Breaking a Goal Down into Manageable Pieces

Some goals are best broken down in reverse order; others in a natural progression.

Examples: annual income you want to achieve; fitness goals you want to achieve

With income, it’s common to want to earn a particular amount by the end of the year. Let’s keep things simple and say $100,000, you bill hourly, and plan a 5-day, 40-hour week.

To break the goal down into manageable chunks (or at least a realistic perspective):

• $100,000/52 weeks = $1923/week
• determine number of non-working days for the year and remove them from your equation (if you plan 2 weeks of vacation: 100,000/50 weeks = $2000/week)
  • how about holidays? Most years there are 10 federal holidays observed. In 2017, there are 11 because Inauguration Day is a federal holiday every four years.
  • how about sick days? days off for kids (or elderly parents) being sick or needing to be driven somewhere? There’s no set way to predict the number of days, but you should throw in an estimate and get those days out of your total. Let’s say 9 sick (other) days to keep the math simple.
  • 11 holidays, 9 sick (other) days = 4 more weeks off the work calendar. You now have 46 weeks which turns your weekly income goal into $2174.
• What is your billable rate? How many hours do you need to bill a week to attain $2174/week? (i.e. @$50 per hour, you’d have to bill out 44 hours/week)

There are so many variables at play with the income per year scenario. You need existing clients – finding and ramping up new clients takes time. If you bill a mix of hourly and per project, the formulas change.

If you want to lose 60 pounds in 12 months, that’s 5 pounds a month. You can figure out the best process (count calories, or work with calories and exercise) to reach the goal.

For a general overall fitness improvement goal you start with where you are today instead of working backwards and work to improve.

I find different ‘challenges’ for fitness to be quite beneficial — they are 21 or 30 days long and help you build up incrementally and naturally. You can do a Google search on “fitness challenge” (or be specific about the type of challenge) and find plenty of ideas.

• For whatever activity it is, measure where you are now – total pounds you lift for weights, # of pull ups you can do, how long you can plank, how fast you can run a mile, and so on.
• Then you work at those activities at least a couple of times a week and consistently measure your improvement.
• You can also track calories and keep a food diary (so many online apps nowadays, I use MyFitnessPal) to learn how to make better food choices.

Are you ready to break your ‘big’ goals into smaller manageable chunks and get them into your weekly and daily plans?

Lisa J. Jackson is an independent writer and editor who enjoys working with businesses of all sizes. She loves researching topics, interviewing experts, and helping companies tell their stories. You can connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

New Year, New/Revised/Rebooted Plans

As 2016 came to a close and  I flipped the page to 2017, I reflected on my goals and dreams of 2016 to summarize the year.

It’s always a fun exercise to filter 12 months of sweat and labor down a few pages of one liners, but it’s also fruitful.

I noticed (as I do every year it seems) that I start out with a lot of gusto and have yearly goals written out, and have the first month broken out to weekly and daily tasks. I manage to keep the effort going, but the momentum slows by the end of the 2nd quarter (about June). In 2016, I barely had anything written down in October or November. Then I sputtered to life a little in regard to writing weekly goals, a little bit in December.

There are several resources on the Internet for how to review your prior year, and each year I like to seek out some new ways to answer the same questions.

This year, the question that struck a chord with me the most was “What were the things you wanted to do but didn’t?”

I found a similar question: “What goals did you blow off or fail to achieve?”

And what set me on a course of thought for a good stretch of time was the follow-up question: “Why?”

It’s one thing to take note of what you goals you missed, but it’s entirely different to pause and seriously consider “why” you missed those goals.

So many excuses can come to mind – life got busy, the kids, the laundry, night school, the weather, illness, not enough work, too much work, and so on.

But to make strides, you have to acknowledge the excuses for what they are – excuses, not reasons. Looking into each goal/plan I missed, I realized that the reason I didn’t achieve them is because I chose to not put in the effort. I failed to achieve because I chose not to plan, not to strive, and not to push myself forward.

