As 2017 winds down, it’s time to start thinking about our New Year’s Resolutions. While the typical self-improvement resolutions like “exercise more” and “step back from social media” are wonderful, we prefer resolutions that relate to reading and writing.

This year, instead of making a general resolution like “read more,” set a clear, quantifiable goal. If you have numbers to work towards, you’re more likely to stick to your guns and keep your resolution beyond January. Plus, at the end of the year, you can look back and definitively know if you met the goal, and if not, how close you were.

Below are a few suggestions for clear, quantifiable resolutions for the reader or writer.

My New Year’s Resolution is to read 25 books in 2018.
Replace 25 with whatever number you think it achievable for you. You know yourself best. This should be a challenge, but not impossible.

My New Year’s Resolution is to write at least 30 minutes every day.
If you can dedicate more than 30 minutes a day to writing, allot more time. If every day is too big of a commitment, change it to 3x a week, or whatever is manageable for you.

My New Year’s Resolution is to read at least one chapter every night before bed.
Again, adjust according to what you can manage. This is especially good because it’s specific; you designated a time to dedicate to reading.

My New Year’s Resolution is to write 10 pages of my novel every week.
If you’re planning to finish (or start) your novel in 2018, making a weekly goal of page count or word count is a great way to help you stick to your guns and write the book.

My New Year’s Resolution is to go to the library at least 2x a month.
Supporting your local library is a great way to support both your community and book publishing. Not only can you check out new titles for free, but many libraries have classes, concerts, and movie nights that you can attend.

My New Year’s Resolution is to journal every day.
Keeping a journal on-hand to jot down your thoughts is a great way to keep your creative juices flowing. You never know when you’ll overhear a snippet of a conversation that would make an interesting plot point, or see a street name that would be perfect for your main character’s name.

My New Year’s Resolution is to read in a new place every week.
This is a fun way to get you out and about, exploring coffee shops and parks. Plus, it’s committing you to read at least a little every week.

No matter what you resolve for 2018, we wish you luck and a happy new year!