Creating Daily Goals Based on Your Long Term Goal

First, I apologize for not posting last week. I had one priority that absolutely had to be finished by last Friday so some other things on my schedule had to get bumped. One of those things was my blog post. But I’m back this week and have a great post for you about a goal-setting secret I learned that really helped me reach more goals.

Here we go:

My goals used to be more of a “to do” list where all my goals were listed randomly. For example: write a book, drink 60 oz of water a day, go to the post office, build a following on social media, etc. I kept failing at reaching my goals. (I think some of you can already see why.) Then I figured out the secret. Some of the goals I was setting were short term goals and some were long term. Writing a book is definitely a long term goal, but my brain was seeing it as something that had to be completed as easily as going to the post office. I needed to organize my goals to show my brain that some of these goals needed a lot more work than others.

I started dividing my “to do” items into categories: Writing, Life (for all those little errands, time with friends, date night), Cleaning Day (for laundry and, obviously, cleaning), Finances. Some of these categories don’t really have long term goals, but the ones that did, I chose which long term goal I was going to focus on first. To keep this post simple, I’m going to show you how I created short term goals for just one long term goal in the category of writing.

Writing Category

Long term goal: Write and publish a book

1. I research.

If I know nothing about my long term goal, I research it. I form a rough idea of what reaching the goal is going to include or what kind of steps are involved. I start with only the basic information because, if you like details like I do, it is very easy to get overwhelmed and feel like quitting before I even get started.

For the writing example, I had a list that looked something like this:

Write the book

Write

Edit

Rewrite

Publish the book

Format for self publishing

Upload to self publishing platforms

Market the book

Choose main social media to connect with fans

Create a marketing and sales plan

(This list changed a lot, by the way, as I learned more about each area during my ongoing research.)

2. I write out one or two of my first steps.

Next, I started writing down only the first few steps toward my long term goal, no more than would take a month to complete. (Note: Your first two steps will be different than mine. My mind was hung up on different things than yours might be.) For me, the first few steps to getting started on writing my book were something like this:

Research writing processes

Figure out a writing process that works for me

Record ideas for the novel I want to write

3. I break down my monthly goals into weekly goals.

I took my monthly list and asked myself, “What do I need to do to complete my goals for this month?” Then I wrote a list of ideas and steps required for each goal. Based on that list, I would gauge how much time I needed to devote to each to have them done by the end of the month. (Keep in mind, this is just what works for me. You can figure out the steps that work best for you and your specific goals.)

For the list above, my weekly goals would look something like this:

Research writing processes - 1 week

1. Create profile on one writing platform; make at least one writing friend to discuss writing processes with

2. Google “How to write a book”

3. Check out YouTube videos on how to write a book

4. Research J.K. Rowling and Amanda Hocking for inspiration on their writing processes

Figure out a writing process that works for me - 1 month

1. Write out an ideal schedule for my writing day then use it. Write what works and doesn’t work with the schedule and adjust it for the following day until I find the schedule that best works for me.

2. Make a list of ideas of what inspires me and puts me in the mood to write, then test out those ideas and mark the ones that work.

3. Find a location where writing comes easiest to me. Make a list of places that I think will work for me, then test them out.

Record any ideas I get for the novel I’m working on - 1 month

1. Use a 1-subject notebook to record any plot ideas, names, characters, locations, etc.

2. Set aside specific time each day to brainstorm for the novel

3. As my information grows, figure out a system to organize that information so I can find it and add to it easily.

(From here I chose what I would work on each day. Looking at this list felt a whole lot better and manageable than my original jumbled "to do" list.)

The above is just an example, but the concept is there of how I would break my long term goal down into monthly, weekly and daily goals. The specific goals I set changed a lot, and I let that be ok. I had never written an entire book before, so I didn’t know the daily steps involved. I had to figure them out as I went. I also didn’t know what kind of setbacks I would run into, so I let that be ok as well. Sometimes I would change a goal to better suit me, other times I would completely get rid of a goal. I felt it out each day and wrote down what was working for me and what wasn’t. By adjusting the things that weren’t working, I found the best process possible for myself. I can now accomplish goals much more easily because I’m setting specific goals that I know will work for me. I still adjust goals that aren’t working. It’s all about learning yourself and what works best for your personality and the way your brain is wired.

