5 Steps from Dreams to Completed Goals

Last week in my accountability group’s HOW I WRITE series, we posted 5 Things That Made Us Smile that week. This week’s topic is “Share tips on how you successfully set and completed goals.”

I had a very specific set of writing goals in mind for last year and this year, with the RWA National convention in Anaheim for 2012. I’ve felt like I wasn’t getting any farther on my own and I needed some extra guidance and cheerleaders along the way. So that’s what 2011 was all about. Moving forward with taking baby steps so I didn’t freak myself out.

A few of my 2011 goals were intended to up my writing game (not in terms of craft, but in networking and path to publication):

1. Complete my manuscript (BHT for those following along).
2. Join Romance Writers of America (nat’l, RWASD, & Beau Monde chapter)
3. Submit my manuscript to at least ONE agent.
4. Apply for RWA PRO status.

1. Separate Dreams From Goals.

Dreams are good. They’re the moon and the stars. The most important thing to remember is that they have to be YOUR dreams and goals. If you’re doing them for someone else or they don’t exactly line up with your values, you’re setting yourself up for failure. Take the time to think about who you are, what you want, and why you want it. Don’t rush figuring those things out.

Dream: I want to be published author and see my book on the shelf.
Goal: This year, I want to complete the first draft of a 90k Regency Set Historical Romance novel that’s suitable for Avon Books.

Dream: I want to take amazing photographs on purpose.
Goal: This year, I will publicly do a 366 (It’s leap year!) Photo Challenge with a couple of friends to improve composition and learn to use my camera without relying on the AUTO setting.

Dream: We want a comfortable retirement.
Goal: We need to accumulate X amount of money by a certain date in order to get a return on the principle that’s equal to our current income.

With the dreams, there are many paths I could take to get there, most of them involving a whole lotta luck. The goasl, if they’re good ones, are going to be much more precise and can be broken down into tasks. A dream is what you want, but a goal is what you need to do to move toward your dreams.

2. WRITE S.M.A.R.T. Goals.

Have someone who knows you and what you’re trying to accomplish go over them and sanity check them. Skimping on this step just sets you up for failure. You can rationalize anything if you aren’t crystal clear about what you want to accomplish and you’ll find all sorts of loopholes, especially if you don’t write them down. Another thing that writing them down and putting them through this checklist can do is find and resolve conflicting goals. I don’t have exact dates for these goals above, but on my master copy, they had precise dates of which they were to be accomplished. I don’t think I went over by more than a week on any of them.

Are the goals [S]pecific? How are you going to accomplish it, if you don’t know exactly what you want to do?
Are they [M]easurable? How are you going to know if you’ve done enough to complete it?
Are they [A]ttainable? How are you going to achieve this goal? What steps do you need to take?
Are they [R]ealistic? This is where having a partner in crime or accountability helps most. We often bite off more than we can chew and they’ll call us on it.
Are they [T]imely and/or time limited? Do you need to do it now? How long do you have to do it for? Do you have a deadline? Even a self-imposed one is better than leaving it open ended. Make sure you know of any other steps that must be completed first.

3. Group Similar Goals.

Make sure you have all the steps necessary and the order in which they need to be done to achieve what you want.

I knew I wanted to be in the PRO groups for RWA in 2012. This means on the PRO mailing loops, attending the PRO breakfasts for my local chapter before meetings, and going to the PRO Retreat in Anaheim. I couldn’t just do those goals in any old order. Ok, the first two I could, but 1 definitely had to come before 3 and 2 before 4. A nice neat little stack of dominoes, if you will. They just tend to fall in slow motion.

You should also be thinking in terms of SHORT TERM GOALS and LONG TERM GOALS. You may also have some medium range goals in there as well. It’s often helpful to pick a date 5 or 10 years in the future and dream big, but true. Then, start dividing that time frame up… What do you have to accomplish to reach the that big goal in half that time? In a quarter of that time? In the next two years? In the next year? In six months from now?

4. Keep Moving Forward.

Keep your goals list handy. Check it frequently. When you’ve completed one task/goal on your list, move on to the next one. Celebrate your victory, but don’t lose your forward momentum. Love that motto from Meet the Robinsons.

