Setting Writing Goals and Sticking to Them

Freelancing can be a tough gig. When trying to balance the business side of being a freelancer, making time to write, and doing life stuff, I often feel like my writing is the sacrificial lamb. Setting goals and making them attainable can help you to skillfully manage the time you spend actually writing. Here are some strategies that work for me.

Use Concrete Terms

What do you want to do? Is it to write a book? Write a blog post? Write a manual for a client? In the past, my mistake when setting goals was to use vague language. "I want to write a novel" isn't as helpful as "I want to write the first draft of my novel in six months."

Think about what it is you want to accomplish, and then state it in concrete terms. Make decisions instead of wishes. When defining your writing goals decide what you're writing, when you'll write it, and where. Deliberately choosing to start writing the first section of a draft in a coffee shop sipping a latte gets me out of the house and focusing on the assignment at hand rather than fighting distractions.

Make Your Goals Tangible

Set goals that are visible to you or ones you can show someone else. Examples of defining your goals in tangible terms are;

• The length of the project in the number of pages

• The number of hours you will spend in total

• The daily number of hours you will work on the project

• The number of words or pages you will write daily (500 words, 3 pages)

• Create on outline for the novel, report, or proposal and assign completion dates for each section

Set Achievable Goals

Set achievable goals based on the target end result. You might be working on more than one project at a time. For projects that have clearly stated deadlines, it will be easy to prioritize those ones. However, the process for setting achievable goals is the same for all of the projects you are responsible for week by week.

Break down the final goal into steps, weekly deadlines, or smaller goals. Last week, for example, was very busy, so writing for clients took priority and my personal writing was pared down from 2,000 words per day to 1,000 words over the course of 7 days.

Now, I'm not as busy with client projects, total word count per day for this week is bumped back up to 2,000 words. I find I'm able to create manageable goals and stick to them more consistently on a weekly basis. When the time frame is longer or vague, I can become discouraged and thrown off track. Breaking up goals into steps that fit a specific schedule also helps prevent me from becoming distracted and failing to complete weekly tasks.

Create a Weekly Schedule

As a freelancer, you're not just writing - you are also finding clients, networking, advertising your services, setting rates, sending out estimates, invoicing, and all of the additional things you need to do to make freelancing a sustainable enterprise. You are also a person with a life.

My weekly schedule covers three main areas - writing, freelance business admin tasks, and personal, which includes chores and errands. Writing doesn't just involve typing. I also factor in time for the other activities that are relevant to the writing process such as research, thinking, brainstorming, plotting, outlining, and revisions. I find it easier to stick to a schedule if I can see the big picture.

Creating a weekly schedule will help you set priorities around the writing goals you will be working on during the week. Do you write better in the afternoon than early in the morning? Not enough time for networking? You'd like to take a digital marketing or graphic design course to expand the services you offer, but you never seem to have the time. It's your schedule - make it work for you.

More Accountability

Accountability is the practice of taking responsibility for your actions, decisions, and commitments. Making a schedule is only one way be accountable to your writing goals. Other methods of accountability are joining a writing group, hiring a coach, having a friend you can report to at a time you both agree upon, and asking friends and family for emotional support when some days are more difficult than others.

Remember to Celebrate

The writing process is a journey. Projects typically have several phases. As you move toward the finish line you will reach milestones and complete weekly goals. Remember to celebrate each "little" victory. It will promote confidence and a sense of accomplishment.