Goals: Fall 2018 Edition

This fall, I’m trying something new. I’m going to share some of my goals for the near future. Sure, I appreciate public accountability, but I also love reading these posts on others’ blogs. 

Putting my goals under my control

I used to set lofty goals. They left me feeling like a failure. While I forget exactly what those goals were, I know they read something like “publish first novel by 2014” or “place articles in two magazines by the end of the year” or “write guest posts for two major blogs.”

The problem with goals like that? They sound good on paper, but someone else decides whether I succeed or fail. Those goals, and even more me-centered ones like increasing web traffic or social media followers, rely on others’ acceptance or rejection of my efforts.

I’m trying a different approach this fall. All of my goals are 100 percent within my control. I don’t need anyone else’s approval to succeed. But I do need to keep working and keep trying. I’m sure those efforts will result in some external validation without me writing it next to a checkbox.

Professional goals

Sometimes I struggle with what counts as a “professional” vs. a “personal” goal. Is my fiction writing a personal pursuit, or part of my writing business? What about my critique group?

For now, I’m putting all my writing under the “professional” heading, even though my non-fiction work is the only thing making me any money. If I still worked an office job, I would put aspirational goals like promotions and job searches under a professional heading. Comparable writing goals should feel like part of my business, too.

Here’s what I want to do before the end of 2018:

• Decide what to do about Driving Forces and take a first step in that direction. I haven’t done anything with the manuscript since #RevPit. I see a few options here. I could:
  • Shelve it and move on,

  • Edit it to try to make it more salable, or

  • Query it as is

• Stay active on my chosen social media platforms: Facebook pages, Instagram, and Twitter. Maybe try a few more experiments with Instagram Stories or IGTV.
• Avoid any new social media platforms.
• Do something every month to promote book sales. This can be guest posts on other blogs, local talks/appearances, advertising, etc.
• Release a paperback edition of Order from Chaos.
• Hit 50,000 words on my new novel.
• Pick out a conference or two I want to attend in 2019.
• Take one or two intentional steps to recruit another member to our critique group.
• Choose a conference or residency to apply to that feels like a real stretch, whether it’s a selective program like Aspen Words or Vermont Studio Center or a new role like speaking at a conference instead of simply attending sessions.

This feels like a big list, and writing it helped me pare down my original goals. I can be very ambitious. It sounds like a positive trait, but often is not. Ambition is just as likely to lead to paralysis as it is achievement. I’ve learned that smaller goals usually result in bigger accomplishments.

Personal goals

I’m really good at putting work and others first, and really terrible at prioritizing anything that’s just for me. I give a lot and keep little for myself. As I get into my mid-30s, I’m beginning to get tired. I need to learn to rest and to enjoy my life, not just keep my head down and work toward the next thing.

To that end, here’s what I want to do for myself in the remainder of 2018:

• Let myself cut loose on my app project. I’ve waffled over it for a while and forced myself to delay working on it to see if I’d lose interest. My husband, a software engineer, thinks it’s a poor decision. And who knows, maybe it is. So I’m giving myself carte blanche to take it on — as a hobby project. I’ll let myself go nuts, maybe get it out of my system, and maybe come up with a legit business goal for 2019. I want to:
  • Jump into learning Swift, since I’ll probably need to start my app on iOS. That means making small progress almost every day.
  • Take a friend up on a nice offer to chat with me about my app plans. He’s an indie developer who’s had a lot of success with a really fantastic iPhone app. There’s no excuse for me not to accept his offer of wisdom and experience.
• Plan more than one ski trip for this winter.
• Take two more trips to the beach house.
• Keep playing the guitar every day.
• Get my money’s worth out of my membership to our local climbing gym.
• Repaint our living room.
• Clean and reorganize my office so it feels better to work in there.

I know I’m still too ambitious

Even after paring my list down, some part of me knows this is too much. January may arrive to find me with no plan for 2019 conference attendance. While I’m really amped to get moving on my app, I have to leave room for it not to work out.

We’ll see. I may be as surprised as anyone when I check in at the end of the year!

What are you working on right now? What are your goals for the rest of 2018?