Tuesday, June 5, 2018

Accountability (Julie)

Have you ever made writing goals for yourself and then failed miserably? I have. Several times, unfortunately. For example, a few months ago I told myself I was going to finish the rewrite of my novel by the time school ends in mid-June. The results-I have two weeks left and no where near finished.

So what went wrong? I made the goal to myself but had no one to hold me accountable. Not to self: don't always trust self.

Since then I've made a new goal and have an accountability partner (Thanks, Liz=) to keep me on the straight and narrow.

Setting a goal is an easy thing to do but it does take effort. Here are a few things to make it work:

1) You need to set an attainable goal. It's pointless if you set a goal that is unrealistic. Know your strengths, know your weaknesses and plan accordingly.

2) Choose a partner who will actually hold you accountable. If the person can't even remember their own brain, then chances are they won't be helping you much.

3) It has to be something you want. Only then will you work for it. Let the wise words of Yoda light the way...


Do you have any tips or tricks for accountability when it comes to writing?

4 comments:

  1. Glad to help! And be helped reaching my goal! :) It's also good to establish how you're going to reach your goal. Are you going to set aside 30 minutes each day (or at least 5 days a week) toward your goal? You need to set up a plan and small check points and goals along the way.

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  2. Great tips, Julie! I don't usually set goals for myself (since I tend to fail miserably!), but I should get a writing target in mind for this summer, so I'll keep this in mind!

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  3. Thanks for the ideas! I managed to reach my goals for my current WIP only because I had the end of the school year bearing down on me (just can't concentrate with the kids at home),☺ so #3 played a big part in that success!

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  4. This is definitely something I have struggled with. It can be tough to stick with a goal when there's no accountability and other things intrude. Thanks for sharing, Julie! :)

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