One thing with keeping tasks/goals in a logical order for completion is that you don’t have to backtrack. Even if you aren’t planning to accomplish the next step in the current month, quarter, year, 5 years or decade, you should still know what you’re going to need to do to get where you want to be. You need to be prepare if your world suddenly shifts beneath you and you’re left without a plan? Or worse, you have a plan, but it’s irrelevant. By having a forward-looking plan that stretches out farther than you think is necessary, you give yourself something to work towards and you just might find you have to readjust. Likewise, the ground can shift and suddenly you’re back to square one with certain goals. Pick yourself up, dust off the plan and get moving. You’ve already decided you want to be somewhere better. Every journey begins with that first step. Take it.

5. But, Don’t Look Down!

Why do we set goals for ourselves anyway? We want to grow, to improve, to enjoy life more. If you shoot for the moon and miss, you’ll still be among the stars. Trite, but usually true. One way to set your goals up for positive change and increase your chances of success is to frame them in positive terms. “Losing weight” always seems to fail… why? It’s not will power, genetics or even that extra slice of cake. Ok, it probably IS the cake, but that’s a different argument. The problem is that it’s a NEGATIVE goal. Look at the wording… LOSE that’s not a positive word. If you want to lose weight you need to think of it terms of what you’ll be gaining and then find the steps to accomplish that.

If you are trying to set goals that push beyond your comfort zone, you need to sneak up on them. Make progress at a rate you’re comfortable with. If I can push myself to do something once, the next time is easier because it lacks the apprehension and built up fear the next time. This is why I made a goals of submitting to at least ONE agent. I gave myself permission to set the bar VERY low and not build expectations into the goal.

One of the PRO Liasons in my local chapter said to me today: “Just like, when you’re climbing up high, don’t look down. Keep looking forward so you don’t get overwhelmed by how far up you are.” I’m really trying not to think how fast things are moving, so I can keep up. Lots of metaphors would fit here — gotta keep those plates spinning!

YOUR TURN: What tried ‘n true tips would you recommend for setting and achieving goals?

And if you’d like to read more about goal setting tips from the rest of my group this week, you can find their blogs here:

* Alexia Reed * Kimberly Farris*
* Angeleque Ford * Danie Ford * Emma G. Delaney *

5 Things That Made Me Smile

Last week in my acountability group’s HOW I WRITE series, we posted our take on writing advice and mine in particular struck a chord with readers. This week’s topic is “Name up to 5 unexpected finds/treats/treasures this weeks. Things that caught your attention that you may not have noticed normally.”

It could be a book we’ve read, a movie, joke, funny story, a quote, a commercial, a t.v., a compliment, etc – basically anything that happened this week that was out of the ordinary that made us stop and take notice and/or smile.”

1. How my kids still get out of the car at school and say “I love you” even in front of other students

This isn’t an unusual occurrence, but it did make me smile to actually notice it this week.

2. The strong smell of guavas that have ripened after they were brought to us to try

I’ve never had guavas before. Did you know they’re called “guayaba” in Spanish? I didn’t. They smell wonderful and we need to eat them soon before it’s too late.

3. How when it’s cold enough the hedges and mailboxes will “steam” when the sun hits them

Similar to how a pond will steam, but weirder. I dunno, I don’t recall noticing this when I was younger. It’s definitely from thinking “What am I going to take a picture of today?!” I’ve noticed that I get a lot of compliments on my photos (*whispers* you know I only pick the best ones, right?) but it’s not something I’ve been working hard at. It’s all intuitive. I’ve got to do some thinking on why it works for me with photography, but not writing, but I suspect it has to do with 3 factors: practice, internalizing some rules and quantity of output. I’ve thrown away far more pictures than I’ve written pages.

4. The way my friend answered the phone when she recognized my number”

I could hear the smile in her voice when I called to check up on her. She’s been sick, but brightened to know someone was thinking of her.

5. “Shit the Dowager Countess Says”

It amuses me that the hysterical comments that Dame Maggie Smith’s character on Downton Abbey says has basically turned into a meme. I love the way that character is written and how she’s played. Love her.

YOUR TURN: What have you discovered that tickled your fancy lately?

