Here we are
at the start of a new year. January is nearly gone, and we have only 11 months
to go before another year will have passed us by. It’s time to set your writing
goals for 2017.
Myrko Thum,
the personal development expert, states, “A goal is a thought with commitment
to make it real.”1 He is right on. The key word here is
“commitment.” A goal isn’t reachable unless it’s carried out. A goal without
commitment is a dream. By joining this writing program, you’ve made the
decision to turn your dream into reality.
Why
set writing goals? They give you long-term vision and short-term motivation.
Reaching short-term benchmarks gives you a feeling of success along the
journey toward a long-term target.2
To
set reachable goals, however, one must:
·
understand
the difference between short-term and long-term goals
·
set
S.M.A.R.T. goals
·
create
a writing schedule
Short-term vs. Long-term Goals
Short-term
goals are the ones set for the actual writing of your book. They may include
the number of hours spent writing per day or week or the number of pages
produced at each session. Your long-term objective is to finish your book. But
be careful. That objective should not be the end in itself. Once you have finished
writing, then what?
Astronauts
ran into this problem. Their long-term objectives were to go to the moon or to
do a mission on the space shuttle. Those took years to achieve. Once they were accomplished,
the astronauts felt their lives were over. Been there, done that. Some resorted
to drinking because they felt so lost.
There
must be targets beyond that of writing your book. Your next one is to publish. After
that, it’s to market your work, and then it’s to keep promoting and selling. And
your goal after that should be to create ancillary products. Beyond that it
should be to write another book and start the journey all over again. In other
words, goals comprise a process, not just an end.3 Long-term ones
concern why you are writing your
book. To get more clients? To become a
well-known expert in your field? To sell enough copies to expand your business
or buy a new house? These are the objectives beyond writing.
Napoleon Hill, author of the classic book Think and Grow Rich, quotes George Herbert, a 17th
century British poet, when he says: “Do not wait; the time will never be ‘just
right.’ Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at
your command, and better tools will be found as you go along.” 4
2 Set S.M.A.R.T. Goals
In
The Seven Habits of Highly Successful
People, Steven Covey states that habit number two is to “begin with the end in mind.”
5 While you don’t want to put undue pressure on your- self, set S.M.A.R.T.6
writing goals for each of your work sessions. They should be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-Bound.
Let’s
consider the first word: Specific.
That means “clear.” For example, the goal “to finish writing the book” is too
obscure. When will you finish? How much will you write at any particular time
to reach that goal? We can’t tell from “to finish writing a book” because of
its vagueness. Vagueness invites failure. A specific goal is “To write five
double-spaced pages at the next two weekly four-hour writing sessions.”
The
“S” can just as easily stand for Simple.
Three to five writing goals is a good number. Having too many amid other
obligations will also set you up for defeat. The rest of your life, including
your business, needs attention, so don’t overlook or neglect it.
The goal of
writing five double-spaced pages at the next two writing sessions is an example
of one that is Specific, Simple, Measurable, and Time-bound.
You’ll know each week whether or not you have achieved it.
Your
goals also have to be Realistic. For
example, putting your book ahead of clients or food on the table won’t work.
Goals must also be Attainable. If
you intend to write twenty pages each writing session but can generate only
five comfortably, your goal is not realistic or attainable. Be honest with
yourself about what you can produce.
Don’t
think of creating the entire book. Instead, set small goals for one specific
chapter at a time. State each as a positive statement. For example, “Write five
pages of Chapter 1 of my parenting book this week.”
If you find
that your goals are not realistic, revise them. Nothing is cast in concrete.
Avoid stress as much as possible when it comes to writing or you may find
yourself losing the desire to finish it. You don’t want that!
Write
your long-term goals on page 9 of your workbook. Print copies of page 10 to use
for short-term goals for the sections or chapters of your book. Review them
often. If you find that your goals turn out to be unrealistic for the time
element scheduled, revise accordingly. The overarching objective is to complete
your book. Don’t set yourself up for disappointment.
3 Create a Writing
Schedule
In order to
complete your book in a timely manner, setting a writing schedule is critical. James
Clear7 suggests that writers need to develop a system. For example,
your goal is to write a book. Your system is the writing schedule you devise
for yourself. It could be fifteen minutes a day, an hour a day, four hours a
week—whatever works for you and your business and personal commitments. The
person who can dedicate three hours a day to writing will finish sooner than
the person who can dedicate three hours a week. There is no right or wrong to
this process. It’s whatever fits with your schedule without adding undue
stress.
Determine
your peak productivity times. Do you function best in the morning? the
afternoon? the evening? Ideally, use
some of this time for your writing. But be careful. Scheduling yourself an hour
between 11 PM and midnight , for example, won’t work if
you’re exhausted from a hard day. You need to be alert and able to think
clearly with no distractions. The length of each session isn’t as important as
the fact that you have a specific slot set aside. Look at your calendar and
make appointments with yourself. Record your writing schedule in your workbook.
If your schedule changes, print a fresh sheet to record the new times.
Record your
writing schedule on page 11 of your workbook. Keep these appointments the way
you would keep any with your clients or customers.
Reward
yourself when you accomplish a goal. Treat yourself to whatever you like. This
will keep you motivated.
Psychotherapist
Carl Jung said this many years ago:
“You are what you do,
not what you say you’ll do.”8
Endnotes
1.
Myrko
Thum, Goal Setting: 7 Steps to Set Your Life Goals, n. d., http://www.myrko thum.com/goal-setting/
2.
James
Manktelow and Amy Carlson, Personal Goal Setting: Planning to Live Your Life
Your Way, n. d., http://www.mindtools.com/page6.html.
3.
Will
Meek, How to Set Goals, Notes to Self, Psychology
Today,
http://www. psychologytoday.com/blog/notes-self/201308/how-set-goals
4.
Napoleon
Hill, Think and Grow Rich, 2012,
Reprint of original 1937 edition, Napoleon Hill Foundation, Hammond, Indiana.
5.
Steven
Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Successful
People, 2013, New York, Simon &
Schuster, Inc.
6.
Duran,
G. T., Miller, A., & Cunningham, J. (1981). There’s a S.M.A.R.T. way to
write management goals and objectives. Management Review (AMA Forum), 70(11), 35-36.
write management goals and objectives. Management Review (AMA Forum), 70(11), 35-36.
7.
James
Clear, Forget About Setting Goals: Focus on This Instead, January 21,
2014, Psychology Today, http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/slow-gains/201401/forget-about-setting-goals-focus-instead
2014, Psychology Today, http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/slow-gains/201401/forget-about-setting-goals-focus-instead
8.
Carl
Jung, n.d.
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