New Year, New Goals
- Robyn Weightman
- Jan 15, 2020
- 4 min read
What do you want to achieve this year? And how are you going to do it?
New Year is a great time to reset and envisage what your year is going to be like. We all want it to be a good one and often have fantastical ideas for the year. But how do we make these ideas into a reality and not just broken resolutions to add to our unachieved list?
In this blog I'm going to give some tips on how to make and keep these yearly goals, whilst also, hopefully, not losing your mind in the process.
1. Environment
Create an environment which works for you. One that keeps you focused or lets your mind wonder in creativity. Whatever works best to help you write.
A good thing to think about is if you prefer minimalism or homely? Coloured or clear? Do you have a writing maskot you like to have around when you write or a blanket for those late night sessions? Make sure that everything you need from storyboard to miscellaneous writing items are within reach and in your writing space. That way, your train of thought will not be broken if you need something.
Your environment can also involve your routine. I have previously written a blog on writing routines as well as a YouTube video on the subject. The links are below if you want to delve deeper into this subject.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUcpYXlEq2s&t=2s
https://robynweightman32.wixsite.com/robynweightman/single-post/2019/08/21/Writing-Routines
2. Targets
It's good to have a goal/ target to aim for. This can give you a purpose to write on those hard days, and give you the sense of pride when you finish something before or on deadline.
One way to do this is to create Writer Quarterly or Monthly goals. You can also have a yearly goal but I'd always have this with one of the others, other whys the date can seem so far away and you either rush it at the last minute, or run out of steam to bother. It can also let you make too larger goals which may not ultimately be achievable.
As well as doing Quarterly or Monthly goals, I suggest making a daily or weekly to do list. This breaks down your ultimate goal into small, manageable chunks which, will eventually allow you to complete your ultimate goal.
3. Be realistic
This is perhaps the most often said and the most forgotten part of creating goals. We tend to create these extravagant plans for ourselves and grand goals we're going to achieve. But we can overshoot ourselves. Having smaller, more obtainable goals means you are far more likely to achieve them, and ultimately will get closer to an even larger goal which, if you started with, would be too daunting to go near.
Make sure you take into account your body, mental well-being and your free time. Using these three factors you can work out how much time you will have free to write and from there, what you would realistically be able to achieve.
I.e. You work 9-5 five days a week. You exercise three nights a week. And you need some down time at the weekend.
Lets say then that you have two hours Monday - Friday free to write, with a few lunch breaks for writing admin. And you will spend 2-3 hours on the weekend writing.
It would be unrealistic to say you're going to write a book every three months. But maybe you could achieve 10 chapters every three months?
Take your time, think carefully and make it realistic.
4. What's your outlook for the year?
Another thing to have in mind whilst you're making your quarterly or monthly to do list, it what you want this year to be for you? If you have in mind what you want to feel for your year, as you write your goals, we can hope that it rubs off in your planning. You can also make mindful boards to go around your writing space to remind you what you're aiming for.
Some aims could be creativity, balance, focus or positive energy. This doesn't just have to be involved with your writing but any goal that you have for the year. Health, exercise, etc.
And my final tip:
5. Go Steady
With all of the goals and to do lists, it's easy to get carried away and do too much. This goes along with being realistic but this also goes for taking your time and giving yourself rewards and down days.
If you have been realistic in yours goals, then they should be achievable and you shouldn't have to rush through things or work silly hours to complete them. Bare this in mind when making your lists. A good tip is we struggle to manage more than 7 to do things in a day. So try to make your list stick to 7 tasks.
I hope you found this helpful, if you would like to see this information in video format please head to my YouTube channel. If you would like to see bookish pictures then head over to my social media pages on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Tumblr.
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