Yule Tidings 2025! Conquering your Goals for the Year
Today, marks the official start of the winter season, as well as the celebration of Yule. It's been brutally cold for me here is Pennsylvania. I can't remember a November and December this brutal.
The Winter Solstice is a time of deep thought and preparing for the year ahead. It is not a time for kicking back and letting things get away from you... The reality is, time marches on and things that you put off will just be harder to do when you need to finish it, rather than spreading the task out over time.
For me this is ever more present in my life. I have put off tasks that I 'thought' were easy and now that the time has come to finish them, I realize that I should have started those tasks much earlier because they are in fact more complicated than I thought they were.
For me, this is the publication of my Book of Shadows Collections. My deadline is the end of the month, but I was hoping to publish and list for sale all of the collections by Yule... today.
I have posted 4.
Much of this is my own mistake which I mentioned in the last update: I switched from a paid program to a free program. This caused a lot of conversion mistakes. I also decided to make changes to the layout and add/remove things. This added more time to the project. Time which I now do not have.
On top of that, I took a break from everything. I hit a hard wall spiritually, mentally, and physically that just took the wind out of my sails.
I have been trying to post about this for a few weeks, but everything I wrote felt empty and not worth reading. November and December are my least favorite months of the year for many reasons that are too much to describe here. Depression is a real thing for me during these two months and this year, it felt worse. January always seems to help motivate me, new beginnings and a fresh year to look forward to. January and a new year are just a few days away. I am looking forward to saying goodbye to this year and get moving in the new year. These last two months have just been dragging on and on.
The good news is, I am working on my projects again and these last few days I have put in the hard work and have something to show for it. Four of the fifteen Book of Shadow Collections are done and listed for sale. Links can be found on the Shop Page.
I can't be a pessimist here and downplay that achievement. This is worth celebrating. Today marks not only Yule, but also my achievement of finally after three long years of planning, hard work, and wanting to give up, putting out a product that I am happy with. I feel elated.
This Yule, I am grateful for the family, friends, and spirit guides that have encouraged me to keep going and not to give up.
It is easy to loose sight of goals. I had a lot of goals for this year, but I really didn't finish them. I am okay with this. The progress that I have made is monumental. I know that the progress I did make can be built upon and carried through to next year. Besides, we still have 11 days left in this year, maybe I can push through and complete a few more projects.
I have a linen closet that needs shelves. The shelves are cut, just need to put it together. This is my goal for this week. Stupid to many, but to me it marks another project that just doesn't seem to end. So, I will plow ahead and finish it... this year.
Baby steps. That is what I tell myself. That is all that matters. Keep making progress, even if it is slow.
I am still working on the Book of Shadows. That process is ongoing and I am hopeful to finish and list more soon. It is a lot of computer work for me and a battle to find the energy to overcome pain to work on the computer. I look at the tasks that need to be done and just put my head down and get to work. The cat (in photo above) keeps me company and he helps me to focus. At least my cat doesn't try to sit on my computer... I wouldn't get anything done if he did that.
I had two major goals this year for my business: set up my blog/website (done) and to publish the Book of Shadows collections (work in progress/some done).
My personal goals were to sew more (no, due to disability, okay with this because I did finish one project) and to work on my house (sort of). I had some setback like needing to buy a new washer and fix the dryer all in a single week! Yikes!) These setbacks were financial more than time. Needing a working washer and dryer is more important than painting a bedroom, replacing worn out flooring, or buying fabric. I still accomplished a lot of small tasks that just got pushed to the side because of lack of planning. I am happy with the accomplishment of my goals this year. I still have a lot to do, but hey... there is still 11 days left in the year!
I know a lot of people loose track of their goals. Having friends and family that can keep you on track is a great way to keep your motivation up and keep going. I use a work flow management app. I keep it on my phone so that I can always see where I am and what needs to be done. I can mark my progress and get a percentage of what is done and what still needs to be worked on. I find this app is what has driven my motivation in the last week. I got a notification that I had a deadline approaching. That notification is what has re-engaged me into the work.
I highly recommend using either a calendar or work management app with reminders to set goals and to help you keep up the progress on them. Even if you want to go old school and use a wall calendar, mark it clearly so you can see what you need to do! Keep the calendar or list visible on a daily basis so you can see what needs to be done. Making a list and then letting it get shuffled into the stacks of paper on your desk will not help. Make copies and post them around your house where you spend a lot of time. Reminding yourself of your goals is not embarrassing, its encouraging. You have every right to want to better yourself through progress on your goals, don't let anyone stop you!
I look forward to writing my list of goals for next year. I have a few in mind already, but I usually save writing my list until January 1st so that I can start fresh in the new year.
Anyway, I have rambled long enough. I probably will not be posting until the New Year. Got a lot of work to do. If you are interested in the Book of Shadows collections they are listed on my Patreon for sale, you do need an account, it is free to sign up. I am using Patreon because they have reasonable fees for sales and they can host digital files without too much hassle.
I wish you all a blessed Yule, Merry Christmas (if you celebrate) and a Happy New Year!
Yule Tidings,
Athena Rocar