Goal Setting by Susan Tuttle

Happy 2018! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year. As always, it went by way too fast, and now the decorations, holiday music, and wonderful treats are all packed away. It’s time to stare down this new year and set some goals.

You can plan out a month-at-a-glance or a year-at-a-glance. Write out your must-do’s and fill in around them with dedicated writing time. Let your goal be a certain number of minutes, a specific word count, or a manuscript you want to finish. Whatever it is, you need to set a concrete goal so you have something to shoot for. Think about any sport there is, the athletes have a specific end goal that they are focused on. This shapes everything they do and keeps them on track for success.

And make sure your goal stretches you without being unattainable. If you know that your writing time is limited, don’t decide you’re going to write three full-length novels before summer. However, if you know that you are a fast writer with extra time this year, maybe add one additional novella or short story into the mix. Also, set at least one of your goals in an area that is brand new to you. Research into a genre you’ve always thought of trying. A new marketing strategy that you’ve wanted to employ. Reading a craft book to strengthen one of your weaknesses. Or attending a conference.

Whatever it is, take a few minutes to set up your path for the year. If your ultimate goal is to publish a book some day, you’ll need to set little ones to meet along the way. What better time than the beginning of a new year full of new possibilities?

Susan L. Tuttle lives in Michigan where she’s happily married to her best friend and is a homeschooling mom of three. She’s firmly convinced that letters were meant for words, not math, and loves stringing them together into stories that inspire, encourage, and grow women into who God created them to be. Romance, laughter, and cookies are three of her favorite things, though not always in that order. You can connect with Susan at her blog, Steps, Facebook, or Twitter.

 

This and That Thursday: A Cardiac Arrest Victim's Twist on New Year's Resolutions

Ocieanna here. I know it’s toward the end of January, and your goals, resolutions, and plans have already been made and embarked on, but will you indulge me one more article about goal setting?

It may be different than you expect.

I tend to be a goal setter. I love my lists with little boxes to check off (just ask my kids). In the past, each year I carefully thought out my short-term, mid-term, and long-term goals. Personal, professional, spiritual, you know the drill. SMART goals…

Early on (probably way back in my twenties) I learned how discouraging these dang lists can be. No matter what my intentions, my success rate hovered around ten percent. Not stellar.

Regardless, year after year, I’d get into the spirit and plan out (either mentally or physically) my list of goals and dreams.

I did that last year too.

Well, if you don’t know what happened to me last January, let me share. I was lying in my bed watching TV when my heart stopped. Paramedics came and revived me, but in that minute, my life changed. (You can read more about my story on my website.)

So much for my goals and plans.

Everything I expected for the year—my planned novel, teaching Bible, homeschooling, even trivial tasks like doing laundry or making dinners—all fell away. I was left with me and God. And just as He promised, He directed my path, step by step, through that time.

You know what? Even though it was difficult, I liked His plan better than mine. Not only because, well, He's God and His plans are just plain better, but because His plan revealed His tender care and protection of me in a way my pre-set goals, as grand as I thought they were, couldn't. Through His way--so different than my own--I felt His love like I never had before. I'd call that a better way.

I’m not telling you this to discourage you from filling out charts, making goals, and especially not from dreaming, but maybe my experience will temper your planning a little.

You may plan to finish three articles and a proposal. He may plan for you to love your kids through a life-changing event. You may plan to send out five queries to agents. He may plan to send you to a new and unknown ministry. You may have great successes planned. He may want to show you His love through failure.

Or like me, He might just want you to rest a spell.

So make your goals, but remember to walk in step with the One who holds your writing career—your whole life—in his hands. His love will guide you, even down uncharted paths.

Happy 2012, my writing friends,

Ocieanna