Jill Kemerer: goals

Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts

Monday, January 5, 2015

One Word for 2015

This is the first time in years I've gotten through the holidays and felt energized and excited. We had almost a week of downtime at home, and it made a huge difference in my attitude. I'm more than ready to tackle my to-do list this January! But first, I'm sharing my one word for the year.

This is my fourth year of praying for one word. In mid-December I began praying for God to lead me to a word to focus on in 2015. Within a short time one started flashing to me, but I didn't fully trust it, so I prayed off and on for another week. That word wouldn't go away!

My previous words were Peace, Trust, and Dream. I was a little scared of the word "victory." What if I got my hopes up too much and relied on victories that God never intended? Or what if it made me feel entitled? Self-absorbed? Arrogant?

Don't get me wrong, I didn't want to hear "struggle" as my word! We all have enough of that, don't we?. :) But hearing a good word can be just as daunting.

I always search for a Bible passage to memorize and cling to throughout the year. The one I found gave me reassurance.

1 Corinthians 15:57 "But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

Once I read it, my worries disappeared. All of our victories are through our Lord Jesus Christ.

What a wonderful truth. Everything we do and have are through Jesus. These simple words took a load off my shoulders. One of my goals in 2015 is to continue the practice of reading two chapters of the Bible each morning before prayer. It centers me, reassures me, keeps my anxieties at a lower level. If I go too many days in a row without this time with the Lord, I get nervous and twitchy. It's not good.

If you're starting the new year on empty with a list of goals a mile long, I urge you to rest a few hours, or an entire day, if possible. I needed a few days away from the daily grind. It refreshed me in the best possible way.

Have you ever tried focusing on one word for the year?

If you'd like to try it, spend time in prayer and try not to be in a hurry. It usually takes me more than a week until I'm certain of my word.

Happy 2015!!

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How to Get a Lot Done This October

I love the first day of October! I really don't know why. It just makes me happy. :)

I have big plans for October. One thing I've learned over the years? I have to be deliberate with my time. It's way too easy to slip into bad habits. My days get away from me, and at the end of the month I'm scratching my head and wondering why I didn't get anything done. Not this month!

Here's how I'm making the most of October:

1. Write down my business commitments.

Several things are already on my calendar. One of my critique partners sent her novel (yay!) and my other partner will be sending a novella (yay!) mid-month. I also have a guest blog post to put together, and I need to finish and submit a contracted short story. Additionally, the first of the month is when I update my website, so I'll be tackling that today.

2. Identify my main goal--the project that's most important for me to work on.

My main goal isn't listed on the business commitments above. I plotted a new novel this summer, and I want to write a large chunk of the rough draft. I add this to the list.

3. Review the family calendar.

I'm blessed to be able to work from home, but most days I feel as if I have a second job on the night shift due to my children's activities. Weeknights mean cross country and football practice, cooking dinner and homework assistance. On weekends, my daughter has cross country meets, my son has baseball scrimmages and he's taking catechism classes.

Why is it important to keep these activities in mind? It's very, very hard for me to squeeze writing or other business tasks in at night or on weekends. If I don't work on them during the day, they don't get done.

4. Create a plan based on the above.

Critiquing will be a nice change of pace for me, so I'm heading into critique partner #1's work first. I'll also set a few hours aside to finish writing the short story, and I'll put the guest post together. Sometime next week, I'm starting my new novel. I'll also schedule time to revise the short story. When critique partner #2's novella arrives in my in-box, I'll probably start critiquing it and lower my word count for that week. Then, it's writing, writing, writing until the end of the month.

5. Set personal goals.

My personal goals this month are to continue my exercise routine and eat at least one serving of raw vegetables a day.

***

Organizing my month this way allows me to be flexible and gives more weight to my motivation.

You might want to add extra goals such as heading to the pumpkin patch, decorating the house for fall, or trying that new recipe. I hung a fall wreath on the door, so I'm good on decorating, and I'll be purchasing pumpkins from the ginormous cardboard box at Kroger. In the past, we've had lazy Octobers where I can make homemade cinnamon buns and spend a day at an apple orchard, but this is not that October!

I don't mind. I've accepted that each year brings its own challenges. If I can squeeze in an afternoon at a local park to take pictures of the fall colors, I'll be happy!

What do you want to accomplish this month?

Have a fabulous day!!

Is a Simple Goal Eluding You?

Two years ago I came across a magazine at Barnes & Noble called Success. The articles inspired me, plus the magazine included a CD with interviews. Listening to leaders share their advice made my mom-taxi commute less of a chore. I kept the magazine (it's in my office) and refer to it whenever I need a jolt of motivation.

The online version of Success brims with helpful articles, too. "Tiny Habits" by Jennifer Chang (article is linked) made me pause in a good way. In it, Jennifer shares how she was unsuccessful at one simple goal--flossing her teeth--until she tried the Tiny Habits method.

Maybe you're great at flossing. But what about drinking eight glasses of water a day? Or jogging for thirty minutes? Or writing five hundred words? Sure, these goals sound simple, but for most people, actually sticking to these tasks is complex, difficult.