I missed my fitness goals because I chose to not:

• show up to races I’d paid for
• get off the couch and get out for a walk
• watch the portion sizes of the meals I ate

I missed some business goals because I didn’t put in the time and attention the tasks needed. It’s a harsh realization, but I can work with the truth.

In 2017, I already have new accountability and am working with a couple of mentors to build up a couple of areas of my business. I’m revising and rebooting some goals, letting others go.

Have you reviewed your 2016 goals versus accomplishments? If you missed any of your targets – do you know why you missed?

I’m wishing all of us a prosperous, productive, happy, and healthy 2017.

Lisa J. Jackson is an independent writer and editor who enjoys working with businesses of all sizes. She loves researching topics, interviewing experts, and helping companies tell their stories. You can connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Planning out the year – where do you want to be 1 year from now?

Happy New Year!

Many folks are getting back to work today after enjoying some downtime during the holidays. If you had some time off, I hope it was refreshing and re-energizing.

If you didn’t have time off, I’m with you. This was the first holiday season I can remember where I didn’t have downtime, so I’m starting 2016 a bit rushed – or at least not as prepared as I want to be.

A new year is a good time to set intentions, goals, plans (whatever word you prefer) for the upcoming 12 months. Of course you can start at any time, but January is quite popular.

Here is how I am capturing my goals (and dreams) for 2016:

Start with the big picture:  One year from now, what do I want to have accomplished / done / tried (in any or several areas)? ie. business, personal, relationships, health, free time, financial, community/charity

• Focus on one area at a time (if more than one) and capture big steps; tasks and ‘things’ that are definitely required to achieve the outcome. I don’t worry about “how” anything will get done. For now, I write down what I see as required to reach the final outcome.
• Take one ‘big step’ at a time and capture the next level of tasks to achieve the big step.
• Repeat as often as needed until I have as comprehensive a list as possible. There are going to be steps or tasks I am unaware of, but they’ll work themselves out.
• Transfer the goals and tasks to post-it flags (I like how many colors there are and they are easy to move around, and they have a little bit of stickiness to them). I use one color for each area, and number supporting tasks so they can be realigned later on.
• Pull out a 12-month calendar (seeing all 12 months at same time) and start placing the tabs onto the months when I want them accomplished. Sure all the BIG overall goals may end up in December, but the smaller supporting tasks will spread out over the remaining 11 months.
• Once I have the tasks spread out over the year, I can immediately see which months are a bit too heavy and which are too light, so I move flags around until the year feels comfortable.
• Then I work with my actual calendar and start documenting the tasks into months and weeks. (I move my visual paper information into a scheduler).
• And I get to work!

Are you starting to tackle 2016 this morning, or are you a little behind in setting goals, as I am?

Here’s to a successful and prosperous year!

Lisa J. Jackson is an independent writer and editor who enjoys working with manufacturing, software, and technology businesses of all sizes. She loves researching topics, interviewing experts, and helping companies tell their stories. You can connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

The thing about goals is …

Are you finding that you aren’t achieving any of the writing goals you’ve set for yourself?

Do you notice you have (valid) excuses for not being able to achieve your writing goals?

Do you find yourself answering the question, “So, what are you working on?” with “Nothing at the moment.”?

It can feel awkward and embarrassing, right?

Do you think you might want an easier path? An easier career?

When months go by and you aren’t making any strides toward accomplishing the goals you’ve set for yourself, consider that you don’t truly want to be a writer.

Because the bottom line is: writers write.

Writers find ways to carve out the time and do whatever it takes to reach their goals.

If you’re not achieving what you set out for yourself earlier in the year, why not take now to recommit to those goals? Stop thinking something better or easier is what you want and take actions toward your current goals.

Test yourself and your passion toward being a writer. Recommit to your goals; test them. They will either feel right and re-ignite the flame, or they won’t.

The thing about goals is… you need to want them in order to achieve them.

