Why Goals Matter

 By Debra Sennefelder

Happy New Year! I don’t think
I’ve ever been so excited to see a year go buh-bye. For the first time in
decades, I was tempted to stay up until midnight to see 2020 go away. Now that
it’s gone, we’re in that familiar period of setting resolutions and creating
goals. Though, 2021 is probably going to be different because we learned how
fast those things could be thrown off track last year. I’m thinking we’re going
to be a bit more cautious in our planning for this new year.

I
have seen a funny meme on social media lately, and it pretty much said I’m not buying a planner until I see a preview of
2021. I can relate to that
sentiment. But, I do have a planner already, and I’m going to plan. Looking
back at 2020, I think one of the best things that came out of the year was
realizing that we can pivot, adapt, and thrive despite the never-ending
onslaught of 2020. So, I’m planning. But, just in case, I have extra white-out.
😊 

For a writer setting goals is
more than circling a day on the calendar when you’ll complete your manuscript.
There are several reasons why goals matter, and today I’m going to explore
three of them.

#1 – Writing a book is a big commitment. Huge! Most people today tap out at
40 characters, and when you’re writing a book, you’re looking at 40,000 –
100,000 words. You definitely won’t be typing “the end” anytime soon.
You’re looking at a few months or 30 days if you want to really challenge
yourself. When writing a book, I like to break it down into small goals such as
brainstorming, outlining. Next, I set-up chapter goals (you can do word count
or page goals), and once my first draft is written, I then set-up new goals for
revisions. I admit I love checking off goals as I accomplish them. This leads
us to reason #2.

#2 – Having goals set will keep you motivated. I love having that list of
goals (see above) and checking them off when I complete each goal. That keeps
me moving forward rather than dwelling on the truly sucky scene I just wrote.
With goals set, you are forced to look ahead, and if you’ve hit a wall, you
know that you must do something because your next goal is waiting to be
accomplished.

#3 – When you have a clear plan set forth, you won’t waste time. One of the
biggest obstacles we as writers face is ourselves. Somehow we manage to get in
our own way time after time, but if you have a carved in stone (and yes, it
should be) goal, then you won’t be wasting your time doing XYZ (aka scrolling,
scrolling, and more scrolling), you’ll be sitting at your computer writing your
book, sucky scenes and all. 🙂

So, go and create some goals for yourself. Big or small, it doesn’t matter.
Set them and achieve them because you can!

Debra Sennefelder is the
author of the Food Blogger Mystery series and the Resale Boutique Mystery series.
She lives and writes in Connecticut. When she’s not writing, she enjoys baking,
exercising and taking long walks with her Shih-Tzu, Connie. You can keep in touch
with Debra through her website, on Facebook and Instagram.