If we've tried and failed at a goal in the past, how can we make it a habit now? Enter Tiny Habits.

Based on the research of Professor BJ Fogg, Ph.D., Tiny Habits involves starting small, finding an anchor to act as a trigger for your new behavior, and celebrating immediately.

For example, if you want to drink more water throughout the day, your small start might be to fill a glass of water. The anchor to trigger it? Filling the glass whenever you get up to use the restroom. If your glass is still full when you get up, you'll be reminded to drink the water. Pat yourself on the back each time you fill that glass!

Since I'm on a mini-health kick, I'd like to add small strength moves to my day. I'm going to add a 15-second plank to my routine before I check my e-mails.

Small goal? 15-second plank.
The trigger? The "Mail" button will remind me of my goal.
Celebrate? A wink, fist-pump, big smile? I don't know! I guess I'll find out!

For more information on incorporating Tiny Habits, read Jennifer Chang's article, "5 Tips for Turning Your Tiny Habits Into Big Results," and check out the website of Professor BJ Hoff, Ph.D.

What simple goal has been eluding you? Is there a Tiny Habit you could start?

Have a lovely weekend!

Three Tips for Managing Your Day

I've been reading about time management, routines, creativity, and schedules. This week I altered my daily schedule, and, what do you know, I accomplished more than usual. Felt better too!

So what did I do differently? Nothing much, but it made all the difference.

Here are three things you can do to take charge of your day.

1. Get centered.

For me, getting centered means inviting the Lord into my life.

After my family heads out the door, I read two chapters of the Bible (one from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament) followed by a prayer session. God wants us to come to Him. He loves it when we pray, when we rely on Him, when we study His word. This practice is vital to me. It sets the tone and keeps needless anxieties from taking over.

2. Write down one to three tasks that will move you closer to your goal.

I'm a writer. My goals usually revolve around my books. A sample of tasks I've tackled in the last six months includes:

Write two scenes.
Revise chapter thirteen.
Read chapters six through ten out loud.
Create two pages for mobile website.
Write Friday's blog post.
Email so-and-so about guest post.
Brainstorm possible turning points for upcoming book.

You might only be able to cross one of these tasks off your list. That's okay. Just move the other tasks to tomorrow's calendar. The important thing is creating movement in your project.

3. Set limits on your time wasters.

My time wasters are all Internet related. Facebook, in particular, can suck me in for way too long! All week I've been diligent about logging off in 10-15 minutes. Mission accomplished. I'm getting more done and feeling better about it!

These three steps give me a sense of control over my day. I feel better overall because I've placed my time into God's hands. I feel better at night because I made progress toward my goals. And I feel better about myself because I'm not turning to the Internet to fill a void in my life.

**For fun, head to Scott Belsky's website and check out his Clever Tip Jar Collection. I love the idea of clever tips--cash or ideas!**

What's your best tip for managing your day?

Have a terrific weekend!!

Writing Goals: The Summer Push

January and September are my ideal months for setting writing goals, but July? The only goals I can wrap my head around involve ice-cream and sleep!

I recently put the final polish on another book, and the last thing I want to think about is setting an aggressive writing goal. However, a few mini-goals will rejuvenate my creativity between now and fall.

If you're considering setting a short-term, summer writing goal, try the following steps.

1. Determine your commitment level.

Many of my friends are attending ACFW's annual conference mid-September. This automatically raises the commitment level. Aim for a higher goal if you have a concrete deadline and reason to meet the goal. If you've recently wrapped an intense project and don't have deadlines looming, your commitment level should be lower.

2. Be honest about the time you can reasonably spend.

Sure, we can say we'll spend one hour every night and four hours each Saturday morning working on our book, but summer has a way of subtracting hours we thought were available. Mid-week picnics, baby showers, weddings, impromptu tickets to a ball game--there is nothing wrong with enjoying these! Just check your planner BEFORE you set the goal. And, please, don't eliminate the little things that bring so much joy, like watching the sun go down from your deck.

3. Determine what one goal would rock your world if you accomplished it this summer.

Maybe you've been writing the final ten-thousand words of your manuscript for six months. Or you just can't bring yourself to start revising the book you finished drafting last winter. It could be social media--you've been meaning to set up a blog or a Facebook page, but something holds you back. Now is a great time to move past your roadblocks and get going. Build momentum now and you'll be flying when the weather cools.

4. Creativity is like exercise. You don't have to go full throttle every minute, but you do have to keep moving.

Small kids at home forcing you to set your manuscript aside for the time being? Vacations eating into every free moment? Make goals to read, journal, explore--anything related to writing.

My summer writing goals?
- Catch up on reading (Reading great fiction improves my writing.)
- Study one new writing craft book
- Brainstorm story ideas
- Free-writing (I rarely free-write when I'm working on a book.)

If you're a writer, do you set summer goals? What project can you push for the next two months?

Have a great day!

What's Your Plan For 2013?

Every December I take a few hours to map out my business plan for the following year. Sitting down to do this is always one part daunting, one part exciting, and one part confusing. How can I possibly know what new obligations the next twelve months will bring? I can't! But I don't let that stop me.

