Setting goals and have a timeline to reach them. When we reach them, set a new goal.

Painting by Belynda Wilson Thomas

If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy, and inspires your hopes. Andrew Carnegie

Setting goals gives us something to shoot for. Without goals, we are going aimlessly through life.

Parkinson’s Law tells us that work expands to fill the time allotted for its completion. This term comes from Cyril Northcote Parkinson who wrote a humorous essay for “The Economist” in 1955. In his essay, he shares the story of a woman who has one task to do. She is to send one postcard, and it takes her all day to do it.

Haven’t we all had days like that? We have to find our glasses, we have to find the right card, we may have to go to the store to buy the card. We need a stamp, and we may have to buy that too. We have to walk or drive to the mailbox where we drop it in with a feeling of satisfaction. Chances are if it took all day, we had all day.

If we want to streamline our life and have time for other things we have to pare down the time we are willing to allot to given activities. I’m doing a little video on zoom for Culture Days through the Brampton Library because we can’t do it in person. I’m going to read my children’s story, “When Can We Get A Puppy.” Last night I did several recordings trying to figure out what to say, should I stand or sit. I didn’t think of displaying my book on the screen which is what I will try today. I want this finished today and I need to write a speech I am giving to the Mississauga Writers Group next Saturday, and of course, I have to fit work in.

I know I won’t be satisfied with the video, but I still won’t be satisfied with the 100’th take. The same with my book. I’ve changed a verse this morning as I sat down to write this blog. If I allow myself I can edit, and edit, and edit some more – forever. This is why I love that we can pre-release our books and give a hard publish date.

This is what I’ve done. My goal was to write my second novel by September 5, 2021, and a children’s book. It was a stretch goal in my own mind but the funny thing with goals is they give us something to hit. By pre-releasing my children’s book, “When Can We Get A Puppy” to be published on October 5, 2021, and pre-releasing my second novel, “Secrets and Sorrow” to be published February 5, 2022, I have hit my goal. With a hard publish date it means I have to work hard to get it edited, formatted and uploaded to publish. I am only committed to publishing the e-book by those dates but my goal is to have the e-book and print book published at the same time.

It must be borne in mind that the tragedy of life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goals to reach. Benjamin E. Mays

By setting small goals of plotting a certain number of chapters per week. I met my first goal of having the first draft done by Christmas which is how I could push myself to meet the second goal. I had hoped to have it edited in that year, but I feel that was too much. Jerry Jenkins tells us we must embrace procrastination because it is part of life, but we shouldn’t let it derail us from our goals.

If my schedule is so tight I can’t go out for coffee with my husband that won’t work. If people drop by and I can’t take time out to visit, that won’t work. My plan was I would go visit Mom in September after I met my goal. I’m glad I went when I did and still met my goal. Pre-releasing is a way of extending the deadline for sure but it is also a way to promote the books.

Now I know I can write a novel in a year, but I need extra time to edit it. I didn’t know when I set the goal if it was attainable for me when it took me from 2012 to 2020 to write the first one. I might find I can accomplish more in less time as I go along. We don’t know if we can meet a goal unless we set one. The children’s book is more about illustrations and I find when I am too tired to edit I can paint and the creativity of painting gives me a boost. Working on the two projects at the same time worked really well.

I’ve learned a lot this year. The biggest lesson was to set goals and break them down into smaller goals. When we meet the small goals we end up meeting the big goal. The biggest thing is to always set a new goal.

My goal is not to be better than anyone else, but to be better than I used to be. Wayne Dyer

Goals, there’s no telling what you can do when you get inspired by them. There’s no telling what you can do when you believe in them. And there’s no telling what will happen when you act upon them. Jim Rohn

Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible. Tony Robbins

Thank you for reading this post. I hope you enjoyed it. I hope you will come back and read some more. Have a blessed day filled with gratitude, joy, and love.

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