Thoughts On the New Year

Did you know that you are seventy percent more likely to accomplish a goal that you put in writing?

Makes you want to pick up a pen, right? This is my chief argument in favor of a to-do list. I've also found that breaking those big goals up into bite-sized steps also helps me focus and get more accomplished.

I recently heard about a woman who wrote an entire manuscript of a novel by writing for the first ten minutes of every hour. She was a home-school mom with more than one child in the nest, and found it hard to get any uninterrupted time to write. So she came up with a plan everyone could live with. At the top of the hour, she'd set a timer for ten minutes, and the rule was that no one interrupted her during those ten minutes.

Just the focus and discipline to make that work is pretty impressive. The point is: where there's a will, there's a way. With that in mind... what are your new year's goals?

Here are a few of mine:

1. Complete two new manuscripts. (One is already half-way done, and the other is mapped, but not officially started.)

2. Do something creative with my daughter once per week. I like crafty things, and she really enjoys them, too, so it's a win-win.

3. Be a faithful blogger, here and in my contributions on www.momstories.org.

4. Read, read, read. One novel per week.

5. Exercise in some form or other for at least 30 minutes per day or 3.5 hours per week.

6. Write 1000 words per day on a new project.

7. Pick up more modeling work and learn Q/A. (work stuff...)

8. Publish at least 10 articles by working freelance.

9. Take my Reliv faithfully.