I use Microsoft OneNote to organize my writing life. It's where I create my business plan each year, too. The main tab in my 2013 Business Plan notebook features my goals. I've learned the hard way not to etch a full year's goals in granite, so I create two tentative plans, and they each get their own sub-page.

The first is January-June 2013 and the second is July-December 2013. I copy/paste an annual calendar onto its own page in this tab, too, for referrals. Since I track my daily writing/revising/plotting progress, I know roughly how long I will need for each phase of writing a book. With these figures, I can accurately predict the amount of time to block off.

I always allot extra time in the schedule. An extra week here and there makes a big difference for me to stay on track.

Here is a sample of my overall January-June goals:

Polish finished manuscript 1 and send back to agent

Brainstorm and Plot UNTITLED 1

Revise first draft of manuscript 2

Write first draft UNTITLED 1

Send revised manuscript 2 to agent

Brainstorm/OneNote Plot UNTITLED 2

Any number of things could throw this plan off, but I'd rather have a general plan than none at all.

The nice thing about OneNote is I'm able to create a little checkbox next to each goal (simultaneously press the "Control" and "1" keys). Love it!

If--let's face it, when!--I need to alter the plan, I change it and add a note on top of the page with the day I updated it.

I also keep track of my expenses, continuing education, and promotion efforts in my 2013 Business Plan notebook. Wendy Lawton of Books & Such Literary Agency wrote a terrific post about her business plan and how she grades herself at the end of the year. The post is here, An Agent's Report Card, if you're interested!

Do you have an idea of what you want to accomplish next year? Have you written it down? Try it!

I'll be taking a nice, long break for Christmas. See you all January 7, 2013!!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

Pushing Your Word Count: WSG 27

The writing world holds its breath and in a few days will exhale a flood of excitement. Yes, it's almost NaNoWriMo time again!! Every November, throngs of writers challenge themselves to write 50,000 words of a new book. Some break the word count into daily goals, some into weekly goals, but by the time November ends, even if they didn't "win" with 50,000 words, most participants have exceeded their normal, non-NaNo word counts.

How do they do it?

There are two keys:

1. Group support
2. Pushing to meet a goal

Since everyone starts their new project on November 1st, it's like a race, but instead of competing against each other, everyone encourages their fellow writers to keep going. It's easy to check in on Twitter (use #NaNo) or Facebook to stay accountable and get much-needed motivation.

While I don't participate in NaNoWriMo, I always get inspired by the people who do. I usually am writing a first draft during November, and I love that my word count piles up before the holidays. It's great to end the year on a high note!

Here are ways I push my word count limit on a daily basis:

* I tell fellow writers I'm pushing myself to high goals, and I check in with them throughout the week to let them know how I'm doing (Accountability).

* I break my writing sessions into short chunks and take "reward" breaks. I used to write for 3-4 hours straight, but I find I get higher word counts--and I feel better--on days I write for an hour, take a short break, write for another hour, work on another task, etc... If you do not have much time to write, try 30 minute sessions. (Endurance)

* Break your overall word count into weekly and daily word count goals. Decide on your target end date. Have your calendar in front of you when you do this. It's easy to "forget" the non-writing commitments you've signed up for over the next few months, not to mention any holidays! I've learned the hard way that the day before Christmas break will NOT be productive. I never schedule big word counts for hectic times! (Realistic goals)

**If you want to write an 85,000 word novel in three months, you'll need to write 7083 words every week for 12 weeks. If you have two days a week to write, you'll need to write 3540 words/day. If you have five days, you'll need to write 1416/day. Seven days? 1011/day. **

* Track your progress EVERY writing session. Write the date, the amount of words you wrote, the total words overall, and calculate how many you still have to write. Doing this gives you solid proof progress is being made. It will keep you motivated. (Results)

* Ask other writers on Twitter to join you in a #1k1hr session. This is where you push yourself to write 1000 words in one hour. You then post the actual number of words you wrote. It's a great way to keep it fun! (Challenge)

* Remind yourself you don't have to "be in the mood" to write. You don't have to have three hours of a cleared schedule. You just have to show up and write. That's all. You can fix anything while revising, but you have to get it on paper first. (Attitude)

Writing is fun! But taking three years to write six chapters of a book isn't. Part of successful writing is momentum. We have to keep our writing muscles toned or they weaken. When we eventually have to build them up again, we waste precious time and energy. Keep pushing yourself!

Do you challenge yourself to reach high word counts? I'd love to hear your tricks!

Have a wonderful Monday!

The Picky Writer's Day Planner

I adore day planners, always have. There's something exciting and fun about a fresh calendar. Personally, I'm more productive when I write my daily goals out, and it only makes sense to keep them in one place. So with a Staples coupon in hand, I trotted to the store and debated on the best planner.

Photo by mcgraths

Many of them come wire bound. I don't like this kind because it's impossible to add sections or to take a paper out temporarily. I do like Franklin Covey planners. They have great preprinted sections and usually come with a three-ring binder. However, they are almost always too big for my needs. I don't want an 8.5" x 11" planner, and the smaller versions are too thick.

