It’s that time of year again, everyone is getting obsessed with making goals and plans and resolutions for the new year. I am one of those who loves setting goals, maybe you do too, or maybe you hate it but you’ve come to see the value in it.
The reality is, you can’t make progress if you don’t know the destination and, essentially, that’s all a goal is.
Getting clear on what you want to accomplish can help you create the writing career you dream of.
But here’s the problem, at least where most of us run into problems. How do you actually follow through on your goals for an entire year?
We get so motivated and inspired at the beginning of the year, but a few months in and the whole thing has lost its luster.
Sometimes we rebel against setting goals because we just don’t see the point anymore. Why keep doing it if I’m just going to fail?
But this truth is, we will always fail at anything we don’t try. If we keep doing the same things, we will stay stuck exactly where we are right now.
I want to help you make sure that you are one of the few who actually accomplish those big goals and stick with them throughout the year. I love this stuff, and I’m so excited you are here.
I can’t wait to see what progress you can make this year.
So first, we need to know how to set goals properly. (Yes, there is actually a proven method to it.)
Then we need to put steps in place to make sure that we follow through.
Let’s get started!
In this post you will:
- Decide on your number one goal
- Get clear on why it is important to you
- Make a solid plan for your goal
- Decide how you will reward yourself for achieving your goal
- Create steps to ensure you follow through on your goal
After reading this post and completing this easy, step-by-step process, you will have a clear action plan laid out for you to accomplish your goals!
Set Your Goals:
Step One: Decide on your goal.
Goal setting can be overwhelming at times because there are so many things we want to accomplish.
For right now, just pick one and work through it. You can come back later and do this same process for other goals.
If you can’t decide on a goal, take some time to journal about what you want your life to look like in one year. If you could only accomplish one thing to feel successful, what would that be?
Think about your ideal life, your dream writing career, what does that look like to you? What does success mean to you? How is that different from where you are at right now?
This is super important to get clear on first because without a destination we can’t make progress. We have to know where we want to go in order to make a plan to get there.
Once you have a general idea of what your goal is, you want to make sure it is measurable. In other words, it needs to be something specific that you can check off as done or not.
Then, you want to pick a time frame for your goal. This can be a due date or frequency.
Action Step: Write down your specific goal and time for completion, whether digitally or in a notebook or planner.
Step Two: Get clear on your “why”.
This is important because it is what will keep you going even when times get tough and you feel like giving up.
You may need to journal about this to dig deep and figure out exactly what this goal means to you.
Think about how it will make you feel to have accomplished this goal and what effect will it have on your life and career.
When you get clear on your specific reason for making this goal happen, write it down with your goal.
Make sure you look at this frequently, at least weekly, so you stay connected to it even when things get hard.
Looking back on your why statement can give you the motivation and inspiration for taking action, moving forward, and making progress towards achieving your goal.
Action Step: Get clear on your motivations for achieving this goal and write it down somewhere you will see it often.
Step Three: Create Your Action Plan.
Here is where you are going to brainstorm all the milestones you need to reach and tasks you need to complete in order to achieve your goal.
Milestones are also a great way to track and celebrate your progress along the journey.
Sometimes looking at a big, audacious goal can make us feel overwhelmed. And sometimes it can be hard to know where to start or what to do first.
The best way to make progress towards a goal is to take consistent small steps that add up. Make sure to break down your project into small, easy tasks that you can complete and check off your to-do list.
So the first thing we need to do is get clear on what those steps are, then make a plan for when and how we are going to take them.
Once you have this clear plan of action laid out for you, it will be much easier to accomplish the big things.
Action Step: Brainstorm the milestones you need to achieve your goal and write down your action plan.
Step Four: Add focused time to your schedule.
Regardless of the goal, you need to make time in your schedule to complete your action plan.
Take a look at your calendar and choose the days and times you have available to work on this goal.
Block this time in your calendar and set it up like an appointment with yourself.
You can turn on reminders to help you stay on track. But you have to take this focused time seriously.
Action Step: Add blocks of time into your schedule with specific tasks (from your action plan) that you will work on during that time.
Step Five: Track your progress.
You can’t know if you’re staying on the right track unless you do regular check-ins and reviews.
Whether you keep a habit tracker in your planner, track your progress on a monthly calendar, or use a digital tool to stay accountable, you need to schedule regular review sessions so you are aware of your progress.
I like to use a planner specifically for tracking my goals and add my focus blocks into my daily planner.
Action Step: Create a method of tracking progress on your goal.
Step Six: Reward yourself.
You can choose to reward yourself once you have completed your writing goal and you can also choose milestone rewards to keep you motivated and excited throughout the process.
This is so important because it can give us the extra boost we need to keep going and pushing through even when we feel like giving up.
You can make the rewards whatever you want: a trip to the spa, a brand new bookshelf, anything you can imagine.
Just don’t skip this step and when it comes time to reward yourself for all your hard work, do it.
Action Step: Decide how you are going to reward yourself for reaching each milestone and for completing your goal.
Following Through on Your Goals:
Here are my top three tips to help you throughout the year when you get stuck, fall behind, or feel like giving up.
#1 Don’t be afraid to change and adjust
Sometimes life changes (as we all know from 2020). So don’t be afraid to make adjustments to your goals and your plan as needed.
When you do your reviews, make sure you take into account what is working and what isn’t.
Is the goal still relevant to your life? Do you need to reconsider the timeline?
Give yourself grace and readjust your action plan and timeline as needed.
#2 Get accountability
For some people (me included), having outer accountability is super helpful.
This can be a mentor, a group (online or in person), a friend/partner, etc. If you know that this is something that would help you, make a plan for it now.
Set up regular meetings with an accountability partner or join a mentorship group.
Doing this now will ensure that you have help to stay fired up and focused in the future.
#3 Stay inspired
Think about what motivates and inspires you, create a list of these things, and whenever you are struggling go back to this list and get into the right mindset again for making progress on your goals.
This can be podcasts, music, books, friends, family, anything or anyone that makes you feel good and ready to take action.
Recap:
Step One: Decide on your goal.
Step Two: Get clear on your “why”.
Step Three: Create Your Action Plan.
Step Four: Add focused time to your schedule.
Step Five: Track your progress.
Step Six: Reward yourself.
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