I have been seeing a lot of this “choosing a word” theme to setting intentions for a new year, and I kind of love it. I’m not a New Year’s resolutions kind of person because I think if you want to set your mind to something, you shouldn’t wait until January 1st to do it. I do, however, appreciate the idea that we can set an intention for ourselves by theming our potential productivity. It helps keep (at least some of) us on track. Theoretically.
Since we are all writers here, what better way than to come up with a word that can be used as a target themed goal for the immediate future? Regardless of where you are on your writing or author journey, there’s probably something you’d like to focus on. Is it more writing? Is it better writing? Is it learning social media or marketing? Focusing on yourself and ensuring you still make time for your family and friends outside of your writing life?
I’m not saying we need to focus on only one of those things, but setting a big goal, and then breaking it down into steps has been proven to be a successful method to accomplishing more things that you set your mind to.
The word I chose is present. As in being present. Though I do like presents…
I’ve spent the last 4 years going all-in in building Novel Nurse to what I want it to be. And I’m super happy with the progress I’ve made. I still have things I want to do, but now I want to focus on my time. I have young kids at home who are now school age, so my goal for 2020 was to be able to pick up a little more since I had school hours to get work done.
Covid had other plans.
Something I was unsuccessful in this year is balancing work life with home life. With my kids unexpectedly home during school hours, and needing more help than I expected with their schoolwork, I found myself trying to do social media and marketing things during downtime or from my phone while distracted with their needs too. I don’t know if you noticed, but my social media presence practically fell off a cliff this year. I focused my working hours to polishing manuscripts, which, honestly, is where I want to be focusing my attention anyway. ;)
So for 2021, my goal is to be present in whatever I’ve set my mind to doing. What that means for me is more preparation. I will have to set aside an hour or so at the beginning of every week to see what is on my plate, what I want to accomplish, and how much time I have to assign tasks to. Likewise, if my time is supposed to be with my family, I’m going to be present for them as well.
Story organization with no wasted planner space.
Utilize every page, no matter what is going on in your world.
So what is your goal for 2021? What word would help you in what you want to achieve next?
I've put some words below to help jumpstart your thoughts if you'd like a word for your own new year. Regardless of how you choose to set your goals for 2021, I hope you have a successful and prosperous year!
