For the longest time, I was all about setting huge goals and putting crazy pressure on myself to achieve. I figured that if I set a big goal and committed to it, then I’d have no choice but to make it happen… the bigger the goal, the bigger the success, right?
Nope.
It wasn’t until college that I realized how problematic this philosophy was. I was setting myself up for failure and putting way too much pressure on myself. It wasn’t healthy, and once I took on the added pressure of managing a double major, extracurriculars, and spiraling mental health, it started to get in the way of my writing.
I was feeling overwhelmed and constantly getting down on myself because I couldn’t keep up with my goals. Plus, because my goals weren’t measurable, I didn’t feel like I was getting anywhere even when I did spend time working.
After a few months of this, I realized that if I wanted to continue doing the things I loved, then I needed to make a change.
I needed to find a way to create goals that were manageable but still challenged me to improve.
I needed to devise a system for measuring and scheduling those goals.
Here’s what I did:
Manageable and Measurable Goal-Setting
The best goals are both measurable and manageable.
- Manageable: A goal that challenges you to improve, but is reasonable given your schedule and responsibilities.
- Measurable: A goal you can track using related metrics like time, word count, or page count.
Setting Manageable Goals:
Setting manageable goals is crucial because it sets you up for success. These kinds of goals help you improve without burning out or getting overwhelmed. They also help you gain momentum and build your confidence.
The more you succeed, the more you will trust your capacity to succeed.
Here are some questions to help you set manageable goals:
- What kind of goal are you currently working to implement (ex. novel-writing goal, querying goal, reading goal, etc.).
- When would you like to accomplish this goal? What’s the deadline?
- How much time do you have to commit to your goal each day or week?
- How much can you reasonably accomplish by your deadline if you spend the above amount of time on your goal every day/week?
- What are some ways you can challenge yourself while still remaining within reason? Remember that challenging yourself doesn’t have to mean setting a bigger goal. For example, you could:
- Commit to working on your goal 5 days a week.
- Put away your phone whenever you work on your goal.
- Work on your goal at the same time every day.
Setting Measurable Goals:
Now that you’ve set a manageable goal, it’s time to make sure that goal is also measurable. This is important because measurable goals allow you to track your progress and visualize how much you accomplish every day! Plus, the ability to see and track your progress will also make it easier to give yourself credit for all the awesome work you do.
A measurable goal is the difference between “I want to write more” and “I want to write 500 words a day.” One is measurable, the other isn’t. One is easy to track, the other isn’t.
Here are some questions to ensure that your manageable goals are also measurable:
- What is your manageable goal?
- How will you know when you’ve reached your goal?
- What metrics could you use to measure your goal (word count, page count, time spent, etc.)?
- Rewrite your goal to include a relevant metric.
Conclusion:
The best goals are manageable and measurable. This means that you have a way to track your progress and you’re setting yourself up for success.
To create manageable goals, consider:
- When would you like to accomplish your goal? What’s the deadline?
- How much time do you have to commit to your goal each day or week?
- How much can you reasonably accomplish by your deadline if you spend the above amount of time on your goal every day/week?
To create measurable goals, consider:
- How will you know when you’ve reached your goal?
- What metrics could you use to measure your goal (wordcount, page count, time spent, etc.)?
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What are your manageable and measurable goals?
With Love, Cats, and Coffee 💖,
Olivia