Goals, and How to Hit Them

I know I've already set my New Year's resolutions, but I did want to share a tip that helps me stay focused from day to day. Before Christmas this year, I had been keeping a blank notebook and writing out my daily goals either before going to bed the night before, or before I start working in the morning. For Christmas this year, my mother in law bought me a running log that I have converted into a dual purpose log; I track my daily workouts in it along with my writing goals.

The daily goals don't always get accomplished. I have taken to circling the goals that I don't reach so I can see my shortcomings more easily. This is my way of embarrassing myself into reaching my goals the next day. Lately, my missed goals have mostly been workouts, which is not good. I try to balance my writing life with my fitness, but lately it has been tough to focus on fitness. Having three children will do that, I hear. But I am a firm believer that working out on a consistent basis will help with your writing as well. Physical health translates to mental health.

My journal never leaves my computer's side. This helps me stay focused on what I need to accomplish on a minute to minute basis. Focus is not always easy, but having my daily goals always close at hand helps a lot.