In the past, I've made my own planner out of a blank three-ring binder, and this year, I decided to weigh the other options first. My planner should be a certain size. It would need to fit into my everyday purse for when I head out on my weekly Idea Hour dates. It would also need to have a yearly calendar with sections for each of the months, tabbed dividers for my business categories, and at least one pocket to store slips of papers or index cards. I vowed I would buy or create the perfect planner, regardless the cost.

The calendar aisle scared me. It's a big aisle, folks. But I gamely perused the selections. You would not believe the prices! Or maybe you would and I'm just super cheap. I liked one but it was too large, and I fell into a coughing fit when I saw that it was $42.99. Ouch. Then I picked up several other models, disregarding each for lacking something in my above criteria.

Thankfully, Staples has an entire section of refills. I snuck to the three-ring binder section and actually found the exact size binder I had in mind. Only 1/2" thick and a compact version (I'm guessing 6" x 8"), I snatched it up even though the price made me cringe.

Then I headed back to the calendar aisle and spent another twenty minutes deciding which refills would suit my needs best. I opted for a smaller version of looseleaf paper, a package of 15 small, clear protective covers, and a tabbed monthly calendar insert. I did not purchase a one-sheet calendar of 2012. They didn't carry any. But I did find a slew of free printable options online when I got home.

My day planner ended up being expensive: $7.29 for the binder, $3.79 for the looseleaf papers, $4.99 for the protective covers, and $10.99 for the tabbed monthly calendar insert. I also threw in a ten pack of colored Sharpies on sale for $3.00. You would have too, admit it. :)

So, not including the Sharpies, I paid $27.06 excluding tax for the exact day planner I wanted. Normally, I would have found a way to create a day planner for under ten dollars, but there comes a time when you know what works for you and what doesn't. This one works, and hopefully, I would only need to replace the looseleaf paper and the tabbed calendar next year.

I don't feel too guilty about the price either. I use my planner every day, and at the above price, that's about $2.25 a month for recording, meeting, and exceeding my goals. Not bad!

Now that you know all about my thrilling day planner adventure, I'd love to hear how you keep track of your schedule. Do you have a day planner? Use your phone? Google Calendar? Do tell!

Have a fantastic weekend!

Verbal Goals, Time Management, and UsWeekly Magazine

On Saturday, I attended my local writer's group, MVRWA, and we discussed our personal goals for the year. Each January, we take turns telling the group what we want to achieve with our writing. Then we write our goals down on an index card. Hearing my fellow writers' dreams is a huge mood booster and always motivates me to reach higher.

The Saturday before, I kidnapped my husband and forced him to Panera Bread for a discussion about my 2011 business goals. Wendy Delfosse asked me to share the details, so here goes.

I was nervous. Over the years, we've had informal discussions about my writing, but we'd never set an actual date to talk about my plans. After ordering two coffees and settling into a comfy booth, I handed him a printout of things to discuss.

My nerves dissipated as we began with the easy stuff, my hours--no surprises there--then moved on to expenses, writing goals, and my wish list. My husband supported most of my points, but we don't see eye-to-eye on everything, and that's okay. He trusts me to make good decisions, and I trust him to be honest with me.

I highly recommend sitting down with a close friend or your significant other once a year to discuss these things.

Writers, especially unpublished writers, need to view themselves as professionals. By setting verbal goals with another group of writers, you validate your choices. By taking the time to create a business plan and discuss it with someone close to you, you validate your choices. Validation leads to respecting yourself and sticking to your plan.
Once you've set the goals and shared them out loud with someone, you need to actually come up with a plan on how to achieve them. I recently came across a post by Sarah Sundin (do yourself a favor and check out her WWII inspirational romances) at Novel Journey. Her article, Taming Time is so good, I recommend printing it out and keeping it in your planner.

And finally, when you've set your goals and made a plan on how to achieve them, reward yourself! I indulge with a subscription to UsWeekly. It's wonderful to check off my weekly goals and lose myself in a few pages of Fashion Police.

Do you tell anyone your writing goals? What's your favorite regular reward for a job well done?

Favor to ask--MVRWA is launching our group blog today!! I'm the welcome wagon and would love to have you stop by. One of our twelve contributors will be posting every Monday and Wednesday, and we have some extremely talented authors. We'd love to see you, just click here for the MVRWA Group Blog!

Happy Monday!

The Safe Zone Isn't Safe

I like feeling safe. I crave the comfort of the familiar. When life gets thrown into chaos, I take steps to get in order as soon as possible.

I don't know about you, but the more I care about something, the scarier it is to pursue it. But to get the life we dream of, we have to leave our personal safety zones. Let's face it, the process can be terrifying. When we have big dreams, we have potentially big falls to go with them.

Sometimes it's easier to keep the dreams locked in our fantasies rather than risk failure. However, it's more devastating never to attempt to achieve our goals than to sit on the sidelines of safety.

Here are a few safe zones I had to step out of when I decided to pursue a writing career.

