Hello! My name is Jules, and I’m the Dawdling Writer. I’ve made goals for 2021 to not dawdle in my writing anymore. Do you think I’ll achieve them?

I originally made this blog to keep myself accountable for how often I write, with admittedly mixed results.  However, 2020 has been a great year for my writing, and I now have a pretty solid writing habit. 2020 wasn’t a great year for a lot of things, but it was fantastic for channeling extra energy into creative projects(Hello, quarantine projects). 

Hopefully, the extra creativity will continue in the new year.

With that being said, the goals and resolutions I am making for 2021 fall into several umbrella categories. Writing and Publishing is one of my top goal categories since I am aiming to both Self-publish and query for Traditional publishing this year. Along with the writing goals, there are some things I would like to achieve in regards to my internet presence (social media, website design, etc.). Several of my goals fall into the physical health and mental health categories.

Normally, I would also have a travel goal list, even if it was only local, but since Dear Rona is still among us, I will not be making any travel goals.

I am always interested in what other people’s goals for the year are, so let me know what your top goal for 2021 is in the comments!

Let’s be S.M.A.R.T. about it!

S.M.A.R.T. goals have been touted as the way to set realistic goals that you can successfully achieve. If you haven’t heard of them, S.M.A.R.T. stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relatable, and Time Bound.

Non-Specific:

“I’m going to get rid of stuff so I can be organized!”

Specific:

“I’m going to donate 25% of my books to the local library so my bookshelves aren’t as crowded.”

Non-Measurable:

“I’m going to get healthier!”

Measurable:

“I’m going to work towards a habit of doing Cardio 3 times a week and Strength 2 times a week.” You can easily tell whether you are accomplishing this, or how close you are.

Attainable/Achievable:

This depends on your own goals, life style, and discipline. If I set a goal of publishing 12 full length novels as e-books this year, it would not be attainable at my current rate of writing and editing. For someone else, however, this might be an attainable goal. Feel free to be ambitious, but also keep reality in mind.

Not Relatable:

I, as a non-athlete, want to compete in the 2021 Olympics.

Relatable:

I, as a writer, will get Book 1 of my YA Fantasy series ready to query for agents and editors.

Non Time Bound:

I will get published!

Time Bound:

I will have my YA Fantasy manuscript ready to query by September, 2021.

Now that we’ve reviewed what a S.M.A.R.T goal looks like, let’s set some goals!!

Writing and Publishing

Top Goal: Get my YA Fantasy Book 1 manuscript ready to query by September, 2021; Get Book 2 through the first revision by October, and Book 3 Zero drafted by the end of December.

Secondary Goal: Publish one holiday short story collection by the end of each quarter (the holidays should correspond to the upcoming quarter/season).

Tertiary Goal: Publish 2 children’s picture books by May and October.

Quaternary Goal: Publish 6 scenes of my fairy tale retelling each Quarter.

*Side note: If you think quaternary is a funny word, look up the rest of the sequence.

Physical Health

Top Goal: Not Catch Dear Rona AKA Wear a mask, maintain social distancing, sanitize all things entering the household, and get the vaccine when it becomes available to me.

Unfortunately, I cannot choose a specific date for this goal as I do not have a solid timeframe for when the vaccine will become widely available in my area.

Secondary Goal: Build up to Cardio and Strength Workouts 3xs a week (each).  Cardio 3x per week in each quarter. Strength workouts 1x per week in Q1, 2x per week in Q2, 3X per week in Q3, and maintain for Q4.

Tertiary Goal: Set up an archery target in the backyard by March (or February, weather permitting) and begin with 10 Rounds of 3 arrows each session. By October, be able to complete 33 rounds of 3 arrows for 99 arrows per session.

*I have a forested backyard. My neighbors do not have young children or outdoor pets. I shoot field tips, which are blunt. I always aim away from houses. If you decide to take up archery in a residential area, please make sure you take appropriate precautions.

Mental Wellbeing & Environmental Stress Control

Top Goal: I will journal daily in January and decide if daily or 5x per week is appropriate moving forward through the rest of 2021. I will experiment with morning vs evening pages during the first quarter to decide which is more beneficial for my creativity.

*Remember it is okay to modify and move goals to make them more relevant to your life. Your goals are a reflection of what you want to achieve, but they are intended to make you feel accomplished and empowered. If you feel drained, hollowed out, or burned out, please take the time to reconsider what you want and the timeframe you want to achieve it in.

Secondary Goal: I will donate 25% of my book collection to the local library or schools by March to make room and organize my bookshelves.

Tertiary Goal: I will Kondo Mari (yes, I’m using that as a verb) my room before my birthday.

Internet/Web Goals

Top Goal: Restructure this website to be more user friendly, especially with the addition of shop features before the end of March.

Secondary Goal: Post non-livestream content to The Dawdling Writer YT, Website, and social media accounts every 2 weeks at minimum.

Tertiary Goal: Double my followers/subscribers for YouTube, Twitch, and my Website by the end of December.

*Shameless Plug: Follow me on YouTube! Or on Twitch! Here’s my Instagram! Twitter! and Pinterest – which I will be making more of an effort to figure out this year!

These are my main goals for 2021. They are subject to change, however. Hopefully, I will be able to move some of my deadlines up rather than back. 

What about you? What are your main goals for 2021?