WHAT IS A GOAL? The end toward which effort is directed. An aim.

We’ve been talking about the pitfalls of self-doubt and overwhelm throughout your writing and publishing journey.

This month’s pitfall couldn’t be more apt – not setting goals. A new year means new goals and resolutions, right? Let this be the year you get serious about your writing journey and set yourself up for success by making REALISTIC short and long-term goals to measure your progress.

Do they have to be massive goals? No.

Do you have to have daily, weekly, or monthly goals? Whatever feels right and is productive for you.

REMEMBER: EVERY LITTLE BIT HELPS, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU HAVE LIMITED WRITING TIME.

There’s nothing worse you could do for yourself than jump into open waters alone with no flotation device. You’ll drown otherwise, right? Don’t ask me where these analogies come from, but I imagine an endless, glinting sea of all the things that want our attention. Swimming to all of them without a tether isn’t only exhausting, but you could drown.

Goals serve as our guide and tether to practicality. Things will come up and change throughout the week, month, or year, but your end game usually stays the same. Action steps to reach your goals give you momentum, and the closer you inch toward your goal, the more motivated you’ll feel.

You will continually let yourself down if you aren’t practical about what you can achieve and how you are going to get there.

What does goal setting look like? That depends on your personality. It can be as broad and big-picture for 2024, or as detailed as you want it to. The key are actionable steps to move you in that direction. Because if overwhelm is the mother of creativity killers, then goals are what allow us to break things down into manageable pieces, and you know how much I like manageable pieces.

Questions to ask yourself might be:

What are my existing responsibilities to consider?

Are there things I can declutter from my life in order to make more time to meet my writing/publishing goals?

What nagging tasks are taking up precious bandwidth and energy?

Realistically, how much time do I have to meet my goal?

Are there resources I might find to help me?

What sort of research should I do in order to make the best use of my time?

TIP: Not everyone has the privilege of writing whenever they want to. If writing has to take a backseat in order to focus on your health or family, don’t feel guilty. Use that itch to write when you can’t as fuel to get other things off your plate. Or shift your schedule so TV time becomes writing or reading time.

Let this month be the start of a new chapter in your writing life.

The New Year is here, and whether we’re ready for it, it’s to our benefit to pause, take a breath, and look at what realistic goals we can achieve. You might have to pivot along the way, but it’s easier to stay on course if there’s a path to follow forward.

You can read previous posts in this series by clicking the "Avoiding Self-Sabotage" tag for connected posts. :)