Secrets to Setting Goals

Setting Goals

Sometimes those two words are enough to send terror through a writer. It means she needs to have goals, state them out loud and then – follow through.

Goal-setting is different from everyone. Some people like to set big, sweeping goals, others like small bite-size goals. Whatever your preference, setting goals is an important part of life and should be an important part of your writing.

I believe in setting large goals, then dividing those into smaller, more manageable goals. But no matter the size of the goals, they have to be within my control. I don't set goals like "Sell a book." Since I can't buy the manuscript, that goal is beyond my control. But I can set a goal of "Finish the book" or "Submit the manuscript."

While most people tend to set their goals at the beginning of something – the beginning of the calendar year, the beginning of the school year, the beginning of a new job – goals can be set at any time. They can also be updated and revised at any time. Goals are never set in stone.

If you're new to setting goals, start small. Make just one goal. Make it a pretty big one, but pick just one. Let's say your goal is to finish the manuscript you're working on. That's a pretty big goal.

So now you need to break it into smaller, more manageable goals. For me, I like process goals, or time goals if you prefer. So I don't set a word or page total. I talk about how much time each day and how much time each week. Right now I have very small goals. All I have to do to meet my goal is five minutes per day. If I get more writing done, that's great. But if I only eke out five minutes, I've done good.

So go ahead and choose some smaller goals. Decide if you want to say one page per day or five pages per day. Or if you'd rather choose an amount of time and set your goals in that fashion.

Finally, don't forget your rewards. And make the rewards commensurate with the goal. For my small daily goals, I've adopted the pretty stickers on sexy calendars. If I make my goal that day, I pick one of my pretty stickers, like a brightly colored fish, a butterfly or a sand castle. And I stick it on my Spurs 'n Studs cowboy calendar. So I kill two birds with one sticker. Bright pretty colors and half-naked cowboys.

Bigger goals deserve bigger rewards. So when you finish your manuscript – which you will accomplish because you've set reasonable and attainable smaller goals – think of something special to give yourself. It might be a day at the spa, some pretty jewelry or a book you've been dying to read. But reward yourself well so you'll make your goals next time.

Please share some of your goal-setting techniques.

Happy Goal-Setting!

Till next time,
Chloe