New Year: New Beginnings

New Year's always begs new resolutions, which in turn is quickly followed with eye-rolling, sighs, and insecure laughter as people create excuses for why they don't write goals.

Well, as many a good man has advised, "If you aim at nothing, you'll hit it every time."

I return to you, dear readers, refreshed from the long break, inspired to work with a greater fervor than before, and insistent upon challenging you to write down some goals for this year.

Just the other day I attended a meeting where the speaker confessed that at one point in her writing career, she looked back on the previous year and realized that an entire year had gone by and she had not accomplished anything. I refuse to let you come to the end of 2010 and share the same sentiment. It is time to write some goals, post them in your home, and find an accountability partner to keep you on track.

Before you get bogged down and overwhelmed by the prospects of having to write goals, please heed my simple advice:

1. Limit yourself to 3-5 goals max. Type-A's like myself scoff at this idea for there is so much that we are determined to acomplish in this one year, but I know, from experience, that writing 10 or 20 goals (or more--guilty!) is counterproductive. It does not mean that you will not accomplish the myriad of other challenges set before you; rather it will force you to prioritize, simplify, and make your list of goals a thing to be proud of, rather than, like my list from 2009, a paper I have conveniently lost and hope never to find.

2. Think of your goals like a set of directions off of mapquest. Do not just write down the final destination; write down the steps you are going to take to reach that destination. For example, if your goal is an overal healthier lifestyle, then your resolution should entail a handful of practical steps to achieving such a life (i.e., Goal one: a healthier lifestyle of refusing seconds, drinking 64 ounces of water per day, and enrolling in a fitness class that I attend a minimum of two days per week.)

3. Be realistic. You don't need to lasso the moon any time soon; just write a goal that gets you one or two steps closer to doing so--perhaps a goal to buy some rope and learn how to throw a lasso. The rope and physics needed to get to the moon can be dealt with a different year.

Again, let me emphasize: Write down your goals, post them, and find someone to be accountable to. You CAN do this. What are you aiming for this year? Begin by sharing your goals in the comments section. Allow us to be a form of accountability to get you started in the right direction.

A little of this . . . a little of that

There's a lot playing around in my head right now. If I were to throw up some "brain puke" for you (my graphic term to engage high schoolers in trying their hand at true brainstorming), here's what would come up:

1. Why am I always the youngest (or close to the youngest) of the writers at my local writers' meetings? I read a blog recently (can't find the link, sorry) discussing if $50 is too much to charge to draw a younger crowd to a writer's conference. For me, money's not the issue; it's my time. I hate hate hate paying money to go somewhere that's a waste of my time. That said, I hate going to a free meeting that also tends to be a waste of my time. It's been hit and miss with local writers' group meetings. Part of the problem is most writers are not public speakers, so they may have a wealth of knowledge to contribute, but it comes out all Charlie Brown "Wah, wah wah wah wah wah" like. 

Along this line, I'm realizing how much knowledge really is available online. You really only have to follow a few key blogs, and you can stay up on national or even worldwide news in the publishing industry. Most of what I've heard in meetings I already read on someone's blog. And, to be honest, much of what I've heard in meetings I already know to be outdated and untrue. This all goes back to the age thing. A majority of the writers populating the meetings are well on their way into retirement which means generally they don't use a computer much and surfing the Internet is very limited. I almost fell out of my chair the other day when a 70+ year old man told the group about the Kindle 2.0. The funny thing was, he was announcing the bonus that it reads the books aloud to you, completely oblivious to all the controversy for authors' rights and losing commissions for audio books. 

Where are the young writers? Are they just staying home because they know they can get all they need off the Internet? Should I join them?

2. Something's gotta give. I recently consulted one of my successful entrepreneurial moms to talk about the balance of running a home-based business and raising a family. One of her many nuggets of wisdom was that it's okay to let some things go from time to time and catch up on them later. Sometimes it's the laundry. Sometimes it's cleaning the house. Sometimes it's a playdate. I find that very comforting. I'm not the only one struggling to balance it all while trying to keep my title of SuperMom.

3. Goals: I'm already ready to review and adjust my goals for this year. Part of it is that reality has shown me I overshot a lot. Part of it is that I'm already way behind, so I need to find a way to catch up. And part of it is just going back to that beautiful word, BALANCE. I haven't figured it all out, but I do know enough that I can admit that I can't do everything, all in moderation, and even if things don't go the way I planned, they still go and good things happen. (Since I wrote this post, I found this. It resonates with exactly what works for me.)

