Fourth Blog - Setting Goals

An initial aspect to writing as well as to living life in general is always the process of setting goals. Nothing can be gained strictly on impulse and as such, it is always important to set goals in order to achieve a desired end. It acts as an incredible motivator and gives you something to look forward to at the same time. I find that this works incredibly when writing something of a substantial degree, such as a large final paper and especially a book. How does this work with those examples? I shall explain.

If you are like me and you were a prolific procrastinator in school, you know how difficult it can be to get something done that you would rather not do. When faced with this situation, I find that it works to place small goals for myself throughout the writing process of whatever I was doing. If it was a research paper, I would set small goals ranging from picking out an article and reading it fully to integrating it into whatever the subject matter I was working with entailed. In setting the goals of reading, understanding and then writing, I was able to take an assignment that would normally just be unbearable and turned it into something that I could take out within a few sessions. 

The same works for those aspiring to write something like a book. Regardless as to what sort of book it is, the setting of goals can help you with the writing process. The most simple of these goals is setting an amount of pages to write within a day. If you are trying to write a large novel, one thing that works is setting a minimum goal of pages to write. For example, for my book I set a minimum amount of pages to write at about 100 pages. While it sounds like a lot, I took that goal and broke it down into smaller goals of getting done pages each time I was writing, such as 10 pages per writing session. In doing so, and by spacing those writing sessions out, I was able to reach that goal and even encouraged myself to write even more. 

Setting goals works not just in writing but it works in other aspects of life too. Whether it is working on a do-it-yourself project or aspiring to work up the nerve to ask someone on a date, you can set small goals and work your way up to larger goals, essentially reaching the main goal: either completing a room in your home or getting a date. Being able to set goals is essential to motivating yourself to do things that would seem very difficult otherwise. Trying to do too much at one time can not only wear you out, but it can demotivate you into almost quitting the project or end goal entirely. 

I've always been told to take my time on everything that I do and in most cases, I take too much time not doing things and not enough doing things. Now, I've learned to find a mix between doing things and taking time to not do things. The balance enables me to work on something, think about what I am doing and then get back to it without worrying about if I am doing it right or not. The worst thing that you can do is work on something that will essentially last for quite some time and then wonder if there was something you could've done to add to it or not. That is why setting goals is an important facet of life and especially for the writer's process.