A New Dynamic Approach to Achieving Goals — Derek Barton – 2019

Back in July 2017, I started using a process centered around Bi-Monthly Goals. These were goals set up for a two-month time span.  This worked reasonably well, but the main issue I had was that I was often too open or the goals were too far-reaching.  Without breaking out the hows and steps to accomplish those goals, I had moderate success with them.  With that said, I am ready to see if there are better ways to realize my dreams and goals.

The Bi-Monthly Goal System was introduced to me by a YouTube video.  This new system is again a YouTube video.  I have to say that the site really is a modern-day Oracle.  Almost any question you might have, someone probably has done a video on it! I have been doing a lot of research on marketing and came across this new 90-Day Goal System.

Like the Bi-Monthly, you decide on your goals and work within the designated window of time.  This goal system is introduced by author Sarra Cannon, an author of several romance novel series in which she’s sold over 750,000 copies!  Her method of goal-setting is reviewed and discussed in a video marked How To Make 2019 Your Best Year Yet.

The essence of her system revolves around Main Goals, Projects, and Tasks.  You set two or three “main” general priority goals to focus on.  Then you breakdown those goals by deciding on Projects that will accomplish those general Main Goals.  With each Project Goal, you detail and define what Tasks you are taking to get the Project finished.

Another aspect of her system is to be realistic in your writing plans.  You will have days you are just not feeling up to working or you will have days where you are sick AND you will have days you will not write as they are on holidays.  Everyone has 365 days in the year and there are the holidays in every culture that will interrupt your schedule.  Plan for sick days, mental health days, and even relaxation or celebration days. Everyone has the same amount of time, but successes go to the people that make the best and most accurate plans for their time.

The other neat trick with the system is it gives you a chance to breathe.  You know you want three or four books done by the end of the year.  This method allows you to not worry about the other books and focus on the one — in the back of your mind every time you start to fuss about not getting to that book, you can relax as you know it’s already scheduled in the future and you already have a plan in mind.  A lot of writers try writing more than one book at a time and this can and often diminishes the quality of both works versus if the author took one at a time and made them the best he could.

Two YEAR goals I would like to focus on are increasing site visitation as well as completing three more novels for 2019.

My MAIN GOALS are as follows:

• Increase my site visitors by 25% = 232 visitors — (2018 1st Quarter’s results were 186 visitors)
• Complete one of three books for the year 2019

PROJECT GOALS are as follows:

Goal to Increase Site Visits — 

• Three Monthly Giveaways
• Two Book-signings
• Weekly Blog Posts

Goal to One of Three Books for 2019 —

• Write & Publish Elude Part Three

TASK GOALS to Increase Site Visits as follows:

• Develop three unique site giveaways (signed book copies, amazon cards, audiobooks)
• One Book-signing set in January (Superhero Saturday); call and set up another for February or March
• Update each week a blog post (web sagas, goal-setting blogs, etc) for a total of at least 12 blogs in the 90 days.

TASK GOALS to Complete Elude Part Three as follows:

• Complete Bullet Outline
• Write the rough draft (30,000-word count left)
• Go through 3 waves of edits
• Cover & Blurb (already completed)
• Publish on Kindle & Amazon by 3/31/19

Another aspect of Cannon’s 90-day Goal System is to construct a goal reminder whiteboard in her office.  Her follow-up video is How I Create My 90 Day Plan and Use a Kanban Board to Achieve My Goals.  Simply, she puts all her TASK GOALS on a single post-it note and organizes them into a “Get It Done” and an “Awesome Job” section.  She chooses at the beginning of the week the tasks she wants to work on, placing them in the “Get It Done” section.  Completed Tasks she moves them into the “Awesome Job” section — which, of course, is a great way to keep motivated, seeing all the tasks you completed through the 90 days.

I will be writing up a review blog and discussing the details and results of this 1st quarter.  If you have any questions or want to discuss how you develop your goals, feel free to comment below.