Everyone has heard about the importance of goal setting, but knowing how to set effective, realistic goals and meet them is hard to do. These three worksheets and free Android app will help the new or experienced writer meet writing goals. It’s not necessary to start on the first day of a new year. Start using these setting goals worksheets any time of year and see writing productivity and creativity increase.
How to Set High Goals that are Realistic and Attainable
Many people set goals that are far too difficult to achieve. They might say, “I’m going to phase draft 5,000 words a day,” or “I’m going to write three novels this year.” While these goals are noble, it can be disappointing if for some reason they go unmet. Also, huge goals such as these seem overwhelming when looked at as a whole. Where does one start? How does one go about working toward those goals? How can one judge if he or she is on track to meeting the goal or falling short?
The key to setting achievable goals, no matter how large they are is to make smaller goals that lead up to a bigger goal. For example, a goal of writing 500 words a day will result in a 50,000 word novel in 100 days, a 100,000 word novel in 200 days. Once that’s complete, set a goal for revising and editing one or two chapters a week. In this way, by starting with small goals, a fiction writer can finish two small novels or one large novel in a year, ready to submit to agents and editors. Imagine the satisfaction of meeting that goal!
Using the analogy of a novel, setting goals for writers can be broken down from yearly to monthly, to weekly, to daily. This corresponds with the story arc, chapter arc, scene arc, and sentence structure. Most writers don't write sentences or scenes without knowing where the story is heading. They have a story idea in mind when they start. In the same way, have a yearly goal in mind before setting the smaller goals.
Set Yearly Goals First
The best goals, like the best stories, have an overarching theme. Start with the biggest goal first and make it a yearly goal or the theme for the year. Then break the goal down to monthly goals, weekly goals, and daily goals. There may be more than one yearly goal. It’s important to write down the goals and put them in a visible place.
These goals should have a time frame. Across the top of a goals worksheet, write down three headings as shown in the picture below:
- What I want to accomplish.
- When I want to accomplish it.
- Notes.
Being specific about what one wants helps to make the goal concrete. Setting a time frame prevents one from procrastinating. Notes can include anything about the goal; motivations, reasons to reach it, a reward for reaching it, or any personal note.
Set Monthly Goals Based on the Yearly Goals
The next step after setting yearly goals is to ask, “What needs to be done to reach those goals?” Listing the steps will be a guide in setting the monthly goals. Do it on a spreadsheet or worksheet with these three headings:
- Month
- Goal
- Notes
Set Weekly and Daily Goals Based on the Monthly Goals
With the monthly goals in place, again ask what steps need to be completed to reach those goals. These can be broken down into weekly goals, such as writing a certain number of blog posts, or a certain number of pages. Then break the weekly goals down even further, setting a daily goal.
The daily goals should be written on a weekly worksheet. List these headings:
- Day of the Week
- Goal or Project
- Notes
Using the weekly goal sheet is basically a time management tool or project management tool. It sets up a schedule for accomplishing tasks required to meet the weekly and monthly goals. For people who like to organize even further, the same system may be used to create a goal setting worksheet for each project, such as blogs, novels, submissions, promotion, or any other writing goal.
Another convenient way to track daily and project goals is by using goal setting software available online. A free Android application called Habit Streak allows the writer to set daily goals, and make comments each day about the progress. It has an alarm reminder to jog the memory about making the notes.
The beauty of this system is its flexibility. If a new goal needs to be reached, just add it into the goal setting sheets. Likewise if one is going to be abandoned for any reason, just take it out and replace it with another goal.
Once the goals are broken down into small chunks, it's not so hard to focus on the small goals. The small goals reach to the larger goals, and before long, the biggest goals are being met or surpassed. In this way, writers can achieve or exceed high expectations with a minimum of fuss and effort. The organization of goal setting makes it meaningful and brings the joy of accomplishment to writing.
Suzanne Pitner - Suzanne Pitner is a teacher and published writer. A member of RWA and YARWA, she writes fiction as Suzanne Lilly.
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