Even if most of your goals this year have fallen by the wayside, I want you to have a win by the end of the year. Here’s what you can do to make it happen.
1. Pick a goal. Just one. It can be a goal you stated at the beginning of the year or a new goal you acquired during this year’s journey. The only requirement is it be actually do-able by the end of the year.
Want to write a draft of a book? Revise a draft? Start a blog? Fine. However, the goal must be something that is in your power to achieve. If your goal is to find an agent by the end of the year, there are no guarantees, since you have no control over who reads your queries and proposals when. What you do have control over is the effort you make to find an agent. So the goal to send 10 or 20 queries out by the end of the year is doable.
2. Write down what it takes. Make a list of everything you need to do to accomplish your goal. It could be a chronological list of actual things. For example, if you are starting a blog, write down everything you need to do to create it (url, logo, colors, design, about page, contact, blog posts, etc.). Yes, if the goal is to complete a draft of the book, perhaps your list will be chapter one, chapter two, chapter three, and so on.
3. Get it done. Spend a dedicated amount of time each week to put toward your goal. Set appointments in your calendar for work time. As you accomplish the things on your list, check them off. Stay on schedule, work consistently, and don’t give up. You’ll achieve your goal by the end of the year!
It's surprising what you can accomplish when you have a plan and decided to stick to it. The win will feel so good, you’ll have a mental running start toward achieving your next goal.
Good luck. You can do it!
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She is the host of the Guided Goals Podcast and author of Purple Pencil Adventures: Writing Prompts for Kids of All Ages.
She is an editor at Social Media Examiner and a speaker/moderator on the subjects of writing, networking, goal-setting, and social media.
13 comments:
Thanks Debra, I needed this since I'm just now accepting that summer is over! Thanks for such a motivating post.
Debra, great tips on how to achieve your goals, especially with the end of the year quickly closing in. Focusing one one, doable goal at a time is a great suggestion.
Thanks, Karen. Glad you found it helpful.
In October I finally achieved one of my year-long goals of relaunching/re-envisioning my Write On podcast under Guided Goals. Still have a few more goals to get through this year myself. Never too late to get it done, just need to do it one step at a time!
You are welcome, Linda. Good luck with your goals! You can do it!
Debra, good for you! I finally reached a couple of my goals that I procrastinated over. More to go though. :)
You are the "bestes" goal setter. I take lessons from you but still lag!
PS: For a future article, maybe some ideas for keeping "stuff" from happening that interrupts the best intentions! Like a crashed Web site!
There are always more goals to achieve ... keep up the good work, Karen.
Thanks, Carolyn! I think you do pretty well - you are doing several somethings!
There are some things we have no control over and have to just take a breathe, realize we'll lose some time, and move forward as soon as we can. But that would make a good post Thanks for the rec, Carolyn!
Just what I needed right now. I'm in a fankle of half-completed projects. Listing and planning will really help me see some of them through by New Year.
Fantastic. Happy to help, Anne. Good luck with your projects.
Fantastic. Happy to help, Anne. Good luck with your projects.
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