1. I was used to being a mother 24/7, but my kids aren't babies anymore. I spend less time with my children to focus on my writing. I utilize the time they're at school to write, but I also work in the afternoon.

2. I swallowed my fear and admitted to people that I'm a writer. I also have gotten very good at admitting I haven't been published and how long I've been trying to get published. Not easy on the pride, let me tell you!

3. I once dreaded letting anyone read my work. Sending chapters to my critique partners on a regular basis has made a huge difference in my writing. I never query until I've gotten feedback.

4. The thought of walking into a group of strangers intimidated me, but joining writer's groups has made an enormous impact on my writing. I've gotten so much advice. And now I'm able to return the favor as vice-president and webmaster of MVRWA, my local RWA group.

5. I was terrified of "putting myself out there online" but now I find it very rewarding. Starting this blog, designing a website, joining Facebook, Twitter, and recently Goodreads have helped me budget my time, learn new programs, and feel confident about my ability to promote myself and eventually my books. Of course, the greatest reward has been meeting so many wonderful writers.

6. Querying. Enough said.

I would love to say there are no safe zones left for me, but I'd be LYING. Here are some things I'm working on this year.

1. Staying active with my social networks even when it's uncomfortable or I'm gloomy.

2. Actively promoting myself even though I'm not published. I often think that I don't have anything to offer yet, but it's not true.

3. Pushing myself to meet daily, weekly, monthly and annual goals. I had success with this in the fall, but it's a constant struggle.

4. Coming up with a business plan for 2011. The more I think of my writing as a business, the more seriously I take it. My husband and I have a date to discuss the details of my plan including my hours, my goals, expenses, our expectations about vacations and my time spent online.

So now you know some of my safe zones. What are your safe zones? What can you do to push yourself one step closer to your goal?

Have a fabulous weekend!

One Goal Friday: March 19

Every Friday we set one goal for the upcoming week. It can be related to work, home, family, or anything at all. Our big dreams get accomplished in small steps, and it's important to have fun along the way.

What's your biggest emotional burden right now? What stresses you the most today? Take a few minutes to think of one thing you can do to lessen that stress. Here are a few made-up scenarios:
I haven't met my word count in three days--okay, three weeks. I'll never get published at this rate.
Please, do not set a goal related to word count. It will only stress you out more. Instead, consider setting a "nice for you" goal, such as renting a movie you've wanted to see, asking a friend over for dinner, or even soaking in a long, hot bath. Pressure added to pressure does not make one more productive.

My entire family had the flu all week, and I haven't touched my manuscript because I've been knee-deep in vomit. I can't stand the thought of putting off my revisions another day.
This is a case where giving yourself permission to revise for an hour would be beneficial to you. It's good and right to take care of the family, but take a break, however small, to work on your dreams.

I'm so mad at myself. The diet I promised to stick to on January 2 died a pathetic death on January 6, and now spring is almost here. At this rate, I won't be wearing shorts until September.
Be kind to yourself. A five minute walk or a new lipstick will do wonders for your mood. If you feel good, you'll be more likely to do nice things for yourself. If nothing else, don't allow the nasty thoughts in your head. You wouldn't talk to your best friend like that, so don't talk to yourself like that either.

I LOVE reading all of the goals you set. Enthusiasm is contagious, don't you think?

Here are last week's goals:

Jaime: Study Bible every day
CJ: No obsessing or worrying about eldest child's trip to Rome
Tamika: Get stellar word count in
Karen L: Complete two articles
Susan M: Finish rewrites
Joanne: Finish revising the problem section of memoir
Patrice: Send off taxes
Terri: Finish editing a friend's book
Diane: Submit to new agent
Nancy: Fret not
Patti: Hand ROS to editor by Tuesday
Maria: Pull together 30-day devotional and start shopping it
Susan R: Continue consolidating chapters into one document
Angie: Write daily
T. Anne: Make sense of WIP
Quiet Spirit: Study An Introduction to Christian Writing by Ethel Herr
Empi: Undecided between a. cleaning room, b. laundry, c. pedicure, or d. make corn chowder. Empi, I'd go with c. pedicure--just saying!

As for me, yes, I finished reading James Scott Bell's Revision and Self-Editing. Woo-hoo!

My goal this week? I've been busy, and when I'm busy, I try to fit MORE in. Smart huh? Not so much. This week, I'm re-claiming my habit of avoiding anything writing related after 5:00 PM. (I probably shouldn't rely on the phrase "it's five o'clock somewhere" right now, should I? No? Okay.)

Did you meet your goals? I'm dying to hear the new ones! Any newcomers, feel free to leave your goal in the comments or if you aren't comfortable with sharing, that's okay too!

Have a wonderful weekend!

How Much Effort Do You Put In?

Motivation. Dreams. Ambitions. These words suggest a fire within to accomplish something big.

When we have big dreams, we need to put in big effort.

How would you rate the amount of effort you are putting in to making your dreams come true?

I'm not trying to make you squirm or feel guilty. Most of us lead ridiculously busy lives and simply cannot spend the majority of our hours striving to make one dream come true. But I know many of you routinely give up free time to keep advancing.

