The Creativity Project: Finishing up the Quarter
And getting ready for Q2
I have big goals. Like, best selling author big goals. I’ve had them since I was in the fifth grade.
I still haven’t published a single book.
Before the last year, I haven’t finished writing a book since high school. And that will never see the light of day (the cringe is real).
But last year I started doing something different. I started doing quarterly planning. I first learned about it from a writer and YouTuber, Sarra Cannon. I bought her HB90 Method (just the undated planner, I haven’t taken the course). This sucker forces you to take a realistic look at your time and commitments and to plan accordingly.
Combined with my Bullet Journal, something clicked. Last year, I finished, edited, and sent a book to beta readers. And finished writing a second book. I put in over a hundred and seventy thousand words into my books. It feels great.
This year, I want to do more. I know I can do more. The big goal for the year is to finish writing four books, one each quarter, and type three hundred and sixty-five thousand words. I have other, non-writer goals, but I won’t be talking about them today.
We’re in the last month of quarter one, so how am I doing on my quarterly goals?
Goal 1: Edit book 1 of my shifter series. Completed. Sent to my beta reader. Re-edited. Sitting, waiting for me to get up the guts to find an editor and get cover art done.
Goal 2: Type up book 2 of my shifter series. Completed. I feel like I’m a bit shy on words so I’ve started the editing process a bit early so I can figure out if anything is missing.
Goal 3: Draft book 3 of my shifter series. Completed. Already started typing it up early. There are a few bits here and there where I have to flesh out scenes, but on the whole, it’s a completed draft.
Goal 4: 13 Blog or Medium posts. Completed. And then some. I got into the groove with my gaming blog and have managed to post once a week as well as the occasional Medium post.
Now, realistically, I should only have three major goals broken down into tasks, but I like having each part of the writing process as its own goal.
Auxiliary writing and reading goals: Read 13 books: completed at over 20 books. Fill 3 notebooks: completed because I usually do my first drafts by hand. Type 90,000 words: I’ve crested the 83,000 mark with over half a month left.
All in all, I’m doing good on my writing goals (not so much with my workout goals).
What are my Q2 goals? I have yet to sit down with my HB90 planner, but most of my goals will be staying the same, only shifting which books are being written and drafted.
Goal 1: Edit book 2.
Goal 2: Type book 3.
Goal 3: Draft book 2 of a different series.
Goal 4: 13 blog or Medium posts.
Auxiliary: read 13 books, fill three notebooks, type 91,000 words.
What system have you been using to set and crush your goals?
