If you were coming over for coffee, I would greet you with a hug and some chocolate chip cookies fresh out of the oven. It has been a while since I posted on this blog, but I have been pretty busy. The fact that my computer has a nasty virus did not help either.
December is usually my busiest month, not only do both of my children have birthdays, and of course, there are the holidays, but it is the time where business picks up, and also the time to plan for the next year.
Which is exactly what I am working on this weekend: Goal and Action Plan for 2016.
I don’t believe in New Years resolutions. Of course, they can be beneficial, but why wait until a particular time to make a change? Yet I do plan the year, but not in a resolution kind of way.
There are overall goals to work out – that has to be the first step, never forgetting that there has to be a why, a reason behind each goal, otherwise, I am fully aware that I will not follow through on it.
Willpower can carry you far, reasons will carry you further.
Then there are the monthly goals – smaller steps that together build the picture of a successful year. Those are flexible, meaning, I can adjust those goals throughout the year to fit the progress I am actually making. The trick is to set these goals high, but not so high that they are not attainable. Otherwise, the frustration of not reaching them will keep me from going further.
Next are tangible action steps. I ask myself, what do I need to learn to make this happen? How much time am I willing to invest into this goal? What do I need to do to see progress? Those answers will be based on the overall goal and the monthly goals.
This leaves me with a framework for the entire year.
What I am questioning this year is about how public I should make these goals, and when. I have seen many bloggers and marketing experts, who put all of their goals and their achievements out there – that is wonderful, as it motivates me. But being an artist first, a creative, who might not see monetary results in such a profound way every month – while other months soar – I am not sure, I am going to do that yet. What do you think? How public do you make your goals?
If you were here with me, I would tell you that another year end practice I enjoy and intend to employ this year:
Expressing my thanks to those who inspired me.
Now, some of these people – some of whom are famous, some are very successful might never respond to my email, Facebook message or tweet, but some might (hey, I have had Brendan Brazer, the creator of Vega, and the author of Thrive, acknowledge my tweet the other day, where I was praising his mission, products and words), but that is not the point. It does not matter how successful you are, I am sure that it can not be a bad thing to hear something positive from someone who learned from you, or was inspired by you. Spreading a little kindness through expressing gratitude at the end of the year – and throughout the year benefits the receiver as much as the giver. It simply feels good all around.
So these are the questions I have for you this week:
Do you plan your year? Do you make resolutions? If you do, what steps do you take to allow yourself a better chance of success? And, how public do you make these goals and plans?
I am looking forward to hearing from you!
I hope you enjoyed the cookies. I enjoyed your company as always
Much love
Claudia
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Avalon-Media - A LifeStyle Blog 
Hey Claudia, good to have you back. First, I hope you get your computer back into shape; the digital flu is always such a painful and nasty thing to fight.
I do not plan my year. At least, I have not up to this point. Seeing how I am in constant flux, I may have to do that this year, especially now that I have quit my high profile job and looks like I may be heading for the life of a starving artist. I hope not, but I want to find a writing-related job instead of *a* job. Still in my notice period so have until mid-February to sort out this aspect of my life. So I may need to plan my year carefully especially when it comes to the two novels I want to finish and the amount of money I spend each month. We’ll see how it goes.
I don’t believe in New Year resolutions. They’ve always felt like a promises given when ultra-happy or ultra-drunk and like you I don’t believe one needs to wait for the New Year to start changes. Change for me usually begins at the moment I decide it needs to happen.
As for making my plans public, I usually avoid that, or I mention something rather generic, like “I plan to get ready for submission two novels”, which is essentially my intent. Details change, and I’d rather stay fluid and flowing rather than be chained by public promises I made and undue expectations.
I made a resolution 2 years ago to review every book I read. I have continued to do it. My life has been in rich by it.
I almost gave up on the comment because I couldn’t find where or how to comment. I’m on a laptop and you have to scroll waaaay down after everything that I usually do not read to get to the place to enter a comment. I almost missed it entirely.
I don’t make resolutions. Last year I picked a word to work on during the year, to kind of lead me during the year. It was my first time doing that. I picked Create. I didn’t get that much of my creating done because I ended up in the hospital and had surgery then took two months to recuperate. That threw me off completely and made me focus on other things, like health. I guess I can say I was creating good health and memories with my grandchildren, just in case.
I don’t make resolutions, but I do plan goals. Working towards goals are a lot easier than having the “resolution” hanging over my head all year long. One goal I made this year was to learn to quilt. I knew it was time consuming, but goodness gracious, I’m still sewing blocks together. I’ve glad you were able to link back up with Thankful Thursdays again!
Nice to see you around the coffee share!
I don’t often make resolutions on a small-scale, meaning monthly planning or even a fully thought out list, but I do try and keep a specific goal in mind—they’re just large-scale goals, like “be healthier” or “spend more time with family.” 🙂
I don’t make resolutions. I have goals. I struggle with what to make public as well. Hoping that becomes clearer soon.
I very much like your idea of a goal and action plan for the coming year. This is something I used to do when I was in business, and I’ve let it slide since I have become a full time author. I’ve tried to treat my writing as a business, and now it’s clear that I need to be more organized with what I’m doing! So thank you for your post! No I won’t make it public, it is a tool just for me to keep things moving forward.
PepiSmart: Hi there – what a busy month of December you have.
As a dog who is over the Rainbow Bridge, I get to be very flexible with my plans. Time is on my side. Hee Hee!
Thank you for always joining our Thankful Thursday Blog Hop.
Look forward to reading your post this week too. *special Xmas edition wave* :=o)
Hi, hon
this month just seems to be a reflection of the entire year, but I prefer busy, just not chaotic.
Glad that you decided to stop by – hope it is nice on the other side of the rainbow bridge. Blessings!