I received my Canadian citizenship in the last month of 2019, two weeks before the turn of the decade.
All in all, it was a great way to cap off a rather eventful year. In 2019 I had:
- Ran a half-marathon
- Completed the CN Tower Climb
- Achieved a personal best in my 5K running time
- Published a short story on Midnight & Indigo
- Got engaged
Where I think I faltered this year is in my writing goals. While I was successfully paid for my writing this year, and I’ve published over 50 articles to date on sylviesoul.com, I still fell woefully short of my main writing goal.
I wanted to complete the third draft of my YA fantasy novel, and while I did make some strides, somewhere along the second half of the year I had fallen off; the current draft remains unfinished.
As I reflect on all the other things I accomplished for 2019, I noticed there was a disconnect with what I achieved when it came to writing and what I achieved with my non-writing goals.
I’ve come to realize that my writing goals suffered because I hadn’t employed the same method of planning that I had with my goals that had nothing to writing.
And so, here are my actionable writing strategies for 2020 to achieve better success with my writing goals:
- Schedule time for writing
- Write deadlines on a calendar
- Use an agenda planner
- Set reminders
- Write it out 3 times
Schedule time wisely
There are only so many hours in the day (24 to be exact). Assuming you spend 8 of them in bed, 9 of them at work, 1 of them commuting to and from said work, and 5 hours preparing food and spending time with family, that leaves little time left over for fulfilling one’s personal hobbies.
On a regular workday, I’m generally left with an hour to 90 minutes at the end of the day for myself to write. This is where the discipline to plan or block one’s time really becomes necessary. If I go to bed at 10pm, I sometimes get up before my alarm goes off at 6am, giving me about an hour to myself in the morning for uninterrupted writing.
My craft is important, but so is my sleep, so I try to get 8 hours every day when I can. Therefore, instead of writing until midnight and going to work tired, I need to cherish and place a priority on the first and last hour of the day to get my writing done.
In the past I would leave this up to chance, but in 2020 I should designate this time as not for Netflix, not for TV or reading or even podcasts, but strictly for writing.
Write deadlines on a calendar
At work, I hang a calendar at my workspace. When I have an important deadline or task that I need to complete, I write it on the calendar so it remains at the forefront of my mind.
I have a similar calendar at work in my kitchen at home, but instead of writing my short-term work goals, I record weekly post ideas for my website.
As well as rewriting my YA fantasy novel, I’ve also been creating a new short story that I’d been interested in shopping around to different publications.
I had made note of publications looking for works similar to what I’d been creating, even going as far as recording deadlines into a spreadsheet. Where I had erred was not recording these deadlines on the physical wall calendar, where I would constantly see them.
I recently finished writing my latest short story, but I’m disappointed in myself for missing so many deadlines because I procrastinated in completing the story.
My goal for 2020 is to have the third draft of my novel completed, as my long-term goal is to have it published by 2025. Therefore, I will be utilizing my wall calendar more frequently, writing deadlines that I wish to meet with prospective publications, as well as writing ideas I wish to explore for my own website.
Use an agenda planner
This has been an IMMENSE help in getting myself more organized for 2019. Carrying it around everywhere and constantly getting to see my week laid out for me when I open it has helped me to plan ahead and avoid any unexpected surprises in my schedule.
Again, I’ve utilized the planner more for non-writing obligations, and have relied on the service Trello for any writing ideas I may have planned.
In 2020 I’m going to be more intentional with how I record what needs to be done in my planner. Not only will I write more of my short-term writing goals in the weekly agenda planner, but I will make an effort to color-code them so I can see their urgency and the nature of each task so that I may coordinate my time significantly better.
If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.
Benjamin Franklin
Set reminders
I’ve been resistant to using Google Calendar in 2019. My fiancé is a real pro with the tool, and uses it exclusively to write important events and appointments.
I use the physical calendars and agenda planner, as well as Outlook at work, so I felt overwhelmed adding on yet another scheduling tool for my organization.
But lately I’ve come around. I’ve found the reminder and event features very useful with its sound notifications, and have been actively trying to incorporate them more into my life and daily routine.
For 2020, my goal is to use more of the Google scheduling tool to keep my writing goals more organized. If I plan and regiment my writing as I do the other tasks in my life, I will be more likely to accomplish them.
Write it down 3 times
This may not work for everyone, but I’ve found this productivity hack to be extremely helpful for achieving goals.
Referring back to work: when I have an important task that absolutely needs to be done, I write it down 3 times: once in my agenda planner, once on my wall calendar at work, and once in my Outlook calendar.
Having the event recorded three times in three different places helps me to retain it better in my memory, and I’m less likely to forget.
Currently, I don’t do the same with my writing goals. Therefore, in 2020, if I have a writing-related goal I need to accomplish by a certain date, I will strive to record it in my agenda planner, my kitchen wall calendar, and in my Google calendar (since I use Outlook calendar primarily for work-related assignments).
So what about you? Have you accomplished everything that you wanted to do in 2019? And what are your short-term and long-term goals as we make our way into 2020? Please leave your thoughts in the comments below!