Best wishes to turning your long term goal into short term goals and getting those goals accomplished! I’m rooting for you! Take whatever helped you in this post and test it out, adjust it and find what works for you. It’s all about you, the way you learn and the way you function.

Thanks for stopping in again this week. Next week is February, so we will be starting a new subject I like to call The Imaginary You. I’ll be sharing my journey of how I used my imagination to find and become the person I always wanted to be: the real me.

Each of us is special. Each of us has been given a gift that fulfills us, gives us confidence and provides a unique way for us to connect with and add value to the world. Each of us has a Real Me inside, waiting to shine.

See you next week for more about finding this wonderful you. Plus, I’ll have an exciting announcement to post that you won’t want to miss, so I’ll see you right back here next Thursday!

Why I Quit Making Resolutions and Started Making Life Changes

We have all gotten caught up in writing those impossible lists of resolutions for the new year. Those lists have never worked for me. I eventually quit making them. At the end of last year I finally figured out what works better for me than a list of resolutions I won’t keep. That’s setting goals. In the process, goal-setting and resolutions were redefined for me. I had to think about resolutions as life changes and that these changes will take time to figure out. Today we're going to look at resolutions as life changes and how to succeed at making those changes.

1. A resolution equals a life change.

When I made those lists of resolutions in high school, I saw them as a task I had to do every day for a year. Once I started missing a day or two (and you inevitably do!), it was easy to miss more days then just chalk the whole attempt up to a failure. Then I had to wait till next January 1st to give myself a second chance.

Now, I see resolutions as changes I want to make in my life. It’s hard to make a life change and get it right from the first try. You need room to mess up, to grow. Let’s say I want to exercise more this year. The first thing I do is choose a type of exercise I would like to incorporate into my life. (For me, it’s walking, just in case you wanted to know. :) ) I then decide how many times a week I would like to walk. I did this last year and started out with five days a week. In no time I saw this wasn’t going to work for me. I live in a state that when it rains, I mean, it rains. So there’s no walking for me on days like that. But instead of feeling like I “just can’t keep my goal” I decided to change it to something more feasible like “walk 3 out of 5 days a week.” I now keep this goal no problem. Eventually I won’t even need to keep track of whether or not I do this goal because it will have become part of my weekly routine.

2. Start with one thing at a time.

Another important tip I learned was to work on only one large goal at a time. I am famous for trying to do too many new things at once. I quickly overwhelm myself and get nothing done. After working through the mentality that getting one thing done a day was better than writing a list of ten things to do and completing none of them, I was able to start achieving my goal of choice. I choose one large goal and write down ideas for how I will accomplish it. I adjust what doesn’t work for me on a daily basis until I find the method that best suits my personality, likes and dislikes.

For example, I have a goal to complete a short book in one month. I don’t know how many times I attempted and failed at this one. But then I made a list of things that work for me. Writing short chapters, keeping the book around 10,000 words, choosing characters and plots that interest me and touch on at least one of my passions, these were all things that contributed to me being well on my way to success this month.

3. Stop looking at how others are doing it and figure out what you need in order to succeed.

This was a big one for me. It was so much easier to watch videos on how others got their book finished than it was to sit down and figure out where I was going wrong. I spent all my time trying methods that worked for other people (only to eventually fail), instead of making a list of what might work for me.

I encourage you to study yourself, because reaching your goals and following your dreams is all about being the best YOU that you can be. It’s about learning what you need in order to be motivated to reach those goals. Once you start giving yourself what you need, you may be surprised at how easy it is to reach your goals.

Cheers to you and your success! If you have an experience you’d like to share about reaching one of your goals, please leave it in the comments below, and keep being you!

Next Week: "Creating Daily Goals Based on Your Long Term Goal"

Why I Changed Everything About the Way I Set Goals

Hey, everyone. It's a new year and time to brush off those resolutions that have been gathering dust since last January.

