Going into 2021, I had three goals: play the piano everyday, sign with an agent, and get a book contract. I did not play quite everyday; on Twitter, I logged my progress using the #RomancePianists hashtag. I got off with my numbering a bit, but I think I missed 3 days when I was away from my instrument. In terms of my other two goals, well, it was mission accomplished.
Given my relative success, I wanted to set a few more goals for the coming year.
- Play the piano most days. I’m going to keep using the hashtag–and everyone is free to join, whatever instrument you’re playing and however often you practice–but I’m going to cut myself a bit of slack. I’d like to log six sessions a week (or 312 practices) next year.
- Write two books. One of these is contracted, planned, and started, but I’d like to write another in the second half of the year.
- Complete the work for my secret project. More on this later!
- Start jogging again. I fell off when I sprained my ankle and upper foot in 2019, and I want to get back to it.
- Cut back on my social media use. Sincerely, I’m on Twitter less than I used to be, but I’m going to start aggressively using the tech blocking software on my phone. My plan is to log on for a few minutes each day to update my piano hashtag and check in, but then to log off again. I need my mind and my time to get the rest of this done.
And that seems like an ambitious enough year for me.
Emma Barry 