So today, take a serious look at how hard you are working to make your dream come true. Here are a few questions to ask.

1. How many days this week did I spend time working toward my dream?
2. Did I have a focused plan beforehand or did I waste time deciding what to do each session?
3. What did I accomplish this week? (Example: How many pages did I write or revise?)
4. How do I feel about this accomplishment? (Frustrated because I expected to get more done? Proud because I exceeded my expectations?)
5. Based on this week's performance, can I honestly say I am actively working to make my dream come true? If the answer is no, why not? What can I do to make next week better?

Big dreams take many steps to become reality. Stay focused.

Join me on Wednesday for more inspiration to make our dreams reality.

March 12: One Goal Friday

Last Friday we each set one goal. The catch? It wasn't work-related. I enjoyed reading everyone's comments and can't wait to hear how you did.
Here's the round-up:

Katie G: Read a book to son each night
Jennifer S: Run three miles and write 4K
Janna: Eat better
Karen: Watch calories
Beauty: Visit two godchildren
Jody: Walk with daughters and dog on warm days
Wendy: Drink more water
Diane: Date night with hubby
Joanne: Shopping and dinner with daughters
Tamika: Three nights snuggled on the couch with hubby
Tess: Find joy in moments and laugh with kids
Sallyo: Load pictures onto digital frame
Kara: P90X workout and read bedtime story to kids each day
Patti: Give "The Rythym of Secrets" to editor
Erica: Play board game with son
Maria: Pamper daughter for her 18th birthday
Elana: Workout for 30 minutes, four days this week
Nancy: Say "Hello Beautiful" in mirror (love this!!)
Robyn: Stick to diet
Susan J. R: Relax and enjoy sunshine
Quiet Spirit: Continue progress on house work
Sherrinda: Clean out closet and enjoy sunshine
Lisa and Laura: Finish reading current book
Jeanette: Exercise three times

And my snazzy goal: give myself a manicure and pedicure

So... How did you do? I almost put it off. It's so easy to put these things off, isn't it? But I could not let you down. Monday night, I clipped, filed, and painted, and guess what? It felt great and my nails look decent. Best of all, I feel terrific!

This week, feel free to list ANY goal--it can be work, family, health, or just about you.

Here's mine: I will finish studying James Scott Bell's Revision and Self-Editing.

What would make you feel terrific this week? What one goal could you accomplish?

Please list your goal in the comments and check back next Friday for a progress report!
Have a great weekend!

One Goal Friday

Last year, Jody Hedlund encouraged her readers to list their writing goals each week. I really enjoyed checking in to see what everyone's were and to list my own. Since this month is all about daring to dream, I want everyone to feel empowered. How do you feel about setting ONE goal each Friday?

One goal. Not career related.

What? Is she losing it? Didn't she just say she enjoyed reading other's writing goals?

Of course I did. I'd love to read your food diary, personal journal, and your text messages too. I'm way too interested in other people's lives!

But sometimes we need more than career goals. Sometimes we need...something different. We need to do something that feeds our soul.

So here's the deal. Every Friday, list ONE thing you can do during the week to feel good about yourself.

One Goal Fridays. It might be fun! And if it isn't, well, One Goal Friday will go bye-bye, I promise!

Your goal must not be work related. It can be anything important, fun, or interesting to you. Maybe it's to try that new exercise DVD you purchased in January. Maybe it's to wear something in your closet you haven't worn since last March. Or to download the song you've been singing every morning on the way to work, to play a board game with your oldest child, or plan a special dinner for your spouse. You know what would make you smile. Go on, make that your goal!

So here's mine. Looking at next week's calendar, I can see it's full. I'm signed up to help with several activities at my childrens' school. With that in mind--brace yourselves for this mind-blowing ambition--my goal is to give myself a manicure and pedicure.

Yes, it sounds silly, but I tend to let personal things slide when I'm busy. By taking care of my nails, I'm making a statement that I'm important too.

What is your goal?

Please write your goal in the comments, and check back next week. I'll post everyone's goals next Friday, and we'll see how we did. If you're the super-busy type, maybe this week would be a good time to let yourself off the hook on an unimportant task. For example: To NOT call the cable company about the bill. Sometimes we all need a breather from minor pressures.

(You do not have to participate! Feel free to lurk or even encourage others to meet their goal.)

Enjoy your weekend!

Romance Your Writing

As every passionate romance matures, the rush, the anticipation, the willingness to not see any faults wanes. You still love writing, still pour yourself into it, but conflicts and imperfections have sprung.

How can we keep the passion for writing strong when countless adversities pummel our motivation? For writers actively pursuing publication, there are forces working to deny our dream. Some are outside and some are within us.

- Criticism from peers, contest judges, agents, or editors of our writing.
- Criticism from friends and family of the time we spend writing
- Self-criticism: Will I ever be good enough?
- Envy: Why does she have what I want but I don't?
- Entitlement: I deserve to be published.
- Sloth: I don't feel like writing today.
- Procrastination: I'll write later.
- Fast pace of life: I don't have time to go to Billy's recital AND write my pages.
- Too much technology: I'll just pop in on Facebook--for a second.
- Too little technology: The only computer is in the basement, it's a decade old, and I have no access to the Internet.
- Time, always time!

