Monday, October 21, 2013

Setting Goals That Don't Involve Bubble Shooter Games on Facebook

I've been thinking a lot lately about goal setting. What I like to do is make a to-do list each day. That way, I can put things on it that are super easy to do, like eat lunch (check), drink coffee (check), play Bubble Safari (check).

And I've spent a lot of time being disappointed about how much of my time I waste (playing Bubble Safari). Truth time: I've beaten all of the available levels of Bubble Safari. And that makes me really sad. I need advice, guys. Or a new system, or some self discipline.

I go through phases of being very driven and motivated to accomplish things that are important to me. I go for a few weeks writing a poem each day, or I read ten books in two weeks. Then I give up or burn out.

I've been contemplating implementing a new goal setting system, in which I give myself daily goals, weekly goals, and monthly goals. I think I'd try to keep "yearly goals" to a minimum, as it might feel too much like a new year's resolution kind of gig. But I know what my lofty goals are. I want a book. I want to be published in The New Yorker. I want to teach creative writing. That's it. That's what my goals will amount to, if I do it right.

How do you set goals for yourself? Have you found success? What didn't work? I'm in a bind here. I seriously need to stop wasting so much of my time and actually get to work doing the things that matter to me. Help a sister out. What's your system?

1 comment:

  1. I wish I had a good secret myself! I find myself swinging between extreme crafting (sewing and knitting) and extreme poem'ing. I can't seem to find a happy middle ground, and when one is thriving off the charts, the other is languishing off the charts. What's up with that? And with two little termites running around, making little plush messes everywhere, I only have so much time to do anything involving charts. I need discipline too. I know that your goal of 50 rejections (or was it 100?) was a good one to get me submitting again! Then it tapered because I got exhausted keeping track, and that dang book keeps getting no's or "hey, you were really close but. no's"... Anyway, I need routine in order to get this to work again, I think. Accountability. That's why I need to get my ass to writing group next Tuesday. xo

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