Each year I try to look back and figure out what I actually got done that year, since my default thinking is, “I didn’t get shit done this year!” which is not always true. Plus it helps to set specific goals for the next year, so I don’t just wallow. Anyway, here’s 2015:
Shit I wanted to get done this year / Shit I actually got done this year
1. Finish Draft of AQP – Done! Holy shit!
2. Finish Draft of AVS – Done! Holy shit! Kind of cheated on this one by writing it with a partner, but still that’s pretty awesome.
3. Revise SACRIFICES for editor – Done! Round 1, anyway.
4. Prepare and play at least 1 solo show – Blew this to hell. Didn’t even try, because somehow I ended up with a band after I’d pretty much given up on that whole thing.
5. Mix, master, and release D&J Labs, Vol. 1, AKA the H&S Salvage album – 66% done. Mixed and mastered, and did a bunch of the legwork for releasing, but that turned out to involve a lot more work than expected and also I pretty much slacked on it.
6. Record 3 spoken word pieces with Dad – Failure. Instead recorded 3 of his songs and he realized he wants more involved arrangements, so the project, as always, has enjoyed both moving goalposts and massive scope creep. Wait, are those the same things?
7. Record electronic album – Basically wrote it and started recording it. Need to wrap this shit up.
8. Keep learning drums – Progress! Not as much practice as I would like, but I still made slow progress. Impressed my instructor when I nailed some fucked-up time signature stuff, so that was cool.
9. Clean up guitar chops – Tons of progress here.
Surprise shit I got done this year
1. Radically re-envisioned Novel H and worked up setting
2. Worked revision of AQP
3. Worked some on ear training
4. Wrote two surprise short stories
5. Put together a band with a great selection of songs and a great singer. Learned a bunch of very odd guitar parts
Shit I want to get done in 2016
1. Revise AVS
2. Write draft of Novel H.
3. Release H&S Salvage album
4. Learn set with the band, play 3 shows
5. Record, mix, master, and release electronic album
6. Send ye old new short stories out to 6 places each, unless they get published first
7. Keep working guitar chops. Specifically, be able to play clean, picked 16th notes at 173 bpm, the speed of my fastest song, so I can lay some tracks down for it. Also improve improvisation in general.
8. Ear training
9. Drum practice. Specifically, be able to lay down a simple track that doesn’t sound like ass.