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Books to Help Inspire and Encourage You to Work on Your 2022 Goals

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Have you set any 2022 goals yet? I’m working on mine at the moment, so I thought it was the perfect time to share some book recommendations to help you work on your goals, whether you set them in January or are only just getting around to it.

Designing Your Life: Build a Life That Works for You by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans

If you have no idea where to start with planning or picking goals, this is the book for you. Based on a class the authors teach at Stanford (and now around the world), the basic premise is to apply various principles of design thinking to your life. I’m actually still partway through, because it’s a workbook that takes some time to complete, but I really recommend it.

Buy: Amazon | Bookshop.org (affiliate links)

168 Hours and Off the Clock by Laura Vanderkam

I’ve said before that I think Off the Clock is Laura Vanderkam’s best book, as it focuses on how to feel like you have more time for all the things you really love and want to do – and that’s what your goals should be all about! But to get the most out of it, I recommend reading 168 Hours first, as background material, as it goes into a lot more depth on time tracking.

Buy 168 Hours: Amazon (affiliate link)
Buy Off the Clock: Amazon | Bookshop.org (affiliate links)

Real Artists Have Day Jobs (And Other Awesome Things They Don’t Teach You in School) by Sara Benincasa

This is a really great book to have around to dip in and out of. It’s essentially a collection of pep talks, in the form of short essays on various topics, ranging from the relatively frivolous to deeper reflections on mental health. You could even read one every week for a year – there are 52 essays. I’ve been working through it and  enjoying it a lot.

Buy: Amazon (affiliate link)

Unf*ck Your Habitat: You’re Better Than Your Mess by Rachel Hoffman

I’ve only just started this one, but I used to love following the tumblr and getting decluttering, tidying and cleaning inspiration from other fans. And I need some inspiration to keep me going on my slow decluttering journey (the problem with slow decluttering is that it’s slow!)

Buy: Amazon | Bookshop.org (affiliate links)

Beginners: The Joy and Transformative Power of Lifelong Learning by Tom Vanderbilt (I received a review copy via NetGalley)

I read this early in 2021 and really enjoyed it. It’s about the author’s quest to learn several new skills, while also researching how we learn best. He talks to various experts, teachers and coaches along the way and I got more than a few tips to apply to my own learning. If you’ve set yourself some learning challenges for this year, this is a must-read.

Buy: Amazon | Bookshop.org (affiliate links)

Your Best Year Ever: A 5-Step Plan for Achieving Your Most Important Goals by Michael Hyatt

Okay, let’s be honest. It’s very unlikely that 2022 is going to be anyone’s Best Year Ever. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t try to make the best of it, even if we’re more focused on surviving than thriving. Despite the title being slightly offputting in current circumstances, this is a really comprehensive guide to goal setting. I especially like the process the author outlines for checking in on your goals and revising them as I don’t think it’s realistic to assume you can and will want to stick to the same goals all year.

Buy: Amazon | Bookshop.org (affiliate links)

The Artist’s Way: A Course in Discovering and Recovering Your Creative Self by Julia Cameron

This book changed my life when I first went through it, aged 19, and I’ve revisited it several times since. It’s an amazingly powerful book, though the very strictly atheist amongst us may find it difficult to get through as there are lots of references to God and spirituality. If you are more agnostic, like me, then it is not such a problem as the author’s ideas about God are very vague, and you can interpret them as you wish and apply them to your own belief system.

Buy: Amazon | Bookshop.org (affiliate links)

The First 20 Minutes: The Surprising Science of How We Can Exercise Better, Train Smarter and Live Longer by Gretchen Reynolds

If you’re interested in exercising more effectively for less time, and understanding what science tells us about the best way to do it, this is the book for you! The author is honest about what studies actually conclude, and how conventional wisdom often appears to be incorrect. I’m reading this at the moment and it’s extremely interesting.

Buy: Amazon | Bookshop.org (affiliate links)

Do you have any recommendations for books to help us get through/do our best in 2022?

Five Ways to Prepare for NaNoWriMo

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It’s nearly what for many writers is the most wonderful time of year – NaNoWriMo!

This will be my fifth go at NaNoWriMo, and hopefully my third win – fourth if you count CampNaNo in April. Thanks to the power of NaNo, I’ve drafted two novels in the last year, so here are my tips for making the event a success:

1. Clear your plate

Prepare to concentrate as fully as you can on your new novel in November. This week, clean your home, book in appointments and chats with your friends, finish or park your other projects, meal plan – whatever it is you can to minimise distractions in November.

I wouldn’t plan to do nothing else but write in November, you are a fully-rounded human who is more than their word count, but if you can plan your other tasks now, you will have to think about them less when you’ll want to be concentrating on your novel (or whatever other form of writing you will be indulging in).

2. Plan your writing routine

The ‘ideal’ daily goal for NaNo is 1,667 words per day, however, that’s not a suitable goal for everyone. Some people set themselves lower targets on weekdays and higher at weekends, or vice versa. Personally, I expect to write more at weekends, but I also like to try and ‘front load’ NaNo and write extra during the first week, so that if there are any slowdowns later on, I don’t need to worry too much about reaching my goal.

It’s also helpful to think about when in the day you’re going to write. Before work, on your lunch break, in the evening, or all three?

Lots of writers also like to take this time to set up their writing space in their home and make sure they’ve stocked up on snacks!

3. Plan what you’re going to read

Yes, read! I am a firm believer in filling the well of words to keep your writing flowing. But what helps you write is very personal. Some authors like to read in the same genre or to work their way through a pile of research books that will directly feed into their writing. Others have to read books that are completely different from what they’re working on.

Whatever approach works for you, make sure your To Be Read pile is stacked!

4. Find your community

On the NaNoWriMo website you can find people near you who are taking part, as well as virtual write-ins for those of us who would rather write from home.

But that’s not the only way to find support for the month – you could reach out on social media to find friends to write with and/or cheer on.

5. Plan your novel…unless you’re a ‘pantser’

I think this one goes without saying, really. If you are someone who benefits from having a plan to fall back on, this is the time to put it together.

Even if you’re a pantser, you might like to jot down some notes about characters and themes and the direction you want the novel to explore.

So those are my top five tips for NaNoWriMo – follow me on social media (Twitter and Instagram) to see how I get on!