What I’ll Read and Write During June 2020
Expanding horizons is the theme this month
This month, I’m planning to finish off 8 books (2 per week) and write at least 5 stories a week.
Books
My reading this month is geared toward reading about money (one of my goals is to finish paying off one of my credit cards by August), writing and personal growth. I’m also sneaking in a few other interests.
Money
Broke Millennial by Erin Lowry- reread- Both times I’ve read this book, I’ve been challenged to think out how I’m spending money. This is the book I’d recommend for somone like me who only began being serious about their financial journey later.
Suddenly Frugal by Leah Ingram- New Read- Everyone is trying to save money these days. I’ve been more frugal in the last two years, but I’m always up to learning a few tricks to save more.
You Are a Badass at Making Money by Jen Sincero- reread- I love Sincero in general and enjoy all of the Badass books. However, I love the fact that she challenges how we look at money and confront our own beliefs in changing how we look at money.
Personal Development
Rejection Proof by Jia Jiang- New Read- I’m excited for this book. The concept that was undertaken was finding a way to be rejected daily. For me, I think that it takes a lot of guts and leads to great personal development.I’m excited to see how it unfolded for the author. I feel I might be inspired to take on my own version of a rejection challenge after reading. I came across this book while reading The Big Book of 30 Day Challenges.
The 5 AM Club by Robin Sharma- New Read- I’m a personal challenge junkie (if that wasn’t obvious). I’m currently trying to find an energizing morning routine and trying different formulas. I think that the ideas contained in this book would help to redefine that project.
Kindness and Wonder by Gavin Edwards- New Read- I’m about 60% through this one. I have had an obsession with learning about Fred Rogers since Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, the movie, came out in late 2019. If I was going to take a month to imitate someone it would be Mr. Rogers. The first half of this book is the story of Roger’s life. The second part of it is 10 ways to be more like him. For me, it’s a gift. It breaks the big lessons down into small steps that are easy to follow and challenging to think of ways to apply.
Writing
Wired for Story by Lisa Cron- New Read- I’ve been reading a lot of craft books this year. My skills as a blogger/article writer/essayist need work and this book promises to help writers hook readers from the first sentence.
Other
1984 by George Orwell- reread- one of the books that has been on my list for about four years. When the craze that was reading this book began in 2016, I didn’t jump on the bandwagon. I did, however, bookmarked this one for later. It’s scary to think about the fact that the world could possibly be moving closer to this dystopian society.
What I’ll Write
I honestly find this one difficult. Every time I take on a write every day or write x amount of articles in x amount of days, I seem to fail. Fail epically.
However, this month I’d like to publish 5x on Medium per week (Sun-Sat). So far this month, I’ve gotten to 3 articles so I’m already behind.
However, for me, it’s about testing how the publishing of work during the average week plays out. I want to start large and go from there. I want to find the amount of times that would be ideal for me to publish.
I also want to get back to a contributing platform or two. I miss writing about Mindfulness and Slow Living on the Elephant Journal website and I want to get to the point where I’m not too afraid to publish on Thrive Global.
Finally, I want to really test myself when writing. I want to go deeper and broader. I want to write about the topics that I’ve been known for in the past- mainly emotional wellness and books. I love both of these topics, but I also want to experiment with different topics and especially types of writing.
Conclusion
I want to expand myself this month, both inside and outside of the book and writing world. I miss the days of being an English major at Carlow University where writing and reading were my studies. Planning to finish two books a week and publish at least five-six times brings me back to these days. Overall, I want to keep ideas flowing and learn what fits my writing.
I think that is part of the beauty of being a newish writer who was never curated. I’m on this platform for the love of writing. I’m on here because I have ideas I want to share and because writing (and reading) add a lot of depth and value to my life. I also want to get better at the thing I love the most. This month is going to be a good first step in working with that ideal.
