It’s a new year so that means a new list of writing goals.
My top 5 Writing Goals for 2015
- Finish polishing up Destiny Be Damned
- Enter into at least 1 writing competition
- Put feelers out for Literary Agents/Publishers
- Start writing holiday pieces and short stories
- Find a paying online writing gig
I’ve got some pretty lofty goals but I’m sure I can manage at least one or two of them!
However, I won’t get anything accomplished unless I stay organized.
Are you one of those people who cringe at the idea of organizing your writing tasks or draw a blank when you try to begin?
Don’t feel bad. We all struggle with it at some point.
Listed below are some simple techniques to help you out.
(Beware: These are common sense techniques that will cause you to bang your head on your desk for not doing them already. I’m saying this from experience)
- Create a writing schedule that is realistic to your situation. Carving out writing time won’t happen on its own. You have to make it a reality. Once you make writing a daily routine you will be surprised at how much you get done.
- Set time aside for social media. We all know how important creating and maintaining an author platform is but too often than not we let it take over. Designating a certain time every day to check your social media, comment, share or respond will go a long way in making sure you are staying connected without it eating up your writing time.
- Break up your larger writing tasks into smaller more manageable pieces so that you do not become overwhelmed.
- Create deadlines for things that don’t already have one. I know, we all hate deadlines but by making a deadline you are giving yourself a chance to see an end date for that piece. It gives you something to work toward. If you end up completing it on or before your deadline reward yourself.
- Create daily to do lists. If you need the motivation of checking things off include mundane tasks that you have no choice but to accomplish (like waking up and eating lol) Creating daily to-do lists will help you organize your thoughts so you have less moments where you are just staring at a blank screen trying to remember what you need to be doing next.
- Learn to love sticky notes. For those who need clean lines and simplistic spaces sticky notes are utter chaos but they serve a very important purpose, “Forget-me-nots”. They are a means to quickly jot down something you need to remember and be able to stick it somewhere at eye level. Hours or even days later your eyes will land on that brightly colored note and it’ll be like a light bulb turned on above your head “Oh yeah…. I forgot about that.”
- Do you deal with a lot of articles and snippets of info from the internet? If so, find a content feeder that suites your needs and learn to click all the articles you want to save and read later, share, or use in a piece. It’s an absolute life saver. I can’t tell you how many articles I lost saving links to computer folders.
- Join Social Media groups that are trying to accomplish the same thing you are. You’ll find that half the time they are your biggest cheerleaders/supporters and almost every writer I know is more than willing to share their experience, tips, and tricks with you. By being a part of a group you learn things you didn’t know you needed to know and more often than not you hear about opportunities that would have slid past you if you were going at it alone.
For the more tech-minded people (like myself) who feel you can’t be productive without a snazzy app, check out this great infographic I found that not only lists 44 of them but breaks them up into categories and gives you the pros and cons of each one.
Wednesday @ 9am “Reading Challenges and One Library App to rule them all!”
Friday @ 9am “Body Love Mantras, Personal Goals & Self Help Books”
- What are your writing goals for 2015?
- Do you have any Productivity or Organizational tools and tips you want to share?
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