This year I have made a commitment to quit making resolutions and start setting goals that work for me. I'll show you three things that worked for me in goal-setting. But, hey, these three things may not work the same way for you as they did for me. So I encourage you to figure out your own personalized list for the area in your life that you want to improve this year.

1. Find what works for me
This was an actual goal I set several months ago. I realized I was constantly looking at the examples of others, trying to copy them, then ending up disappointed when their methods didn't work for me. I started asking myself questions like If I could create my writing day in any way I wanted, how would I do it? My answer included things like 1) Have coffee as soon as I wake up. 2) Stay in my robe and PJ's until I actually felt like showering. 3) Put off all my errands till the end of the day so I could give the best part of my mind to my writing in the morning.

Immediately there were protests from the peanut gallery in my brain. "But what will people think of you?!" "You know only lazy people wear their robe and don't shower till after lunch." But it was like I had discovered a magical strength in my body. Was I going to let these critical voices keep me from pursuing my dream of a writing career? NO! So I kept my robe on! I drank coffee and gazed dreamily out the window when I got up in the morning! And no matter how much those pesky errands tried to pressure me into getting them done, I ignored them until I chose to tend to them.

Stand up for how you need to order your day or organize your space so that you can create. Find what works for you.

2. Write what works and doesn't work for me
Each day I wrote down ways I felt I was either successful or had failed in the goals I had set for that day and in how I managed my time. (I have the tendency to feel like a failure even when I achieve a difficult task. Not at all a helpful quality.) After writing out my list, I could see clear ways in which I had succeeded. In fact, the list of things I was happy with was longer than the list of my failures, so I declared that, overall, my day had been a success. 

When I had a day where the list of failures was longer, I assured myself that was not a problem because I was in the process of learning...which leads me to my last point. 

3. For the things that don't work, write a list of ideas on how to change these areas or goals so they will work for me
So every time I "failed" I wrote down what I could do next time that would work better for me. For example, I kept setting more goals per day than I had time to accomplish. So one change I made was to be more honest about how long each goal would take to complete. By making this change, I had a realistic list of goals that I could accomplish instead of overloading myself and setting myself up for failure. Even though, logically, I know not to set more goals than one can accomplish during a set time, but I wasn't realizing that was what was holding me back until I took the time to write down my successes and failures.

So this is why I changed how I set goals: I wasn't reaching my goals because something wasn't working for me. So I took the time to figure out what does work for me. I still write what is working and not working for me when I get stuck on a particular goal I can't seem to reach.

Now go out there and write your own ideas of what might work for you. Choose an area you want to improve, whether it's writing or something more personal like making more friends this year or that notorious "lose weight this year" resolution. But this year, you're actually gonna do it, 'cause you're going to figure out which methods work best for you so you can accomplish those meaningful goals.

Be sure to come back. We'll be talking about goals and goal setting all January long to keep you excited and inspired.

Leave a comment about the one goal you want to tackle this year--for good. You can do this! You're going to set your goals this year, and reach them!

Next week: "I Quit Making Resolutions and Started Making Life Changes"

It's a New Year

It's a new year!  And new years call for new things like changes to your life.  I am making the change from talking about what I want to do to DOing what I want to do.  So here is a list of some things I will be doing this year (don't know how they'll happen, but...).

1. Writing full time

2. Making my living off of writing alone

3. Loving every moment of it

I'm excited about the book I'm working on, Protecting Innocence.  I already have a carrier for it.  Her name is Deborah and she has a shop called Simply NC, where she carries all things made in North Carolina (where I live).  This story had flowed for me from chapter one and it's still going.  I plan on self-publishing it via ebook format and print.  Deborah challenged me to have the book finished and in her store by Easter.  I can't wait to see it in print.  I also can't wait to see it in ebook form.

If you check earlier posts in this blog, you will see a lot of ups and downs.  While perhaps downs cannot be avoided, I decided to add more ups to my life.  And one of those is going after my dream of making my living off of writing and writing full time.  I'm excited about doing this.  Some other amazing people in my same situation have already done it.  I can too.  Hearing their stories is so inspiring.

