The end of a year--well, the end of anything--makes me reflective. And today I've been thinking about beating myself up about not accomplishing everything I set out to do any given day. Didn't hit my word count, my page edit goal, or post on social media to remind people that hi! hello! I'm here! (Psst: I'm not on TikTok or X for...reasons.)

This is the curse of the overachiever. I expect I will get 28 hours' worth of work done in the 24 hours I've got. I've always been like this. In third grade science, we were supposed to pick an object in space on which to write a report and create a poster. Your girl picked the solar system. That's right. THE WHOLE SOLAR SYSTEM. I've decided to stop fighting it.

But! I've added something into my routine that helps--retrospectives. I meet my desk every day, but some of those days...oof. A cold can throw me off, one of my kids or my spouse having a tough day, existential dread because *gestures at everything*...  Anyway, days are too brief a window to evaluate progress. Weeks, too, if I'm being honest. Months are good for look-backs, and I do that. Instead of always looking forward of the UNdone work, I remind myself of what I've completed. 

And years? A full year is amazing for that. Because in 2024, I:

Turned in line & copy edits for ROMANCING MISS STONE (70k words / 289 pages), which released on June 25, 2024, my debut with Harlequin Afterglow; Finalized the title for DESTINATION WEDDINGS AND OTHER DISASTERS, my 2nd book with Harlequin Afterglow, weighed in on cover concepts; worked on developmental & line edits (75k words, 300 pages), and started promo for it's July 1, 2025 release;
Joined a Christmas anthology, WRECK MY HALLS, and in six months, drafted and edited my first Christmas novella AS WE DREAM BY THE FIRE (40k; 160 pages) in time for its indie release on November 19, 2024 release;Pitched, submitted a synopsis + 3 chapters, and sold CODE NAME GORGEOUS to Harlequin Afterglow in August, 2024. I drafted 92k and edited it down to 75k words / 300 pages (release date TBD 2026).Participated in 6 in-person author events, and 2 online panels.

That's...that's a lot. More than I've done in other years. My next deadline isn't for a little while, so I'm giving myself a break. So, if you feel like you didn't hit it out of the park today, take a look back over the past month, maybe year, and see how things stack up. You might be surprised.