And if you’d like to read about what caught the attention of the rest of my group this week, you can find their blogs here:

* Alexia Reed * Kimberly Farris*
* Angeleque Ford * Danie Ford * Emma G. Delaney *

2012 Photo Challenge: Week 1

As you may know I got a new digital SLR camera for my birthday last year. I never “properly” learned to use all the features on the one I got for high school graduation and always relied on luck and instinct.

I’ve made it a goal this year (along with two other members of my accountability group) to do a 365 Photo Challenge. How did I let them talk me into this on a Leap year? So far, so good though.

What you see below are links to my flickr set for the photos I’ll use for this challenge. Click on any photo below to go to flickr and then you can navigate through the set with the “Previous” and “Next” arrows at the top.

Sun: Jan 01, 2012		Mon: Jan 02, 2012
Tue: Jan 03, 2012	Wed: Jan 04, 2012	Thu: Jan 05, 2012
Fri: Jan 06, 2012		Sat: Jan 07, 2012

Transitions: 2011 to 2012

Last time, our How I Write series, we talked about which books we’d include in a time capsule for 2011. This time, we’re looking at the other side of the calendar and all the introspection and planning that comes with the beginning of a new year. The questions posed were “What did you accomplish in 2011? What one thing about last year would you change? And What are your goals for 2012?” This isn’t a new topic for my accountability group, we start assessing the current year and how we want to change and revise and plan for the coming year with SMART goals back in November.

2011 Accomplishments

I joined RWA at the national and local levels and also joined the regency era specialty chapter, the Beau Monde. I also finished BHT and submitted it to a literary agent. I haven’t heard back but it was enough to get my PRO status for RWA.

A photo of our new house. — We're homeowners again!

We bought a new house at the beginning of the year and have made significant progress on settling in and making it ours.

I made an effort to listen to music on a regular basis and got in at least 60 hours each month. I also got a new digital camera for my birthday and have been playing with it with good results. I also made an effort to reconnect with two of my friends and had brunch with them once a month.

As a family, we managed to do something together for each major holiday/vacation, saw our daughter promote from 8th grade and enter high school and celebrated DH’s 40th birthday. There were trips to D.C./Philly/NYC, L.A. and Jacksonville for educational enrichment, fun and family.

this was about half of what I’d hoped to accomplish but when it’s all listed out it sounds like a lot, considering all the usual health and chaotic interruptions.

What Needs to Change?

Less drifting along and more focus. Like water, I’m prone to take the path of least resistance. My accountability group and several members in my local RWA Chapter are amazing at prodding me along and give me the courage to move forward. I don’t have any good excuses for not chasing what I want.

2012 Goals

So, my big, hairy, audacious goals for 2012… I have more goals than what I’m laying out here, but most of them would bore you to tears. You probably won’t care if we get our bookshelves organized, if I treat myself to a spa day every 3 months, or if I make my annual donation to Juvenile Diabetes Research. Balance is important, but I feel my writing has suffered from having my attention pulled elsewhere or just drifting because I didn’t have clear paths to follow. 2012 is a year to change that.

Without further dithering on, here’s what I’m willing to stand up here and say, THIS is what I WILL accomplish this year:

Attend the Nations RWA Conference in Anaheim in July. This is a HUGE for me. I’m not good with crowds or new situations. Eep.
Have 2 mss out to agents & contests by the end of the year. Gotta justify my PRO pin and you can’t get a yes by never asking!
Migrate my online identity to my name instead of my blog name or a nickname. Again, this is very hard for me, but needs done if I want to be taken seriously.
Stop lurking and participate with other writers and with local people who energize us. One of the ways I’ll be pushing myself to interact with other writers is doing interviews here on the blog. Expect the majority to be Regency Romance, but I have a couple Victorian writers in mind that I think you’ll love too.
Participate in a 365 Photo Project for 2012. Look for weekly summaries soon!

You should feel to pester me about any and all of the above if you haven’t sensed any movement from my cave in a while! Seriously.

YOUR TURN: How are you challenging yourself this year?

If you’d like to see what my friends accomplished in 2011 and have planned for 2012, you can find their blogs here:

* Alexia Reed * Kimberly Farris *
* Danie Ford * Emma G. Delaney * Angeleque Ford *