I’m in this position at the moment, and am taking this moment on this blog to recommit to writing my fiction.

How about you? Do you need to recommit to your goals?

Lisa J. Jackson is an independent writer and editor who enjoys working with businesses of all sizes. You can connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and LinkedIn.

My business writing year in review

Earlier this month, the NHWN bloggers met via Google Hangout. Lee has a nice summary of the evening here. One topic was to share our achievements for 2013 and share some 2014 goals.

The new year brings new opportunities and I’m excited with how 2013 has ended, and inspired for 2014.

Celebrate 2013 accomplishments

Here’s a high-level look at my writing year, my 7th as an independent writer and editor. Some achievements include:

• Financially, I blew my own mind by achieving 6 figures — my highest annual income ever. ‘Freelancing’ doesn’t have to equate to living on a tight budget (although my frugality is still well in place). Many happy dances and loud “Woo Hoo” shouts have echoed through the walls here, especially this month as the goal was realized!
• 3 prior clients came back for more projects. I love building lasting relationships!
• I wrote about small business ownership for American Express at their request. 
• I published 4 NH-related travel articles in  a regional monthly magazine I loved. (It closed its doors in August, even though it was successful.)
• I blogged here on NHWN weekly for most of the year.
• I converted my website over to WordPress.
• I have a business logo designed.
• I joined a business mastermind group.

Make 2014 awesome!

2014 business writing and editing wildly inspiring goals include:

• Double my 2013 income
• Gain 12 new long-term clients
• Publish 12 writing-related and 12 small business ownership related e-books
• Use business blog for writing and small biz ownership posts
• Integrate my own photos into blog posts, especially with inspirational sayings on them
• Publish NH and New England travel articles again

I’ve joined a business mastermind group and am now a co-organizer for a NH-focused networking group that plans monthly events. This year I also joined a local Chamber of Commerce and made connections with a networking group focused on New England. These groups will help me meet people (obviously), but also to build relationships and learn more about myself so I can continue to grow and improve overall.

Although my business has international clients, I have a strong desire to work with regional businesses where I can meet face-to-face. Technology is great and telecommuting is fantastic, but I feel there’s more to a client relationship when we can meet in person whenever possible.

I also write and publish fiction and poetry and those accomplishments and goals are separate from my business. Definitely ‘upping my game’ in that area, too!

If you need some help setting writing goals, this article may help: 15 New Year Writing Resolutions to Adopt in 2014 by David K. William of The Web Writer Spotlight.

What is one major goal you have regarding writing in 2014?

Lisa J. Jackson is an independent writer and editor who enjoys working with businesses of all sizes. She loves writing about NH people, places, and activities. You can connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn.

Mindset – savor the great feelings and keep moving forward

You may know about the Law of Attraction. Maybe you’ve heard about how ‘thoughts become things.’ And maybe you’re familiar with the saying ‘change your thoughts and you change your world’ — (Norman Vincent Peale).

I’ve heard them all. I know that thinking positive thoughts is a lot better than thinking negative thoughts.

There are definitely times when it’s “easier said than done,” but I think I’m getting better at it.

Most days I wake up happy and look forward to being productive, and there’s not much negativity that can get me off track.

On the mornings that don’t start as I want (usually if I’m awakened unexpectedly), it’s more difficult for me to ‘get my happy face on.’ We’ve all been there, right?

When we feel good, we move closer to doing, being, and having the successes that we want. The reason why is straightforward: feeling good allows us (gives us the freedom) to focus on the things we want. And getting what we want gives us the inspiration to continue moving forward.

Do you know anyone who wants to give up the great feeling of accomplishment?

