What I’ll Read and Write in July 2020

Goal setting for my 13th month as a writer

July is upon us, strong with writing (Camp NaNoWriMo) and reading potential (summer reading programs). This is also my 13th month writing on the Medium platform. I wrote about this topic last month and as I don’t have a publication of my own or newsletter (yet), I enjoy writing monthly plans early on in the month.

Reading

I just crossed the 70 book mark with my Yearly 100 challenge, which breaks down the count nicely into 6 books per month to meet the goal. I might do more, but these 6 at the top of the list for this month:

1. The Year of Less by Cait Flanders- reread- I love this book for it’s message and behind the scenes footage. Flanders attempts to spend one year without shopping or buying anything unneccessary. Flanders writes about her experience in a way that is relatable and leaves you questioning your own triggers in spending and what this type of challenge would look like for you. At the end, she inspires readers to take their own shopping ban and leads them through a process of setting up their own boundaries. Great material for anyone who is trying to work with a financial goal or paying off debt (or both).

2. Get Some Headspace by Andy Puddicombe- new read- the founder of the Headspace app takes you on a journey, parts memoir and part principles of meditating. For anyone curious about why to meditate for 10 minutes a day or even just looking to improve their day through mindfulness. For me, I’m working on improving my morning routine a little at a time, and this book seems perfect for the meditating part of the process.

3. Atomic Habits by James Clear- new read- this book about habits: breaking, forming and staying on track is a New York Times bestseller. Clear discusses systems and how to make changes that lead to real results. As a person looking to improve her efficiency, this book immediately caught my eye.

4. Miracles Now by Gabrielle Bernstein- new read- this book looks to be promising as it offers 108 ways to find less stress, more flow and finding true purpose. The book is divided into very small sections that take only a few minutes to read each but cover ways to meditate, how to live a fuller life and how to minimize stress and anxiety.

5. The Girl Caught in the Spider’s Web by David Lagercrantz-reread. A little fiction rounds out a reading list well. I’ve been obsessed with the Lisabeth Salander and Millennium series since stumbling upon them in 2017. The series revolves around a girl who was falsely charged at age 13 of trying to kill her father and is put under guardianship. While under guardanship, a lot of awful things happen to her, but she thrives despite the challenges. She becomes a hacker and is able to solve mysteries, which makes her an excellent counterpart for journalist Mikael Blomkvist, a reporter at Millenium magazine. The series swirl around these two characters as they investigate and solve crimes.

6. Don’t Bullsh*t Yourself by Jon Taffer- new read. This is one of the books that is a twice through book for me this year, meaning I’ll actually take the time to circle back. I have loved Taffer since I first watched Bar Rescue and love his no nonsense, tough love approach to solving problems. In his book, Taffer gives us six realms of excuses we tell ourselves of why we can’t succeed- personally or professionally. He then goes into the reasons why this simply isn’t true and what we should be evaluating or changing to make things happen.

Learning

I’m making it a point this month to dive back into two of the courses I purchased last year, both involving freelance blogging. It’s a dream that I keep putting aside and thinking that I’ll get to it later. As we’re halfway through the year, there doesn’t seem to be too many laters left this year. So, I want to at least glean from what I can learn.

Writing

I’ve set my Camp NaNoWriMo goal at 30k words, which is challenging but doable. With those 30 words, I want to develop a consistent writing habit here on Medium (three times a week) and at least 1 blog post on my actual blog.

I’m finding that my favorite blend to write about is self-development, self care, life lessons, and books, with an article about finances or writing here or there for good measure.

My goal for this month is to actually submit a piece to each of the publications on this platform that have me as a writer- at least once. I plan to write more for publication than on my own. Although, I am throwing the idea around of starting my own publication on this site.

Finally, I’m still thinking about pitching a few publications outside of Medium. I haven’t written for Elephant Journal in months. I keep thinking about writing for other platforms while keeping Medium at the heart of what I do in my writing.

So there it is, goals for month 13 as an online writer. Seems ambitious, but that’s how I roll.

Thank you for reading.