Goal Setting - Killjoy or Rocket Booster?

Writing is a creative act that requires letting your mind roam free in imagination. Goal setting, in contrast, seems a mundane task that makes me feel like I’m wearing concrete boots.

But in January of this year, I joined an Accountability group. Yes, it sounds a little dull, but it’s a way for a group of writers to band together and encourage each other to find the initiative and self-discipline to work at what is, by definition, a solitary pursuit. We each hope not only to hone our craft, but also to keep our noses to the grindstone with the ultimate taskmaster – ourselves.

How does it work? Each week, we set daily and weekly goals. We also have long term goals and quarterly goals, which are essential in thinking about what we want to accomplish overall. But I find it is the daily and weekly goals that motivate me best. Every day, when I look at my goals, I know what I’ve decided I want to accomplish that day. There is no pushing it off to tomorrow. If I want to get my smiley face for the day, I might as well do it now. (Okay, I would rather say I’ll work for champagne or chocolate, but hey, I work for smiley faces.)

There’s a tremendous amount of self-discipline required. After all, I could tell the group I accomplished my goals every day. They won’t know the difference. But then, why bother being in the group? The only one I’m cheating is myself. It feels much better to be honest and to gain the self-satisfaction of checking things off my list. The group is there for support, not judgment. But I have been nudged a couple times, very gently, and it works.

We’re still new to each other, and we have a tendency so far to not call each other out on our goals. I think that’s good. We don’t know what’s going on in the other person’s life. In time, we may get more assertive. I don’t know. There’s a fine balance between setting goals that are so aggressive that one gives up in defeat, and goals that are so easy to meet that they don’t challenge us to be as productive as possible.

This system works for me. I’ve increased my word count substantially. Equally as important, I’ve become much better about doing the writing-related goals that I personally like to procrastinate on. These include all the business related aspects of being an author – website updating, reading craft books, participating in workshops, etc.

I think of goal setting as a way to tether my feet to the ground so my mind can roam free, but return to earth with something solid in hand. If you want your writing to provide a livelihood, then prosaic things like effective websites, meeting deadlines and paying attention to the realities of commercializing your product are all things you need to pursue with a focus more practical than fanciful.

Being in an accountability group has definitely boosted my productivity. Do any of you have other methods you use to get yourself to be as productive as possible?