QUARTERLY GOALS: Q2 Review & Q3 New Goals
It's that time! Time to close out the second quarter (Q2) and usher in the third (Q3), complete with a new set of quarterly goals.
Grab your coffee and your list-making utensils of choice, and let's dive in!
First, let's review the goals from Q2 and see how many I was able to accomplish:
2017-Q2 Goals:
1) Plan and outline my weekly blog posts for the rest of the quarter. (Not counting Bonus Posts, because those suckers just pop up sometimes!)
- DONE! Granted, they were more spread out than I wanted them to be, but I did outline each post ahead of time. Go me!
2) Finish outlining my currently untitled Book Project #1. Yes, I'm moving away from short stories and novellas, and finally focusing on my first novel!
- This is also DONE! Feeling really good about the direction this project is going.
3) Write the first 10,000 words, minimum, of Book Project #1.
- This goal is...not quite done. I managed roughly 5600 solid words, along with copious notes on future chapters. So, not a total loss.
4) Announce the release details for the anthology that 'Set Them Free, If Need Be' will appear in. (As soon as the publisher confirms.)
- Absolutely DONE! In case you missed the announcement, my first professionally published short story will be available July 31, 2017!
5) Take the short story I finished earlier this year and submit it to my next critique group meeting. Yes, I'm focusing more on my book now, but the story is already written so...why not?
- This hasn't happened yet. Unfortunately, our critique group had to postpone our in-person meetings for the summer, due to scheduling conflicts. We're still offering advice via email, so hopefully I'll be able to get some feedback on this story soon.
6) Find a competition or publication and submit the above story. Again, why not? It's more of a near-future/science fiction story, so any recommendations are welcome!
- See above answer for why this story isn't quite ready yet for competition/publication.
7) Clean out my home office (again) and reclaim my writing space.
- Yes! I was so happy to get this goal accomplished! DONE.
8) Examine my current writing schedule, which is in kind of a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants situation right now, and see if I can come up with a more stable plan.
- DONE! Now that my work schedule is on track, I've been able to carve out more regular writing time each week.
9) Look into joining Skillshare. If this goes well, we'll have a Writing Resources post to discuss!
- Eh...still working on this one. I've done some preliminary research, and am looking forward to giving this tool a try.
10) Find three new methods of utilizing social media to better connect with the online writing/reading community.
- Sort of DONE! Ha...I've nailed down two definite new options for connecting online with you lovely people. Stay tuned because I'm VERY excited about both of them!
Grab your coffee and your list-making utensils of choice, and let's dive in!
First, let's review the goals from Q2 and see how many I was able to accomplish:
2017-Q2 Goals:
1) Plan and outline my weekly blog posts for the rest of the quarter. (Not counting Bonus Posts, because those suckers just pop up sometimes!)
- DONE! Granted, they were more spread out than I wanted them to be, but I did outline each post ahead of time. Go me!
2) Finish outlining my currently untitled Book Project #1. Yes, I'm moving away from short stories and novellas, and finally focusing on my first novel!
- This is also DONE! Feeling really good about the direction this project is going.
3) Write the first 10,000 words, minimum, of Book Project #1.
- This goal is...not quite done. I managed roughly 5600 solid words, along with copious notes on future chapters. So, not a total loss.
4) Announce the release details for the anthology that 'Set Them Free, If Need Be' will appear in. (As soon as the publisher confirms.)
- Absolutely DONE! In case you missed the announcement, my first professionally published short story will be available July 31, 2017!
5) Take the short story I finished earlier this year and submit it to my next critique group meeting. Yes, I'm focusing more on my book now, but the story is already written so...why not?
- This hasn't happened yet. Unfortunately, our critique group had to postpone our in-person meetings for the summer, due to scheduling conflicts. We're still offering advice via email, so hopefully I'll be able to get some feedback on this story soon.
6) Find a competition or publication and submit the above story. Again, why not? It's more of a near-future/science fiction story, so any recommendations are welcome!
- See above answer for why this story isn't quite ready yet for competition/publication.
7) Clean out my home office (again) and reclaim my writing space.
- Yes! I was so happy to get this goal accomplished! DONE.
8) Examine my current writing schedule, which is in kind of a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants situation right now, and see if I can come up with a more stable plan.
- DONE! Now that my work schedule is on track, I've been able to carve out more regular writing time each week.
9) Look into joining Skillshare. If this goes well, we'll have a Writing Resources post to discuss!
- Eh...still working on this one. I've done some preliminary research, and am looking forward to giving this tool a try.
10) Find three new methods of utilizing social media to better connect with the online writing/reading community.
- Sort of DONE! Ha...I've nailed down two definite new options for connecting online with you lovely people. Stay tuned because I'm VERY excited about both of them!
So, six out of 10 goals accomplished. I'd say that's not too shabby!
My list of goals for Q3 is a bit shorter, but the goals themselves will likely take longer to accomplish.
2017-Q3 Goals:
1) Complete first 10,000 words of Book Project #1 and complete at least half of the second 10,000. (15,000 minimum). This is a slower writing pace than I normally shoot for, but at least this way I'll be pleasantly surprised if I'm able to work a little faster.
2) Plan and outline all regular blog posts for Q3. (Excluding Bonus Posts)
3) Outline, announce, and implement both new social media projects for the blog.
4) Get back to my normal(ish) reading level. 4-6 books per month.
5) Publish a "What Am I Reading Wednesday" post every other week.
How is everyone else doing on your goals so far for this year? Has anyone found a new productivity method that works best for you?
Let's see how we do!
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