TVWriter.Com

by Bri Castellini

1. Write 5 new projects. In Progress. Hasn’t been as much time to write as expected, but I did write a mini series in the Better With You Universe, a pilot for a shelved Brains audio drama reboot, a set of rules and the first two adventures for a homebrew DnD game, and have started a number of other pilots and shorts, so I feel good about my progress here.
2. Host 3 table reads. In Progress. This was on the list because I was allegedly “stepping back a bit from producing this year,” which hasn’t been true. Technically we had a Better With You table read, and I’m sure once Kailee and Amanda move to NYC we’ll have another one or two, so progress here as well.
3. Post one blog and one YouTube video a month. Failure. Hah hah hah hah hah
4. Cook dinner at least twice a week. Doing ok. While I’ve certainly cooked more this year than I have for a years, I probably haven’t averaged twice a week in a few months. I didn’t expect to be traveling so often so when I am home it’s usually in between trips and we haven’t been able to go to the grocery store. Now that I’m working from home full time though I expect to get better about this. I’m also traveling… less, though I will be traveling again as of August at least once a month.
5. Start or end my day active at least three times a week. Doing ok. Another thing that’s been aided by working from home but hasn’t been 100% consistent for a while. Using the traveling excuse again even though excuses are for quitters.
6. Release and submit for festivals both projects I have in post. Boom goes the dynamite. Buy In’s IRL festival premiere is TONIGHT and Sam and Pat has been released and being submitted to fests for months.
7. Leave New York at least 4 times. Current tally with planned trips for the future included:
   1. January- Los Angeles, Washington DC
   2. March- Los Angeles again, Oregon
   3. April- Washington DC again, Northhampton, MA
   4. May- Utah
   5. June- Denver
   6. August (upcoming, probably)- Los Angeles again
   7. September & October- Colorado
   8. November- San Diego
   9. December- Colorado
   Save $2k. In progress. Had a bit of a finance scare this year for a variety of reasons I won’t get into right now (but suffice it to say it wasn’t on me this time), so this got interrupted because I had to take $2k OUT of my savings to pay rent and whatnot for a few months. However, my auto-transfer I set up at the beginning of the year has continued to transfer from checking to savings once a month so I have technically put $1425 into savings this year (though if this resolution had meant save $2k on top of my existing savings balance, I’d be at -$575). I’m hoping once things get back to normal I can put back what I took out of my savings to survive during the weird months, but even if I don’t, the point of putting money in savings is for emergencies like paying rent during weird income months. Pick my battles. In progress. The Great Financial Scare of 2019 helped a lot with this one, weirdly, because I had to learn to prioritize and set boundaries in ways I never had to before. Also with all the traveling I’ve done this year I’ve been too tired to fight as much as I used to fight, but I’m still counting this as progress rather than a reaction to exhaustion. Be a better adult. In progress. On non-travel weeks I’m generally pretty good about this, and in general Quinn and I have gotten a lot more consistent about chores and cleaning and whatnot. The day I wrote this post (a week in advance, like an ADULT) Quinn and I did a deep clean of the apartment/fridge and made some plans to tackle a bug problem that’s been there since we moved into this very old building. Mom, I swear, New York City just has bugs, it’s not our fault.

   Not as bad as I thought! The resolutions that require a week over week lifestyle change I’m giving myself a break on because I’m human and I’ve still got a few months of the year left to change these habits, and calling them a failure in July seems unnecessary.

   Bri Castellini is an indie filmmaker and Community Director at Stareable, our favorite web series hub. Watch the remarkable Ms. Castellini’s award-winning web series, Brains, HERE. See Sam And Pat Are Depressed HERE. This post first appeared on Bri’s wonderfully refreshing blog.