If your day isn’t starting off the ‘right way’ (and we each have our own definition of that), here are some ways to get into a positive mindset:

• Think about something wonderful in your life (people, things, places)
• Read through some entries in your gratitude journal (if you have one).
• Shift through the collection of kudos and ‘great job’ notes (I keep mine in a box on index cards and pieces of paper)
• Look at your wall of awards / certificates / photos of family and friends
• Read some pages of your calendar / day planner and see how much you’ve accomplished in the past days or weeks
• Get some fresh air
• Exercise
• Listen to some music
• Look at pictures of cute animals on Facebook

Having a positive mindset has physiological effects and you can’t help but want to keep that feeling.

Just about to cross the finish line

In the past 10 days I ran two 5Ks. My 12th and 13th timed races of the year. The race I did this past weekend gave me a personal record (PR) for the year. I’m still smiling over that success. One more race in 2013, and then I start running races again on Jan 1, 2014.

I’m getting addicted to the feeling I have when I cross the finish line — in both my business and personal lives. I’m ready to up my game and set more serious goals — for racing, and for my business.

I’m looking forward to 2014 — I’m keeping my 2013 accomplishments on the walls around me (the visuals work well for me), so if a day starts off not-so-great, I’ll be able to refocus and get on track quickly.

What gets you back in a positive frame of mind if something derails you during the day?

Lisa J. Jackson is an independent writer and editor who enjoys working with businesses of all sizes. She loves writing about NH people, places, and activities. You can connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn.

Visuals for goals make an impression

We’ve had several conversations on this blog about goal setting, the importance of writing your goals down and breaking those goals into quarterly/monthly/weekly/daily tasks.

We’ve also talked about ‘checking off’ those daily tasks and crossing items off ToDo lists.

And while I love crossing items off a list, or putting a check next to a “big goal”, I’ve found great value in other visuals, too.

For instance, for exercise – I give myself a star or a smiley face or a “great job” sticker on a day that I have at least 30 minutes of exercise. I have 12 small months taped to a kitchen door, so I can easily see how many days I’ve exercised throughout the year whenever I want. It’s quite inspiring.

Race bibs from 2012

Last year, I completed 2 races – a 5K and a triathlon. I tacked the race bibs to my bulletin board (as well as giving myself those stickies for exercising those days!)

I stopped exercising all together after the triathlon since I didn’t have any other races in mind. At year’s end, I knew I had to make 2013 better.

I decided that if I had (about) a race a month, I’d have to keep moving. My goal is to complete at least 12 races. (I’m new to running, so don’t feel I need to win, place, or show — just complete a race and focus on improving.)

Race bibs from 2013

This year, to date, I’ve completed 11 races, including a triathlon and a 5K obstacle course. When I look at the wall of all my bibs, I can’t help but smile, be proud of myself, and be motivated to keep exercising so my next race will be even better.

I’m currently registered for 2 more races, so will hit 13 total. I’m not superstitious about ’13’ at all, but I may try for 14.

1-Mile Pace listed on index card

Another visual I have is  an index card list of my “1-mile pace” numbers. I had my fastest pace yesterday!

Visuals make an impression!

I’m absolutely motivated to increase my fitness goals for next year.

For writing goals, I tape up class certificates, awards, as well as kudo notes and emails. And I track business/income submissions on green index cards, so at a glance at my corkboard I know how many projects I’ve completed that have generated income.

Posting visuals of any achievement is a great idea. Remember having grade school papers put on the refrigerator door? First drawings being proudly displayed on some wall in the house? How about those pencil marks on a door jam that showed how much we grew in a year? Did they motivate you to do more? Weren’t you curious to see how far/tall you could grow? (How far can you grow now as a writer?)

Let your inner child out a bit.

Show off your accomplishments, even if only to yourself  — every time you look at the wall where you’ve taped them, hung them, pinned them, or trapped them with a magnet – you’ll smile and feel proud.

Good idea?

Lisa J. Jackson is an independent writer and editor who enjoys working with businesses of all sizes. She loves writing about NH people, places, and activities. She writes fiction as Lisa Haselton, has an award-winning blog for book reviews and author interviews, and is on the staff of The Writer’s Chatroom where she gets to network with writing professionals on a weekly basis. You can connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Evaluating what works for you

Remember talking about keeping track of accomplishments and successes back in December? It’s helpful to track what you do on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis so when you evaluate yourself at some point (weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly), you’ll be able to see how far you’ve gotten  … or not!