This list could go on for days. None of us write in ideal conditions. All of us wrestle at least one of these issues, some of us may wrestle all of them!

So how do we keep the romance with your writing alive? I don't have all the answers, but I do have a short list of things that work.

1. Remind yourself what you love about writing. Write the list down and refer to it often.

2. Make the experience as pleasant as possible. Have a favorite beverage nearby. Stock your writing area with any little item you find vital to writing. For me, I have to have little notepads and pens. I like to scribble notes.

3. Make regular dates to write. Any relationship will fizzle if we don't put effort into it. Give, give often, and give regularly to your writing relationship.

4. Dream. Don't let your hopes and dreams disappear because your current work has been criticized or you're taking twice as long to finish a first draft than you expected. Don't forget to dream of your future as a published author. I know that dream may seem very far away, maybe even impossible. But it isn't. Nothing's impossible.

Join me on Friday when we'll create our "perfect" date with writing!

Six Month Goal Check-Up

We've made it through almost six months of 2009. Amazing!

What have you accomplished? What do you still want to accomplish?

My list resides in the front of my dayplanner. I cross off items as I finish, and I check it every month to see if I'm on track. I have six categories of writing goals for the year.

A. Books
B. Submissions
C. Contests
D. Organizations
E. Craft
F. Promotion

My main focus is always my writing, but the other categories deserve a slice of my time each week, too. I'm very happy with the progress I've made.

Back in January, I typed these six items and then filled in what I wanted to accomplish. Each category has 5 or 6 items.

Unfortunately, I took a long, hard look at how many books I wanted to finish by December. Sniffing and feeling droopy, I eliminated one. Life changed this year and became more hectic. I had to make choices and I chose to put my best effort into the books I did complete instead of rushing through to write one more. I'm hoping that as time progresses, revisions will not take me as long, and I'll be able to add a book to my schedule, but it won't be this year.

What about you? Are you on track to meet your goals for 2009? Yes? Hurray!! No? What can you do to get on track? Do you need to change your goals to reflect your time constraints? That's okay. Some years will do that to you.

Join me on Wednesday when we'll talk about moving our bodies!

March Goal Review 2009

Here we are in the middle of March already! Wow!

So...remember those goals you wrote down back in January? The ones where you decided what days you'd write and how much you'd write and how much you wanted to finish in 2009 (whew!)?

Photo by aarongeller

How's that going for you? Have you stuck with it? Did writing on schedule become a habit? Or has it flat-lined like the annual health regimen we all seem to start in January?

Not sure?

Well, get out your calendar. Take a look back and scan how often you wrote. Do you see a pattern? Does every Tuesday and Thursday have something written on it? Or are there days (or weeks, gulp!) with NOTHING? Scary!

What works about your writing schedule? What doesn't? Now that you've had a few months to review, is there anything you'd like to change about your writing goals?

If you've stayed on track and are finding the set schedule useful, fantastic! If the system just doesn't seem to be working for you, why not? Have you found your own way to stay on track?

Writing down your goals and setting a schedule is meant to help you accomplish more. That's all. Yes, you might feel pressure when you look at your calendar and realize you haven't written in three weeks, but that's the whole point. You don't want to get so far off track that you accomplish nothing. Pressure is part of life. No, it's not fun, but it serves a purpose.

Time flies by--cliched, but true. Do you want to wake up on December 31, 2009 and realize another year passed you by and you're still not closer to fulfilling your dreams?

Me neither.

It might be a little painful. It might not feel good every minute. But if writing is important to you, recommit to your schedule, or make a new one you will commit to.

Thanks for stopping by.

And...

Get Motivated! It's Monday!

Biting Off More Than We Can Chew

Friday! Friday! I love Friday!

Sorry, had to let that out.

Okay, today's topic: Biting off more than we can chew.

How's the new writing schedule treating you? Are you finding the time to meet your weekly goals? How does it feel? Are you struggling to fit writing in, or are you finding the goals you set to be manageable?

When I started setting weekly writing goals, I was positive I'd set the bar too high. No way I could write that much in a week! But after a month of consistent writing, I realized I'd set the bar way too low. My pages were flying out much faster than they ever had in the past. (Don't throw up. I have days when the pages won't come. Next month, I'll tell you my sure-fire ways to get through those days.)

Pages flying out? How? Why? How is that possible? Do I have magic writing potion?

Nope.

Writing consistently is just like exercising consistently--they both get easier the more you do them. You don't waste time trying to remember where you were going with that scene you started three weeks ago because you write regularly and already finished that scene. You don't have to pump yourself up to write because writing isn't a special event--it's part of your life.

But maybe you had high hopes a few weeks ago and you decided to go for it and push yourself to write more. And now reality has reared its ugly head and you know your goals are impossible. Writing feels like another chore. When something feels like a chore, it's only a matter of time before you drop it out of your life.

