I’d like to welcome three new members of Spunky’s Soldiers - Randi Lee, Ida Chiavaro, and Nancy LaRonda Johnson. Thank you for helping, me ladies!
All people need goals! Without set goals, we drift like leaves on a river. We hand control of our life over to circumstances and other people. “Where there is not vision, the people perish.” – Proverbs 29:18
Writers often set a big goal of ‘getting published.’ But often the journey is long and it’s easy to grow discouraged. Success is built by taking small steps. We must build upon small successes. And that starts with daily goals.
Have you written down your goals? Do you even know what specific dreams you want to achieve? Hitting an unknown target is next to impossible!
Just remember to TAKE ACTION! You can set goals all day long, but if you do nothing, nothing will happen. Start with daily goals and move forward.
Have you set your goals?
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50 comments:
Oh yeah I set writing goals all the time. My blog used to have a count down timer for my time to finishing revisions and edits of my book.
Now that I'm revising for publishing, I'm trying to revise or insert two chapters a day. Want to finish the first round of revisions by the end of April.
:-)
I set goals, but I'm notoriously fickle about sticking to them. As soon as I've decided what I want to accomplish, something bring and shiny will jingle and I'll be distracted.
I try too. But since I am only doing this as a part time gig I find weekly goals to be more realistic for me.
but setting the goals are important.
I too set daily goals whether they get done is another thing,
Yvonne.
Happy to help, Spunky :D!
I am a goal setter as well. Marketing is a hectic world and often eats up days of my time. If I don't block time out on my schedule to get my writing in, I can go a week without writing before I know it!
I do that with my garden, I walk around and make a mental list as to what needs to get done for the day. I just need to forward that kind of thinking to my book writing.
I do a Monday call with my WBFF to go over goals each week. It helps keep me focused.
Yes, I do set my goals....
Staying focused is the key... But I never write them down. Perhaps I should start and get the words out there....
Thanks for the great advice L. Diane!
I'm definitely a 'goal setter/list maker' type of guy and it makes me feel great to check something off those lists :)
My writing life would be in shambles without goals. I set them for the year, and by the month. Probably weekly, too, but I break those down into tasks. I'm very goal oriented.
Love the fire photo!
Thanks for this reminder to set daily goals. I have long term goals, and monthly goals, but weekly and daily goals sometimes slip away from my attention . . .and I need them to make the other ones work.
Thanks for this post! I needed it!
Set those goals alight! Let them flame!
Great pic!
I keep reminding myself to set goals. I have two sort of loose goals right now. Edit a novella and publish by June. And then I have a novel that needs editing and published by August. Wish me luck!
I'm a big outdoorsman, have been hardcore camping (where there are no toilets or anything for miles) since I was a kid. When going through the wilderness you cannot just aim for some far off mountains or you will get way off course. You have to aim for something nearer. Daily goals are like that, they keep you going in the right direction day after day. Excellent post, Diane!
Randi, I know the feeling.
Michael, I always write them down. It does make a difference.
Gwen, good luck!
Steven, very good example.
I am very goal-driven. I call myself a carrot chaser. In fact, I tend to always be looking forward to the next goal that I sometimes forget to stay in the moment. It's a balance.
I don't write, but I kind of do this when planning a dinner party.
Love that picture.
JO ON FOOD, MY TRAVELS AND A SCENT OF CHOCOLATE
Great photo!
Yes, I set goals and keep to them until new deadlines crop up.
Then I set new goals.
Barbara
D is for: Deadlines
The Daille-y News
yup, I have.
I'm terrible with daily goals. I've been told several times I must write them and do them. I start doing the list and I do well achieving it but after a few weeks, I drop it.
My daily goal is to finalize my Mary-andering Thoughts and Ideas blog. Have to go to doctor with my older daughter who is sick though. I really enjoyed your blog today.
http://mary-anderingcreatively.blogspot.com/
Just found you through A-Z. Your blog looks really interesting, will definitely be back to read some more. Suzanne
I have daily goals and I don't know where my life would be without them.
Hi Diane!
The most important thing I learned about setting goals is to set targets that are under my control. So I might set a goal of writing 100 pages, but not of finding an agent or a publisher, which depends on someone else.
I would never accomplish a thing if I didn't set goals. And I have to write them down, review them, check them off when they're accomplished. Great post!
I have a daily goal of surviving each letter of the Challenge right now.
