I don’t know about you, but this past year has made me a little gun-shy about New Year’s resolutions. In November or December of 2019, I spent a day working on my business — looking at trends and performance and systems and all that fun stuff, and then setting annual and quarterly goals for 2020. And then the pandemic happened, and most of those goals went right out the window. Anybody who knows me knows that “flexibility” and “spontaneity” aren’t words I’m all that familiar with. I prefer having a plan, sticking to that plan, and knowing what’s coming. And 2020 was an exercise in undoing that.
So as I sat down to work on my goals for 2021, there was part of me that felt a little hesitant, that wondered why bother? Who knows what’s coming around the corner that could upend everything? But then I started thinking more realistically, and I realized it takes far less than a global pandemic to upend our New Year’s resolutions. Even in the most normal year, there’s a lot that can throw us off track: Think about writing resolutions you’ve set for yourself in past years. Maybe you set them and kept them — no sweat. (If so, please share your secrets.) But maybe it wasn’t that easy. Maybe you woke up on January 1, cracked open that brand new notebook, and got to work. But then the holiday weekend ended or winter break came to a close, and everyday life kicked back in. Maybe that first day back, you set the alarm an hour early and cranked out some words before you headed to the office. But on day two, you hit snooze, promising yourself you’d write in the evening. Then when evening rolled around, there was laundry to do and dinner to cook. Your favorite TV show was on, and your brain was fried from work, anyway. Maybe you picked up that notebook sporadically throughout the year, or carried it around with you — always, of course, with the best intentions. But the pages just didn’t fill up.
Yes, it’s easy to lose momentum, easy to get off track, even in the best of years. But does that mean goal setting isn’t worth it? Not at all. Here are a few strategies I’ve used — and am doubling down on in 2021 — to set myself up for success at keeping my New Years Resolutions, writing and otherwise.
1. Make Your Goals Measurable
Are you resolved to become a better writer in the new year? That’s a great goal. But one question: How will you know when you’ve achieved it? One of the biggest reasons we give up on our goals is because we don’t see progress. And of course that’s discouraging. So set yourself up for success by making resolutions you can check off the list once they’re done.
So if you want to become a better writer, what about these for your revised resolutions?
Take three writing classes
Find a writing partner (or join a group) to hold you accountable
Write a poem (or personal essay, or anything outside of your comfort zone) to stretch those creative muscles
Submit two short stories to literary magazines
2. Make Your Goals Achievable
Writing the next Great American Novel this year is a perfectly legitimate dream. But by making that your goal, you may be setting yourself up for frustration.
Think of all that goes into writing a novel: First, you have to write the thing, which, in itself, is a monstrous undertaking. Then you have to edit it, and have someone else edit it, and revise it. Maybe several times. If you’re going the traditional publishing route, then you have to find an agent, who will have you revise the manuscript, then help you find a publisher, who will also have you revise the manuscript. Then you can expect to see it on shelves within the next 18 months, and only then will you get back the sales reports that prove you have, indeed, written the next Great American Novel.
So much of that goal is out of your control. So much of it is about waiting on somebody else. The enormity of it is likely to overwhelm you. It would definitely overwhelm me.
But what if you break it down into bite-sized pieces based on what you can control and what’s realistic to your schedule?
Complete the first draft by May
Complete the second draft by September
Submit to six literary agents by Christmas
Does that feel more manageable? These are resolutions you’re in control of, and that you can absolutely achieve.
3. Stay Flexible
As 2020 taught us, we never know what may come down the pipe and throw off all our plans for the year. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t bother. It just means we need to be ready to be flexible. If, in this past year, your resolutions involved a lot of community — writing groups, author readings, or anything else that generally happens in person — following through with those resolutions became nearly impossible, at least in the way you’d envisioned.
But when life gets in the way, the end goal — becoming part of a writing community, in this case — doesn’t have to disappear. The path to it just might have to change. If the library writing group you had your eye on is cancelled, you can find accountability in other ways: through virtual writing groups, Zoom drafting dates with a writing buddy, or even a book coach. If your work schedule or your family commitments or your living situation or anything else suddenly changes this year, that doesn’t mean an end to your goals — it just means it’s time to find a new path to achieving them.
And if things go really sideways? Guess what? January isn’t the only time of year we’re allowed to set goals. You can stop, scrap it all, and start over anytime with new goals that are a better fit for your particular situation.
4. Think Like a Yogi
Call it practice.
This last piece of advice came out of the industry that invented New Years resolutions (probably) and profits from them more than any other industry (almost definitely): fitness. But it relates to everything we do. I stumbled upon this bit of wisdom a few months back, and it has really started to help me reframe the way I think about my own goals, in writing and everything else.
In most sports, most activities, really, we talk about performance. We talk about results. Wins, losses, records, ROIs. But in Yoga, whether you’ve just begun or you’ve been doing it for 20 years, you call it practice. It may seem like a small semantic issue, but the beauty of calling it practice is that it gives you permission to fail. Need a little help popping up into wheel? Fell on your face trying to do that headstand? Try again.
And the same goes for your writing practice. Missed a day? A whole week? Try again. Got a rejection letter from an agent? Try again. Nobody’s benching you, nobody’s firing you.
Sure, you’ll need to think about the stats and the results and the deadlines, but don’t let those be the driving force — the only place they’re likely to drive you is crazy. First and foremost, be kind to yourself. After all, it’s just practice.