So, next thing I have to do is finish the manuscript.  I love working on this story.  It reawakens the feel of emotions that we tend to put aside as adults in the name of maturity.  Writing about the life of a teenager will do that to you.  I never thought I would write a YA book.  I never cared for them in the past.  They always seemed too light and unrealistic.  But for some reason, they are exactly what I need right now.  I have been reading Amanda Hocking's Watersong series and Kiera Cass's Selection series.  I also have borrowed from the library the famous Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer.  (I think she's the only Stephanie I've see with an e instead of an a.)  I'm also reading Amanda Hocking's blog, starting from the beginning before she was published.  Now that's an inspiring read!  Google her.  You'll be amazed at her story.  Self-published millionaire is the line that pulls you in (especially if you're a writer!).

Thank you to everyone who is reading this, and thank you to my friends and family for the years of support you've already given me.  

Failure & Future

Well, it looks like I have failed at another NaNo event.  I know there are still two days left, and miracle word counts have happened.  But my plans include something other than winning a word count this month.  Through my failure I learned what I really want, or rather, what my first step is to getting where I want to go.

My goal is to make a living from my writing.  And I believe that when I complete my first adult book, finishing the next one will be easier.  I also believe that the right readers will be attracted to my work and news will spread.  However, I have tried time and again to finish this first novel that I'm talking about.  I have the story chosen and the plot mapped out, but the finish line seems ever in the future.

Last week a friend challenged me to finish any book I choose by Easter and she would carry it in her store.  As I pondered on finishing my novel for this challenge, I also knew that a goal so far away felt daunting to me.  I wanted something I could complete in a week.  I did some research on stories I had completed, half completed and of various genres.  Then it dawned on me what would work.  I had a children's ebook I had published almost two years ago.  I decided to make that one my first paper version.  I checked pricing at a local printing business and found out that printing my own work was going to be much simpler than I had thought.

So my task this weekend is to format my children's book Betty Butter into a version to send to the printers.  It's lacking a few illustrations.  The e-version has no illustrations but is also less expensive to purchase at only $1.99.  A fun recipe to make homemade butter at the end of the book makes up for the lack of illustrations in the digital version.  I feel that the printed version will not fair so well without the illustrations.

After the completion of this first paper printing project, I have a second story I will write about Betty Butter and print in e-format as well as paper printing.  These were small steps I could see myself completing without being overwhelmed.  And the anticipation of being able to say I have two books out before the New Year is a huge affirmation for me.  As I build my faith in myself, I know that novel will look easier and easier.

That's my plan.  I made a schedule this morning to show my purpose to myself and the universe as to how I'm managing my time in order to meet my goals.  I now feel confident that I will meet them and that God will be there to help me all along the way.  I know he will give me more than I ever dreamed and planned for. 

Learning a Lesson from a Failed Goal

Good morning, everyone.  Here is my progress and a lesson from yesterday.  First, progress.  I intended to write chapters 5-7 yesterday and did not complete them, not even one word.  As humiliating as it is to admit that, I learned a lesson from it.

Lesson:  Every day requires a specific balance of various elements.  For me it is writing, people interaction, a specific reward for that day's work, and a bit of alone time with my boyfriend to catch up on our days.  With the intention of writing, I went to the library to work.  But I could not bring myself to face my story.  It was a matter of nearing burnout.  I just wanted to do something fun, as in, something not related to my story.  But this was work time.  I tried to get focused, but everything I thought about just put me in a tense, very unproductive mode.  I kept thinking about watching a movie on Netflix.  So I finally put all my things away and just gave myself permission to do it.

The result:  I learned I need to schedule my fun time just as I need to schedule my writing time.  I have a new plan I'm going to try that keeps writing, interaction, reward and time with my boyfriend much better balanced.  The great thing about a plan is you can always change it to better suit you.  I found that working on writing nine hours a day does not work for me right now.  I was able to do it for a couple days, but I need a schedule I can follow long-term and still keep my writing fun.  It's hard to do things when they're not fun.

So my new goal for today is just to complete chapter 5.  I would rather have a goal I can reach and surpass than one I never even start on.

Happy writing to everyone.  And don't give up.