Not a total failure

If I had to rate my success with my 30-day Organization challenge, I'd give myself about a 5 out of 10. That's an F. I've always been an A student, so I am not accustomed to this type of self-evaluation.  Oddly, though, it doesn't feel too bad. Here's why:

Although I didn't do 30 organization projects in 30 days, I did organize more than I would have otherwise. My desk, my laundry room, and my daughters' craft organizer are all still in good shape. There's still this:

And this:

The craft room is still a mess overall, but parts of it ARE better.

However, oddly, I subconsciously seemed to revisit several of my past 30-day challenges. I've started meditating again; not daily, but a few times a week. And two semesters ago, I attempted a writing challenge with similar lackluster results. My goal was to revamp a picture book manuscript into a chapter book and send it off to agents. While I did work on the manuscript, I ended those 30-days with only a partial revision and no attempts to query agents or publishers.

In the last month, however, I have sent off that same manuscript (now complete) to 4 agents, and I submitted it to a "work in progress" grant competition. If I get chosen, my manuscript will be put shown to several editors and agents actively looking for new projects to publish. I've already gotten two rejections from the agents, but even that rejection feels BETTER than just sitting on my work and lacking the motivation to do anything about it. I've even started meeting a friend (and fellow writer) once a week to sit at a coffee shop and just write together. So I'm practicing accountability with my writing.

I don't like failing at anything, even something I dislike such as cleaning. So it's hard to admit that I simply lost the challenge. But in a roundabout way, I feel like it helped me get my priorities straight. The clutter can wait; life is short, so I should focus on the goals that mean the most to me.

How did your challenge go?