I've set my goals, but am just having trouble keeping up with them, especially when I have more than one. At least I'm not failing. I'm doing about half, and part of that is because of unexpected visitors.
I'm terrible about setting goals. Still I manage to get things done.
Excellent verse. I feel like I'm good at the small steps... Such as if my boss makes me mad, I realize the very best thing I can do is weather the storm and sit down and keep writing, be it a chapter, a page or a sentence.
That's the only way I'll ever achieve my long term goal of being my own boss! :)
I have my daily goals, my monthly goals, and my annual goals. But too many of them end up on my "try again" goals.
I find goals easier when I have deadlines. I'm often distracted by new projects and extraneous stuff. I've come to realize that I do need a little down time between projects.
I love your photo, so toasty warm! Pass the marshmallows, lol ;D please
I agree goals/deadlines do help us. I am drawing a few lines. I do find mini goals keep me on target! Yes,a great idea!
I set goals all the time, and then I write them down because there is nothing more satisfying than crossing something off a list!
If I stuck to my daily A-z challenge goals, I wouldn't get to read other peoples comments and I really liked the mountain analogy one in this thread. I might even get some sleep - thats my goal for now :)
Beautiful photo! I set goals all the time! I would be lost without them.
Connie
Checkin' in from the A to Z Challenge.
Peanut Butter and Whine
I wish I'd remember this--now that I'm writing from home I keep forgetting to set the important goals! Thanks for reminding me!
You have articulated this so well and you know how much I relate to this. And to quote you, dear lady, here is what you so kindly left as a comment on my post very much in the same ideal.
"Yes! Now you are speaking my language. Small goals, medium goals, big goals - and write them down.
That list is perfect."
Indeed, I echo your thoughts.
Thank you for this, Diane.
Gary
That's whats nice about A to Z is it is a challenge to just add something everyday or write everyday instead of doing everything all at once.
Such wisdom here, Diane! My current goal is to write long hand on 400 pages. When I'm done, I'm sure there will be a story in there somewhere. Then I can edit. Yippeee!
That was the warmest thing I've seen all day. I can't wait for the real spring to arrive.
I tend to set my goals in an hourly fashion. :) Makes me feel really productive.
Thanks for the tips.
Heather
I used to have a lot of goals, but I rarely hit them and then I felt bad. :(
I try not to have so many now, but I'm such a obsessive list-maker, I can't help myself.
Great post! :-)
Great picture. I've set a daily goal for A to z.
I do the goal setting exercise periodically when I reach a turning point, like finishing the first draft of a manuscript or completing the A to Z Challenge. :D
I just set a ten year goal for myself. I don't think I've ever thought ahead so much before.
I believe in daily and weekly goals. I write a weekly to-do list. I tend to cross most things off during the weekend when I have time off.
I do need to make daily goals for my writing. Right now they are all tied to supporting enough A to Zers and getting my own posts up. Thanks for the great info. God bless, Maria Delight Directed Living
My daily "goals" are more like the pirate's code from Pirates of the Caribbean - they're more like guidelines. Which means they aren't hard and fast and they can get pushed to the wayside when other things crop up.
That's one of the things I'm working on now, is having daily writing goals. I'm using this challenge to get myself there!
Lyre at Lyre's Musings
Nice tips. Your blog makes it into my favorite A-Z file of blogs this year. It is one I will want to come back to and spend more time visiting.
As for goals in July of 2011 I had a dream of writing a year long devotional book. So I began at that time writing daily M-F and have not yet missed a day of posting yet. I have learned a lot in almost 2 years of daily blogging. I still need to work on the editing it all down if it is to become a book at some point. I have taken some little steps in that direction and did complete a e-book from last years A-Z posts and I hope to do the same with this years A-Z posts.
You are right about needing to take action. I hear a lot of people share their dreams but the ones that inspire me are the people who took the steps to make their dreams reals so others could experience them.
Have a great A-Z
Blessings, Margot
Margot at A Devotional Mosaic and Spark My Creativity
Thanks for the intro to my minioning! So proud to be one of the soldiers.
My writing goals went from getting published to actually finishing my story to writing X number of words per day to writing x number of words toda... ooh, something shiny!
Love this theme! Some great tips here and I'm looking forward to reading some more advice from your throughout the challenge.
http://www.mydestinationunknown.com
A to Z Participant
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