Wait--there's hope. What, specifically, about your new writing schedule feels impossible? Did you anticipate having more energy in the evenings to write, but you realize that you're exhausted by seven? Maybe your goal should be to write a few pages each Saturday. Or is the problem not time related at all? Maybe you sit down to write and nothing comes. Or it takes you twice as long to get a few pages out than you thought it would.

If it takes you longer than you thought it would, don't give up. Just cut your page goals in half. And keep at it, you might be surprised in a few months that you're writing faster. You can always increase your goal page counts later.

If you sit down to write and nothing comes, you've got a bigger problem. And you've come to the right place. The month of February will be devoted to delving into why we write. I'll share plenty of tricks and tips to get your writing mojo back and to kick up your excitement for writing.

Thank you very much for joining me on this journey. I'd love to hear any of your tips, struggles, goals, etc...

Enjoy your weekend!

More Reasons to Set Goals and Track Progress

The last week of January is here already? Wow! Look what you've accomplished. You've learned a few new tricks about setting reasonable goals and you understand how important it is to track your progress.

One thing I haven't addressed is your approach to writing. Some writers cringe at setting goals and tracking their progress because they are organic writers, or for lack of a better term, pantsters. They write when they feel like it, and they write what they feel like. They may write several books or stories simultaneously, and they rarely write from the start of the story to the finish.

Others, like myself, are plotters. We gather background information, analyze our characters, and sketch outlines before even thinking about writing. And we tend to write from beginning to end.

Then there are the writers who fall in between. They need a loose idea of where the book will take them but aren't hung up on all the details.

We all have our own style. I'm not advocating one way or the other. However, I am encouraging you to set goals and keep track of your progress no matter what your writing style is. I only care that you have decided in advance how many pages or words you will write and what days you are writing them.

Why do I care about this?
Well...
If you want to get published and stay published, you have to meet deadlines. You aren't going to have all the time in the world to write the next book or story. And--here's a harsh reality--your life is going to be filled with the exact same activities when you do get published as it is now. In fact, life will be even busier because you'll have to fit in revisions, line edits, promotion, and a million other things on top of your normal activities. So if you can develop a consistent writing schedule, you'll be ahead of the game.

Wait a minute, I don't plan on getting published...

Well, if writing is your hobby, you still should have a consistent writing schedule or you'll probably lose interest. How fun is it to work once a month on a story you can't even remember? Or to never finish the story? Not much fun.

But how much fun is it to set a writing schedule, stick to it, then print out your work and review it in six months? It's pretty awesome!

We're writers.

We write.

There. I hope I've convinced you to set goals and track your progress.

Join me on Wednesday when we'll be discussing re-evaluating your goals.

And...

Get Motivated! It's Monday!

Setting Weekly Goals

Setting weekly goals will lasso time, wrestle it to the ground, and make it work for you. Get your annual and monthly goals out and let's do some math.

Let's take the short stories/articles example. You've decided you'll write six short stories, around 2500 words in length each, over the course of the year. You've figured out what months you'll be writing them.

Can you write one page three nights a week? One page (double-space 12 pt. font) is roughly 250 words. Multiply three nights by four weeks and you have 12 days to write. 12 x 250 = 3000 words. That gives you a little leeway on your word count. What three nights can you comfortably write a page? Maybe Tuesday night during the re-runs of a stale show, Thursday night right after dinner, and Saturday morning.

Great! Now you have a plan. You don't have to feel guilty on Monday, Wednesday, Friday or Sunday, because those are your days off. Amazing!

Does that schedule seem impossible? If yes, go ahead and slash your goal in half. Do not sabotage your writing by setting unrealistic goals. You can always do more as time allows. Your new goal should be three short stories a year, and you'll want to write one short story over the course of two months. Decide on the days and word count as discussed above.

Let's do the math with category novels. We decided you need to write 5500 words/month for 10 months. From the above example, it's obvious you'll need to write more than one page a day, three days a week. Why don't we make it easy and double it? You'll need to write roughly 24 pages a month. How do you fit those in? 24 seems like an awful lot...

Don't worry. If you can write three days a week, aim for two pages at a time. You'll have your 24 pages (6000 words) at the end of the month. This schedule allows for a night off; remember you only need 5500 words.

Okay, now for the big guns: single title. 85,000 words. Gulp. Don't be scared. It works out to 34 pages a month. 34 pages a month! Breathe...it looks worse than it is!

You can still stay on a three day a week schedule, but you'll have to kick it up to about three pages each day. Another solution would be to divide the weekly nine pages differently. Maybe you can write one page on Monday, two on Tuesday, three on Wednesday, two on Thursday, and one over the weekend. That would still give you two days off. The important thing is deciding the amount you'll write and what days you'll write.

Again, I can't stress enough, go ahead and cut your original goal in half if it's obvious you'll never be able to reach that goal. It's better to finish a book in two years than to never finish a book.

Reachable goals. Who would have thought?

Join me next week as we delve into accountability or, what I like to call, keeping track of your awesomeness!
Enjoy your weekend!