Are you a goals or a resolution type person? Or do you simply prefer not to treat New Year’s Day any different than any other day? While I talk about resolutions, they’re really not my thing. They seem like vague wishes to me, unless you break them down into specific goals.
Likewise, goals for an entire year are difficult, too, although definitely useful. But if you only write them down in January and then check them again in December without giving them any thought in between, they’re unlikely to impact your life.
Goals need to be achievable (though stretching is definitely good) and measurable. It also helps to break them down a month, a week, and a day at a time. Here’s what I plan on tackling during 2013.
Writing Goals
1. Prepare 2-3 proposals
2. Write 1-2 novels
3. Write 1-2 novellas
4. Revise 1-3 works of fiction
Business Goals
1. Continue to promote Rainbow’s End
2. Create selfpublishing imprint
3. Write and edit 2-3 nonfiction ebooks and upload for sale
4. Produce God’s Green Acres monthly
5. Blog twice a week
Community Goals
1. Critiques as requested by my CPs
2. Mentor and teach as opportunities arise
Health Goals
1. Head toward a 90% Paleo diet
2. Work out regularly
Upcoming Highlights
1. Teach at Inland Northwest Christian Writers Conference (March)
2. Maui for niece’s wedding (May)
3. ACFW conference in Indianapolis (September)
The only thing on my list that may cause your eyebrows to rise is my desire to selfpublish some nonfiction ebooks. At this point, I’m not planning to run my fiction this route, but “never say never.”
What are your goals for the New Year? How do you keep on task?
Yay for stepping in to self-publishing! Looks like a nice, well-rounded set of goals, and I have no doubt you’ll accomplish most of them.
I’m curious about the desire to shift to the Paleo diet. Fire-cooking all your food? 😉
Thanks. I like goals. It’s hard to shoot for something when you don’t know what it is, you know?
As for the Paleo, I should say somewhat modified. In essence, as long as I can find “clean” dairy, dairy is in. Focusing on Paleo helps keep me along the perimeter of the grocery store. Because we have mostly our own meat, I can skip that section. I don’t buy a lot of dairy from the store, either, so it’s mostly the produce section. Cutting out packaged stuff and even homemade bread has helped me lose some weight, and seems the only way to keep the scale balanced or headed downward (I lost 15 pounds in 2012, and want to lose about 13 more before Hawaii in May–then re-evaluate). But by saying 90% Paleo, it allows room for occasional indulgence, which I think is necessary for sanity. I’d pretty much shifted (mostly) Paleo without knowing what it was over the past while.
I cook over fire all the time! Gas range, lol.