I think Fridays are a great time to evaluate the past week’s achievements. The evaluation is so you know what you accomplished, of course, and to help you start creating the next week’s To Do’s.

It should also be a bit more than that. Whether you’re a business owner, or work for someone else, tasks you completed should ultimately lead to building your business, or helping your employer build hers.

Consider these questions when evaluating the past week:

• What actions did I take this week that produced the results I wanted?
• What actions did I take this week that did not produce the results I wanted?

It can be easy for Shiny Object Syndrome to hit at any time of the day. You know, the dust bunnies calling to you to round them all up into a dust pan instead of tackling your next assignment. The breakfast dishes having to be washed and dried and put away before you can make that cold call. Or you just have to find out the latest news from the water cooler area.

Of course, you most likely aren’t tracking ‘did the dishes’ as an accomplishment, but you’ll know from looking back at your calendar what happened and what didn’t  to give you your weekly results.

Tasks you didn’t do most likely have to be moved to the next week. But maybe some tasks can be removed from the list. Evaluate what you didn’t get done.

• Why did you avoid it?
• Can you delegate it to someone else?
• Does it absolutely have to get done?
• What is the repercussion if the task doesn’t get done by the end of the next business day?

Take some time to figure out what is working and what isn’t, and adjust your strategy and schedule accordingly. I know I love having more accomplishments each week than open items and I feel quite successful whenever I am more powerful than Procrastination!

On a monthly or quarterly basis, take the questions further. Ask yourself the following and see if you need to make any changes:

• What time of day was I most productive?
• What time of day was I least productive?
• What types of projects did I enjoy working on the most?
• What types of project did I not enjoy working on at all?

Change may be a constant in life, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. Even if what you’re doing isn’t working, it’s much easier to keep doing it than it is to stop doing it, especially if that means you should start doing something new (and probably a bit scary since it’ll nudge you out of your comfort zone a bit), instead.

However, changes are often necessary in order to be Successful (with the capital ‘S’).

I’d like to suggest that you not be afraid to change what isn’t working, as it’s the only way to discover what will work!

Are you up for the task of re-evaluating what’s working and what isn’t?

Lisa J. Jackson is a self-employed writer and editor. She loves writing about NH people, places, and activities. She writes fiction as Lisa Haselton, has an award-winning blog for book reviews and author interviews, and is on the staff of The Writer’s Chatroom where she gets to network with writing professionals on a weekly basis. You can connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Biznik.

Sitting Down

I have not been writing a poem a week as I tasked myself in Cross Training, nor have I met the goal I set in my Bylines Calendar of writing a chapter a month. If I wanted to grind to a complete halt, I could trip over these “failures,” wallow in chocolate, and stop writing all together. Believe me: there are times when I have. I’ll be the first to admit that in the past, I’ve failed to meet unreasonable goals, indulged in self-pity, and gained weight.

Not any more. Even though I haven’t met my lofty goals, I have not failed. Since the beginning of the year, I’ve been sitting down at my desk five to six days a week, making progress on my new novel. In fact, I’ve written pages and pages of the new book – and tossed out all but thirty-six. But with these thirty-six spanking new pages, I’ve got the beginning of my story. Maybe.

At least for the time being, I’ll let these 9,000 words stand and move on. I know that in the next draft, I may ditch them, and in the draft after that, I may invite them back. The point is, I’m finally in first gear, rolling along, picking up speed – successfully Starting Over.

