ROW80 - Round 3 - Check-in 10-12 (August, 16th): Making changes

 Hi everyone!

I missed 2 check-ins for family reasons and it made me realize I needed to adjust the way I assess my progress a little :

• From now on, I'll only check in on Sundays because Wednesdays are when I'm busiest. To assess the whole week, I'll post in the evenings.
• As a result, I have rearranged some personal goals to assess on a weekly basis.
• I have prepared a spreadsheet for weekly goals and divided it into 3 types of weeks: "school & work", "school holidays & work" and "family holiday" because otherwise I tend to have unreasonable expectations for myself on the one hand, and not relax enough on my weeks off on the other hand.
• Starting next time, I'll try to keep these check-ins shorter by focusing more on percentages for weekly stuff and commenting less on each goal.
• In the same spirit, I'll remove completed subgoals to make the list lighter (unless I replace them with another goal each time...).
• Soon enough, I should have my new website & blog and move my check-ins there.

That being said, yesterday was the first day of my holiday so my main goals at the moment are relaxing and spending quality time with my husband and daughters.I've decided to just go freestyle for 2 weeks on anything work-related (meaning it's OK if I don't actually work on those goals until September). 

And of course, I'll try to refocus on my writing, ideally completing that first episode.

I've also made changes to my routine by finally adding some yoga practice with the girls, and I also found a yoga class that fits my schedule for the new school year.

Another new thing in our lives: we're seeing a chiropractor on Thursday, for the pain I've had in my shoulder for over a year and, of course, Hubby's back problems.

How about you? What changes have you made lately? Let me know in the comments.

Color code:

0-10% in red
11-24% in shades of pink
25-39% in shades of orange
40-59% in yellow
60-99% in shades of green
100% in flashy green
Normally, there's also blue for progress and pause in purple, but right now i'll focus on numbers and only goals where progress has been made.

WRITING: I'll focus on one project mainly while following completed ones.

"Hour of the Wolf": If the publisher does not decide to release it as part of the collection, I'll probably make it a freebie (ebook and Wattpad). I'm guessing they'll make a decision soon as their collection is to be released in November, so I'll adjust this goal accordingly once I hear from them. I realize I was assuming they would at least reply to every writer but now I see they're working on a tight schedule (the deadline was June, 30 and the collection is supposed to be released in November, so maybe they'll only reply to selected writers. 

Sci-fi erotica series Miss Chief in Wonderland: I started writing again and would like to have a few short stories ready for publication in 2021 or 2022. I ended up pushing the deadline once more, to the end of August this time. I'm hoping my break from work will allow me to go back to writing daily.

• Plan season 1 in progress
• Draft episode 1 (July): 85%
• Expand episode 5
• Draft episode 7 (September)
• Draft episode 8 (August)
• Draft episode 9
• Reorganize episodes in progress

WORK: 

Promotion: Over the summer, Hubby and I will build a communication strategy to get more business our way in September (since the summer is always slow). 15% Not exactly going according to plan, but we'll see.

Online courses: I'll focus on making online tests as I can use it immediately with current student, then I'll go back to making the lessons. Hubby and I will also take a look at a new theme for my business website and also upgrade the webhost (which means my writer's site will be hosted there too). I switched to making 3 tests a week for work weeks, and stuck to it this week and the week before. I even made one extra.

• Website stuff : upgrade host, new theme, LMS stuff... 
• English - Starters: make tests 47%
• English - Elementary: make tests 39%
• English - Pre-intermediate: make tests 39%
• Hanashimashou: resume making contents ASAP.

Quality certification: I can take it easy now but I'll keep doing bite-size tasks weekly.

• cross-referencing document: I'll finish it during the Round. 36%
• tutorials: I'll keep making them, aiming at 2-4 a month, depending on how much material and preparation is needed. 20%

Story Time: I'll keep making baby steps weekly, mostly preparatory work. 

