Diary Challenge: reflection

Diary

My constant companion in 2011

2011 is over and 2012 is well under way. Last year I set myself an ambitious challenge.  I bought myself a page-a-day diary with the goal of writing every day and filling each page with some scene, story, conversation, etc. I can now officially reveal that I did not succeed at my challenge. Around 100 pages of the diary are still completely blank. Between work, University and my active toddler I just didn’t manage to pull it out of the bag in the end.

But I didn’t fail. I never gave up. The diary was not abandoned half empty, it just has gaps. I kept on going for the whole year, kept posting challenges even when I was miles behind and had no hope of doing them. I carved out time in my day to write and tried to form good habits. I came up with new ideas. Even though I didn’t write the 365 pages I set out to fill last January 1st I still spent the year writing. So in a way I think I still won.

So what’s next? On January 1st this year Markie asked me if I had any New Year’s Resolutions. I told him no, but that I have a theme for the year. That’s right, no fad diets or unused gym memberships for me this year. I’ve got a whole theme! The theme is ‘finishing’. I want to finish a book. Not write a new one, but pick up an old one I’ve left on my hard drive and jolly well give it an ending. I want to finish editing something so someone else can read it. I want to finish my degree so I can finally graduate. And I want to finish the diary challenge. I have 100 blank pages still to go. So perhaps I shall look silly sitting in coffee shops scribbling away in my 2011 diary, but I carried it everywhere with me for a whole year and I don’t plan on stopping until every page is full. Then I’ll really be able to say that I won the diary challenge.

Good luck for 2012 everyone. May we all finish something we started this year.

3 thoughts on “Diary Challenge: reflection

  1. I for one think thats pretty darn impressive, given all the other stuff you had going on! The will not to stop just because of some missed days is excellent. I wish you much luck in the completion of the challenge, and the other plans for this year!

    I also intend to finish my book writing this year.. there, now I’ve written that down, feel free to poke me, a lot!

    *hugs*

  2. Also, it is a win. You wrote for the whole year and when you were too busy to write, you were thinking about writing and that’s half the challenge IMHE – so well done. i think it is a pass.

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