It’s a huge relief, really, to have words on the page, to have made some of the agonizing decisions about how to start, how to structure, how to tell this story – a story I still don’t entirely know. But each day, I know more. I even accept that sometimes knowing more means having to delete interesting details and events, pithy dialogue and killer language. Inevitably, these paragraphs of characterization were critical for me to write: I had to discover my characters’ backstories – but I don’t necessarily have to burden my reader with them. Sometimes, I’ll write a thousand words one day and delete nine-hundred-and-fifty of them the next. Then, I’ll whittle the remaining words further, until I’ve carved a detail about my character into a vivid – and economical – image or subordinate clause.

Yes, I wish I could compose faster and with fewer words from the start. But I’ve been doing this long enough to know that this is my process: write long and refine. I know that I’ll inevitably gain momentum as I go along. It’s getting the story started that’s so hard. I also know that this is still only a first draft. I didn’t always know this.

There was a time when I thought my first draft was also my last, and there was nothing left for me to do but await publication and accolades after I typed “The End.” Now I know that only after I finish the first draft will I even have an idea of the story I want to tell. This incredibly valuable first draft will guide me through the first revision. And the second. And the third.

At some point, I’ll invite readers – friends who are also professional writers – to read the book and ask questions, so I can learn what works and what doesn’t. And then I’ll rewrite it again. And again. But I’m still a long way from revision.

The novelist W. Somerset Maugham is credited with saying, “There are three rules for writing the novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.” Even if there were three rules for writing a novel, they’d be different for each book. No, the best writing advice I adhere to is from Dorothy Parker, who said, “Writing is the art of applying the ass to the seat.”

Deborah Lee Luskin is a novelist, essayist and educator. She is a regular commentator for Vermont Public Radio, a Visiting Scholar for the Vermont Humanities Council and the author of the award winning novel, Into The Wilderness. For more information, visit her website at www.deborahleeluskin.com

The power of announcing your goals

I belong to a writers’ goal group. It consists of a total of 4 women and when we meet (we try for once a week) we declare our goals to each other. Very simple and yet very powerful. Not only do the goals include our writing goals but they have, over the years, also included personal goals, for example, 2 of us have competed in triathlons as a direct result of declaring that goal and then cheering each other on.

photo credit: Melody Campbell

It’s a mini-support group of the best kind.

The name of our group is D.A.R.E and after 3 years we can’t fully remember what it originally stood for (I do know the D was for Dumbledore) but it doesn’t make any difference, the acronym says what it should say. In the group we dare to dream and we dare to set down on paper what it is we want to accomplish. The power behind being accountable in immense.

This Monday we met for our yearly anniversary meeting. We talked about what we have accomplished in the past year and we also discussed not only our goals but our big dreams for next year. It’s been a busy few weeks, I wasn’t really prepared for the meeting and so in desperation I came up with only some of the more obvious goals.

I’d like to get a little travel in, I want to exercise more, and to do more with our writing.

We talked about writing retreats at relatives houses, and we talked about how we all had tremendous potential, we just need to harness and focus it, in order to keep moving forward. This is the year we’ll get our writing out there, we told each other.

But I also want to do more. I want to make a difference this year, I want to be responsible for change. I want to teach, I want to learn.

Which is why, right after the meeting I purchased a notebook that will be dedicated to my efforts of reaching my goals next year. I’m going to spend the next few weeks thinking about this and deciding exactly what it is I want to accomplish and the best steps to take in order to get me there. I’m also going to identify what success means, how I’ll know when it is I have reached my goal.

When that ball falls on a bright and shiny new year, I’m going to be ready to hit the ground running.

I’ll have a game plan, and, more importantly, I’ll have my 3 friends cheering me along the way.

How about you? What are your goals (writing and otherwise) for the next year and how are you going to be accountable to them?

***

Wendy Thomas is an award winning journalist, columnist, and blogger who believes that taking challenges in life will always lead to goodness. She is the mother of 6 funny and creative kids and it is her goal to teach them through stories and lessons.

Wendy’s current project involves writing about her family’s experiences with chickens (yes, chickens).

Cost of the notebook? 4.99, setting up goals for the next year? Priceless.