Setting Goals for 2023

Being busy and being productive are not the same thing. By working the daily practice of journaling into your routine, you’ll be able to declutter your mind, reduce stress, and identify any obstacles that are preventing you from achieving your goals.

Sometimes you get so caught up trying to tackle your to-do list, juggling a million tasks, that you end up being less productive. Spinning many plates and multi-tasking is a way of life for most of us, but over time this can lead to chronic burnout and seriously impact your health and wellbeing.

The start of the new year brings new opportunities to refocus your writing efforts and set intentions for the year ahead. Maybe you achieved some of your goals last year, or maybe you lagged behind and are looking to improve this year. Wherever you are at in your writing journey, self-reflection is always a valuable tool to celebrate your successes but also to highlight areas for improvement. Here’s some handy tips to help you achieve your writing goals for 2023.

​1. Reflect on the previous year
Before you start charging ahead for this year, it’s important to look back on the last year and assess any challenges or obstacles you faced. Write down any projects you worked on, then what went well and what you feel could have gone better for each. 

What did you find particularly challenging? Was anything easier than you expected? By bringing awareness to your areas of strength and weakness as a writer, you can then work out practical solutions to your problems. 

For example, if you struggled with editing or proofreading your own work, perhaps look into hiring a professional editor to help you. You could also look at joining a local writing group, or an online group on social media, for advice, constructive feedback, and editorial assistance.

2. Visualising your achievements
Think about the future and what you want to have achieved by this time next year. Perhaps your goal is to get your stories published or acquire a literary agent? The act of writing down your goals has been proven to increase your chances of success - so get clear about what you want, and write it down in the affirmative. You may find it useful to use the writing prompt “By this time next year I will…”. Write down everything you want to have achieved in a year’s time.

3. Plan of action
Once you know what you want to achieve, backtrack and work out the practical steps you will need to take to actually make it happen. Break it down into small and manageable actions - if ‘getting published’ is your goal, then your actions may include:

• Finishing writing your story
• Getting your story edited and proofread
• Researching publishers and/or literary agents, and their submission guidelines
• Choosing several publishers/literary agents who are a good fit for your story
• Writing cover emails to your selected publishers/literary agents and submitting your story

These 5 smaller steps make the larger goal of getting your work published seem much more achievable and less daunting.

4. Commit to your goals
No matter how badly you want to achieve your goals, you need to put in the work to actually make it happen. Whilst many people advocate writing every day, this is simply not realistic or practical for some people - especially if you’re juggling work and family commitments. 

If writing every day isn’t possible for you, schedule in some regular time each week where you focus on your own writing projects - whether that is writing stories, researching publishers, or taking courses to boost your skills. By taking your goals seriously and dedicating regular time to your endeavours, you will maximise your chances of success.

These are just a few ideas to help you be more productive and smash your writing goals for 2023. By having a clear vision of what you want to achieve, taking small, actionable steps, and committing regular time to your writing, you will get closer to realising your dreams - who knows what you will have accomplished by this time next year! Happy writing!

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Look out for Melissa's latest articles on Anita Frost's author website, where she'll talk about topics including business and publishing, author news and events, and giving back to communities. You can find her in-depth monthly feature on the News & Media page of the Green Bean Collection website, discussing children's books and reading, early years education, living a greener lifestyle and all things Green Bean!