the used bookstore. And for at least one of my graphic novel collections, I’d like to sell the paperbacks that I own and then invest a few more dollars to get the nice hardcover editions.
8) Organize my computer files: I need to spend a few good hours resorting all the various blog-related files on my drive, including photos I’ve taken, book cover images, graphics, headers, etc. I’m going to try to reorganize all of these into an archive that makes sense and is searchable. It shouldn’t be too hard, but I just need some dedicated time to make it happen.
9) Refresh the blog: I’ve had the same theme and layout for a while now, and it may be time for some sprucing up. I’m not sure that I’ll actually change anything significant, but I want to play around a bit with formatting, organization, and widgets and see what happens. I often think I missed out on the artistic gene, so figuring out visuals can be a big challenge for me, but I at least want to try and explore some options.
10) Volunteer: I’ve been thinking about this for a while, and it’s about time to take action! I’d like to do something to share my love of reading while doing good, so I’ve started looking into local volunteer opportunities that relate to literacy, libraries, reading buddies, etc. I haven’t decided yet what I’ll end up pursuing, but I really want to make this happen this year.
I’m sure I could go on and on with things I need to improve or change, but this feels like a pretty reasonable starting place!
What are your top goals for 2015? Wishing you all a wonderful year!
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Bookshelf Fantasies 
I should probably organize my computer files too! But I keep procrastinating because Im worried I will delete something I shouldnt have… 😛
Ugh, at this point, I wouldn’t even know if I deleted something — it’s all just one big mess. I’m really kind of itching to do this one, so maybe that’ll be the first project that I can check off in the new year. 🙂
Well I hope it works out 🙂
Great set of goals! I also need to request fewer ARC’s. I haven’t been super choosy so I get approved for way too many. The list piles up.
I know — and then sometimes I get approved for things months after I requested them, at which point I’ve moved on. 🙂 I wish there was a way to un-request sometimes.
The volunteer one is a good one! I might have to steal it haha :3 I didn’t put it on my list but I definitely need to catch up on the books I own
My TBR bookshelf is becoming overweight… A great list! Good luck!
Here’s my Top Ten: https://bookrambles.wordpress.com/2014/12/30/top-ten-goals-and-resolutions-for-2015/
Thank you! The volunteering thing is something I’ve been thinking about for a long time, but there’s always been some reason — work, family commitments, etc — why I couldn’t make a commitment. But it’s about time I actually do it!
I need to start thinking of planning work experience placements for the New Year so volunteering might just be the thing for me! Once again, good luck!
Ah, amazing goals! 🙂 I am aiming to request fewer ARCs so I can keep on top of them and also read more for me. I think it’s so important not to get too bogged down in review copies. Good luck with your goals! 🙂
Isn’t it funny how we all start blogging because we love reading so much, then find ourselves having less time to “read for me”? It’s such a crazy situation to find myself in. I”ve got to do better in 2015!
Good luck with your goals! Ah organising computer files, that’s always a challenge lol and have fun volunteering with whatever one you end up going with! That sounds like it would be a rewarding thing to do 🙂
I’m actually kind of excited about organizing my computer files (I can get kind of geeky about those sorts of projects)!
Great goals! It seems a lot of us have similar goals for the coming year. Hehe, I was organising my computer files yesterday but realised my back-ups are such a mess! Will need to work on that in the coming year xD
Best of luck with your resolutions next year 🙂 Happy New Year!
Ooh, back-ups… I haven’t bothered to check to see if my back-ups have run in months! Yikes, now I’m worried!
These are great goals! I definitely have some in common. Particularly on reading the books I already own. I have so many, and I need to read them. And I could use to spend a couple hours organizing my computer files.
Quinn, I think a lot of us are in the same boat! 🙂 Well, at least I know I’m in good company. I just stood in front of my bookcase for a while yesterday and spotted all these books that I’d really been excited about at one point… so looking forward to spending time with at least some of them.
Oh man, resorting digital files is the most daunting task to do (especially if you have a specific sorting system you want to achieve). Though, it’s mostly just my own fault since I throw everything into a folder (“To Be Sorted” at a later time). Sorting music is the worst of all though ahhh.
Cheers,
joey via. thoughts and afterthoughts
Ha, it’s like all of my not-too-shabby organizing skills that I use in my work life completely abandoned me when it comes to my personal computer files. It’s just a question of time, though — I’m really determined to tackle this project and wrestle it to the ground!
Happy New Year to you and good luck with your resolutions.
Thank you, and happy new year to you too!
Nice goals – Happy New Year!
Thanks! Happy New Year to you too!
I think your goal of volunteering sounds sublime. Maybe you can read to children at the library or a local shelter.
I would love that! I’ve actually heard that there’s a reading buddies program at one of the local hospitals, so that’s high on my list of options to explore. Spending a couple of hours reading with kids sounds like a perfect way to spend time!
I like your goals and they’ve reminded me of some things I need to get around to. I too have made it a priority to acquire fewer books and read more of the ones I already own. Also, I feel like I gave up on having organized computer files years ago, but I really should go through and figure out how to make them work better for me (My research files are somewhat organized, but everything else is a total mess so I never know where anything is). Maybe I just need to work on it while watching Netflix or something.
Good luck with your goals!
Working on my computer files while watching Netflix — sounds like a great idea! I think if I can just finally sit down and deal with it, it won’t really be that hard. Happy New Year!
I love reorganizing my bookshelves! It feels like I am accomplishing a “chore” but at the same time I am really just playing around with the collection which I think is a fun way to spend an afternoon. I always seem to rearrange my list of “want to read next” books after coming across books I’ve forgotten about while reorganizing — so maybe that might help you with #3! Good luck & Happy New Year Lisa!
I agree, reorganizing bookshelves is a great excuse to hang out and play with my books! Now I just need to find some time to do it when I won’t get distracted by all the other things I need to do. 🙂 Happy New Year!