Creative Goal Setting For Writers
By: Julia Amante
Tags: Goal Setting, Creativity Goals, Creative Goal Setting, Writing Tips, Goal Setting For Writers

Here we are, the last month of the year. For many of us it’s been a horrific year, if not for all of us. No matter where in the world you live, you have been affected by Corona Virus and shut downs. In the U.S. we had the elections on top of everything and civil unrest. Other counties have had their own protests as well, so we’re not the only ones.

So, if you tossed out your 2020 calendar and gave up on most of your plans, I’m sure you’re not alone. I stopped writing things down in my calendar and I am a fanatic about planning and keep up with goals.

But as I sit in my office, finishing up a semester at the university where I work, and looking at my disaster of an office that has become my living space, writing studio, recording studio, dog room, and sometimes (rarely) exercise room, I am already thinking of next year and how it must be different than this year.

I have to get back to planning and sticking to an organized schedule.

I know I’m not the only one who loves planners, but I LOVE planners. I see the many that are advertised on Facebook and want them all. I’m targeted I’m sure because I click on all the ads for planners and dream of using them. I like to try different kinds and pick up ideas from each

I’m not going to recommend a planner or even talk about types of goal setting because there are so many blogs and articles about that. And I think planners are a personal choice. And goal setting strategies are all similar. Those attempting to sell their plan simply put their slight twist on basic goal setting strategies that have been around for years.

What I want to do instead is first to encourage you to set goals and then to share what I do which is probably a mixture of all the various planners I’ve used through the year.

Set Your Life Up To Live a Creative Life

My first recommendation is to create a life that encourages creativity. For me, it’s certain colors — I like warm, fall colors and my walls are painted in oranges and tans and golden colors. It’s also having paintings and pictures of art. I have a gorgeous Wyland painting of a mermaid in my hall. I have abstract paintings of musicians and pictures of couples kissing (I write romance novels, so . . .). I have plants that remind me of the creative spirit of life. All of these things inspire me to be and remain creative. For you, it might be something different. Maybe a beautiful kitchen. Maybe a well-organized, clean office space, whatever encourages you to be creative and productive is what you should surround yourself with.

Photo by Joshua Chun on Unsplash

Set a Planning Time, Maybe Away From Home

When the universities show down in March this year, I was ending a quarter and beginning a new one. It was chaos to transfer to online learning. Suddenly I had to record lectures and learn how to new software systems and Zoom, and I was highly stressed. At the end of June when classes were over, I took my planners and ran away to the mountains. I spend a whole day at a picnic bench beside a lake and planned how wanted the rest of the year to go, mostly I focused on my writing career.

When I got home that night, I felt wonderful. Planning, not matter what planner you choose to use, allows you to have some control. Creativity or time to explore your creativity has to be scheduled. It doesn’t matter if it’s writing or painting or gardening or cooking or whatever, if you don’t schedule those activities into your life, other things will crowd out any time you want to spend pursuing your creative interests.

It’s not selfish to pursue your creative life, so don’t ever let anyone tell you it is. The time you spend expressing your creativity will make you a better parent, business person, and so on.

Create a Visual

Once you plan your goals using whatever method you like, make them visual. This can be on a vision board, or graphic organizers, or Kanban boards. You want to see your goals every day, all the time. You can use all of these or others at once. I had a vision board a few times, but these are for large general goals, like a trip to Italy that I had on my vision board. I use mind maps for yearly and quarterly goals. And Kanban board for weekly goals. This allows me to break down the larger goals into smaller tasks that I can focus on in the short term, and I can clearly see how I’m doing and what I need to achieve each week, month, and quarter.

Have Fun but Be Consistent

As I mentioned in my previous blog, “Is Writing Fun or Hard Work?” writing is work, but it should also be fun. If you are a writer, you are making writing part of your creative life. This means that you will be writing the rest of your life. Be consistent and serious about your writing goals. Schedule them, follow through, and work hard to achieve those goals. But also remember that it should be enjoyable. Writing and achieving your creative goals should be a continuous and lifelong journey. It shouldn’t drive you crazy or add stress to your life.