Be honest, how many times have you declared New Year resolutions only for them to fail within a few weeks?
It’s no surprise really. There’s a tendency to set very high-level resolutions – lose half a stone, get fit – without any idea how to achieve them. And once you’ve had a setback, it’s all too easy to abandon altogether.
The key for me is to rebrand them – they’re not New Year resolutions (with all the pressure they bring), but goals for the next 12 months. Once you start to think about them like that, it becomes easier to work with the next step:
Setting out a plan
Get ready for some writing
I know that many people will cringe away from the word plan, but to be brutally honest, without a plan you’re setting yourself up to fail. For example, if you want to give up smoking this year, just stopping smoking without a plan will likely lead to a relapse. I’ve never been a smoker but I’ve heard that giving up is really, really hard. There are physical effects – tackling the nicotine cravings – but also psychological effects, such as breaking the habit of when you have a cigarette, and these aren’t easy. Wouldn’t you prefer if you had a plan, such as going to a different place for your morning coffee if that’s usually when you have a cigarette?
So, let’s say that your goal for the next year is to do more writing. That’s a great goal, but here’s the problem – do you know how you’re going to achieve it?
Breaking it down
You’ve got your main goal and your next step is to look at this in more detail:
- What do you want to write? – There’s no point just saying you want to write more, without knowing what you want to write. So, whether it’s short stories, pieces of flash fiction or tackling the novel idea that’s been bouncing around in your head, get that clear in your head.
- How are you going to make the time to do it? Notice the specific word I used there – make. You won’t ever find time to do anything, you need to make space in your life to do it.
Writing it all down
The next step is to put it down on paper. I had some quite lofty goals last year – finishing my second novel, writing my third, developing marketing plans, etc – and without my diary from the Urban Writers’ Retreat there’s no way I’d have actually achieved all that. What I did was look at the big goals that I had and then break them down into sections. So I had goals for each quarter of the year, month and then week. You don’t need to go to this level of detail, but at least make a plan for the month ahead. This gives you the opportunity to make time in your life ahead of schedule to give yourself the time you need.
Accountability
This is another key point – you need some way to keep yourself on the straight and narrow, following the plan. If you’re the sort of person who needs encouragement, make sure you have a way to boast when you hit your goals, and somewhere to turn when you need a bit of a boost. This could be on social media – the writing community is pretty friendly, or with friends and family, or in your local writing group, if you’re part of one. You could buddy up with another person and support each other. If you don’t want to state your goals publicly (and let’s face it that can be intimidating) this is where your written record comes in handy. You can look back at what you set out to do and review whether you’re still on track. If you are, there’s a big pat on the back. If not, there’s an opportunity to rejig your goals.
Timing
Don’t worry about setting out on your goals from the stroke of midnight on the 1st January. You can start this process any time you want. Setting goals early in the year gives you the maximum amount of time to achieve them, but it can be overwhelming to start at a time when there’s so much pressure to do things. The important thing to remember is that you’ve set goals and you’re going to meet them at your own pace. It’s also always a good idea to overestimate how much time you’ll need because things always take longer than you think they will.
And finally, cut yourself some slack
There will be times when your plans fall by the wayside. This is real life we’re talking about. There will always be interruptions, crises or busy times at work, but the important message is: do not give up. Maybe you’re ill during March and April and can’t write. That’s ok. Just start again in May and revisit your plan if necessary. Most resolutions fail when people hit a tough spot, so the way to deal with that is just to get back on the horse.
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The final message is that if you want something badly enough, you’ll move heaven and earth for it. If that’s how you feel about your goal, you’re already halfway there. So go for it. I’m behind you all the way!