• Wizard & Cat: signpost at least 1 episode a week. 39%
• Timmy & the Hungry Monster: make a general plan, list the language, list the material. Making flashcards: 49% 

PUBLISHING: I'll mostly market my books, old and new.

Curiouser & Curiouser (my debut novel, in French only for now): I'll keep track of reviews and sales, while marketing the book some more. 

Red Hot Spring (English): I'll make the final preparations to publish in August and market. 93%

We Missed Each Other (English): I'll start making preparations once Red Hot Spring is ready. 34%

PERSONAL: We'll do some damage control and try and get help while Hubby is stuck with pain in his back. 

Daily Goals this week: 83%

Weekly goals: 79%

House renovation: that's the big question mark as most of the things that need to be done require Hubby or help. In the meantime, we'll focus on what contractors are supposed to do.

• overall 7%
• parental suite: still aiming at finishing it this year if we can. For this Round, sealing the tiles in the bathroom would be nice. And why not buy the wooden floor for the bedroom and threshold? 47% 
• insulation: we need to get the contractor sent by the insurance company to come and the other ones to give us their estimates. 42% Since getting an affiliated plasterer's quote seems to be impossible, we decided to use this financial boost for the roof and replacing doors and windows, ie stuff we can't do so well ourselves.
• original bathroom 40% Since the leak and mold issue has made it go from easiest to heaviest task (we need to get rid of existing plaster and start over while we originally  thought we just had to replace the shower, remove the carpet and redecorate...), this will disappear from my goal for a while becaise we decided to take care of it last (we do have the other bathroom, thankfully).

Housework: I'll mostly try and keep up what's been settled last Round. Maybe add a couple of new rooms (namely the porch entrance & workshop)  if I can get help from family and friends to get rid of the spiders in there (I'm extremely phobic when it comes to those...). I'll also try and get my office in order before September is here. Overall: 82%

• office: finish reorganizing, archiving and so on. 50%
• porch entrance: get rid of spiders and webs, spray with repulsive product, deep clean, add to cleaning routine, set coat pegs. Another goal that will go next time. 100%
• workshop: get rid of spiders and webs, spray with repulsive product, deep clean, reorganize. 90%

Self-improvement: I'll keep learning as a teacher, writer and parent.

• Teaching early years MOOC: I'll be an active participant through the 6 weeks and implement new ideas at home and in my classes. 100% 
• Storytelling & Marketing: 75%

Physical health: I'll try and be more and more active while making sure to give myself enough time to relax too and avoid burning out as a side effect of Hubby's slipped disk.

• Housework: I'll focus my energy on this to stay active on a daily basis. Since the plan includes rooms we are currently not using and that are either being or about to be renovated, my goal is to reach 90%. Goal has been reached, yay!, 93%
• Stretching: I'll stretch every morning to prevent hurting myself while being active (I have a tendency to sprain). THIS WEEK: 100%
• Yoga: I'll try and have a yoga session with my girls at least once a week. For starters, I'll look for the best time slot for this. I scheduled some sessions starting today and found a yoga class for September.
• Abs/Fitness: if there's time and energy (ie if Hubby gets better and life stops happening so much), I'll get down to working on fixing my diastasis recti for good, then going back to fitness.

Mental health & journalling: I've started a digital journal and will keep using it daily to keep track of my moods, ideas, learning, etc. Later, I'll schedule a lookback time to make sure this is useful. THIS WEEK: 100%

Reading: I'll try to read daily. 
- paperback: 11%
- ebook: 9%

Emotional intensity: I'll try and complete this reading and discuss it with Hubby. 72%

Beta-reading

• Sci-Fi novel: I'll make notes and send feedback to the writer by mid-August. Will go next week. 100%
• Fantasy first draft from sis-in law: 8%

Writer's website: I'll start the new website for sure, and hopefully get my hands on the original one to export it rather than rebuild from scratch. Hubby will help since sitting in the office armchair is the one thing he manages to do without feeling too horrible. We got the domain's name.