As I've quoted before, if you aim at nothing, you'll hit it every time. Even though I may be aiming at the impossible, when I take a breath and look at all the "little" things I've accomplished along the way, I realize I'm already doing way more than I did just last year. Yay!

2009

My 2009 resolutions begin in approximately 6 hours. I decided I'd start the first Monday back to work for 2009, tomorrow. I should be in bed right now, getting lots of sleep for all of my inspired writing and reading and such that I will be accomplishing come 3 AM tomorrow morning, but alas, I am awake. 

So, I decided to get an early start. This will take care of one of my three blogs for this week--can't go wrong with that. 

I've been thinking a lot about goals and resolutions for this year. I've been comparing notes with others. And I still have more people to compare with. As I continue to compare, my list grows and grows. I also sat down with my hubby and we wrote parenthood goals (instead of just "motherhood" goals) and financial goals for 2009. I'm excited because I can already feel the momentum. We started many things in December, so the transition to January is going to be more of a step rather than a leap.

And, all this said, I have already decided that I need to cut back my goals. The list is slowly creeping into two typed pages. Sounds impressive, and also is unrealistic. I will begin paring back tomorrow. I need goals to aim for (because if you aim at nothing, you'll hit it every time), but I don't need a list that is so impossible that I give up on everything. Plus, I've already started making excuses in my head for why I wouldn't complete the goals each week which tells me those really aren't as big of priorities as I first thought. This is a process, but a good one. 

What are your goals for 2009? I'd love to compare lists. I believe mine will be a work in progress as the year goes on. Oh, and I've decided on a motif for this year. I believe 2009 will be a year of peace. 

Resolutions

As promised on my facebook, here are some of my 2009 resolutions and strategies to make them happen. I've always been a believer in not only writing goals, but writing HOW I'm going to accomplish them. 2008 has been a big year of, excuse the now-cliche phrase, change. Becoming as some bloggers term themselves, a "writermama" has been more difficult than I expected. It started with everyone telling me to "nap when she naps" and "give yourself time to adjust," and it continued with justifications to put all of my writer career pretty much on the back burner while I figured out this whole mama thing.

Well, now that we've established a semi-routine, and now that the proverbial fire is once again lit underneath me, here are my goals for the new year concerning my writing/editing career.

1. Write 30 minutes a day, five days a week. The one thing that has had the most influence on my writing career and actually getting it started is what I learned from Peggy Fielding in a free class she offers locally, "You're not a writer unless you write." Simple. Profound. Rocked my world. I must be a writer.

2. Submit a query to a magazine/publisher/agent 3x's a week. Mainly magazine. Am actually planning on applying at a local magazine, and I'm on the hunt for community-based writing jobs. Of all I've read, the people making the big bucks started local. I wanted to skip local and go straight to national and then universal! But, it turns out, the local community is not to be overlooked and many times provides steady assignments.

3. Read 1-2 books per month. I know, that's not a lofty goal for a writer, but I must read. I read slowly, so this is a realistic goal. If I made it more, I wouldn't accomplish it. Granted, this goal's focus is on novels. Picture books I will read ad nauseum (is that spelled right?) with my baby girl.

4. Go to a major national writer's conference this year, fully paid for with my business money. When I go, I want to have at least 3 manuscripts and 5 agents that I've researched and am ready to pitch to.

The resolutions continue to include health resolutions and spiritual, but we'll stop here.

Now, the plan of attack. 

I find that I get the most accomplished first thing in the morning. If I don't do it first thing, I generally don't get it done. With this in mind, I've also noticed of late that I have two "first thing in the morning" opportunities per day. My hubby works two jobs, bless him, so I can stay at home. I usually wake up to see him off to his first job, then spend 40 minutes lying awake in bed wanting to go back to sleep. Then I wake up again to get ready for the day. Why not take advantage of both wake-up times?

So, for 2009, I will get up and do all writing during my first wake-up moment. Then I will either work through to my second, or I will snooze and wake up again an hour or more later. During that second wake-up time, I'll work on health and spiritual goals.

That leaves the rest of the day to focus on my daughter, and maybe, just maybe, I'll try that "nap when she naps" theory. We'll see. Housework has to fit in somewhere. . .