Hate coming up with goals? They’re like taking vitamins – good for you.

When I retired after nineteen years of teaching high school geometry, I had wonderful ideas for projects I’d tackle and creative things I would learn how to do.

My list included the following:

Bake bread every week (or as often as necessary).

Ha, ha – not my bread, in case you were thinking I made that.

Crochet. (I don’t know how to do this.)

Paint. (I don’t know how to do this either.)

Read a new craft book about writing each month.

Create websites. (Another thing I don’t know about.)

Read the Bible all the way through.

Do every cross-stitch project I’ve bought. (I’m not going to count these. Suffice it to say, they would keep me busy for a while.)

My Christmas present . . . from 2023. I’m working on it! Great art takes time.

Learn Spanish. (Working on this one. Just passed my three-year mark of consecutive days on Duolingo.)

Keep a really clean house. (Don’t ask.)

Befriend a crow so it will bring me gifts or eat out of my hand.

Refinish furniture I picked up from the curb. (I started this if one, if picking up the trash from people’s curbs counts as starting.)

Create a Hobbit-like house from the tree stump in my backyard using power tools. (Tools that I don’t know how to use.)

Eat lunch with one grandkid once a week.

Read every unread book in my house. And don’t buy new ones until that’s done. (Bwaa-ha-ha-ha-ha.)

Go through every cabinet in my house and get rid of what isn’t being used.

I’m sure there are more. Did I do those things? A few. Do I still want to do those things? Yes. So why don’t I?

It comes down to time management. Looking at my life now, I wonder how I ever got ANYTHING done when I worked as a teacher. I had no free time. Now that is all I have. So where do those precious moments go?

A friend of mine, Joy Massenburge (joykmassenburge.com), taught me a neat trick. She gave me five minutes to write a bucket list. Then she told me to pretend I had only a year to live and asked me which three items from the list became most important. Once I’d identified those, I had to run each new project I considered—the next shiny thing that caught my eye—past that list of three. If the new thing didn’t apply in some way to one of those three things, push it to the side for now. And learn to say no.

Next, does this goal fit in with your God-directed plans? Solomon told us in Psalm 127, ”Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain.” That tells me I’ll waste my time if I get off track. Does that mean everything we do in our lives must be religious and preachy? I don’t think so. Jesus tells us in John 10 he came so we may have life, AND that we may have it more abundantly. I bet Jesus was fun to hang out with. And he could probably teach me a thing or two about refinishing the furniture I scavenge from my neighbor’s trash.

For the things that did pass the I’m-about-to-die test, Joy told me to set a goal to accomplish it. You’ve all heard of SMART goals. Specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, time-based.

My goal today is to sit down and make goals for 2025. I have a lot of meaningful things I want to do. But I also want to leave room for fun.

Like making friends with a crow so he’ll bring me shiny gifts. That takes time too.

What’s on your list? If you accomplished something that made you feel really good about yourself, let me know. I want to celebrate with you.

I have many things on my list of goals in 2025, and of course, writing makes up a huge part of that. One goal is to publish the contemporary romance I just finished. The title is Made for More, and it’s a story about a rock star who feels like something is missing in his life. I plan to send it off to an agent before the end of January. If he turns me down, I have a second agent in mind. If she says no thanks, I’ll publish it myself. Because, in all that free time since retiring, self-publishing is something I’ve learned how to do.

Created by AI – you can tell by the wonky fingers

My second writing goal is to write a romantic suspense for the first time. At one of our ACFW meetings, we did an activity where we chose three random tropes from a list. Mine were cowboy, fish-out-of-water, and age difference. We got five minutes to come up with a tentative plot. My idea involves a lady lawyer, an ex-Army sergeant who now works on a cattle ranch in south Texas, and a threat from a Mexican cartel member. Have I ever written a suspense novel? Nope. Am I letting that stop me? Nope.

The third goal is to finish the research I started for book four in my historical San Antonio series. This one will tell Grady’s story, and it involves Comanches, Texas Rangers, and finding Jesus when you have no one to teach you about him. Title is Pursued. Surprises abound! I’m 99% sure you’ll learn something you didn’t already know. I can’t wait to get this one done.

People tell us we get one page, possibly even one paragraph, to snag a new reader’s attention and convince them our book is exactly what they need. Supposing this is true, we need to write a killer first line. I watched this video from Reedsy – (they put out great information for writers, by the way), and they boil the first line particulars down to this.

  • Introduce the main character by name (first and last if possible).
  • Give a sense of immediacy (don’t start with “Ten years ago …)
  • Hint at the coming conflict (why should the reader care to finish the book?)

Spend some time on this. It will be effort well invested.

One last note: A critique member got a discouraging response last week. She’d read a touching (true) story about a man and she crafted a charming story in verse celebrating his life. She approached the family of the man to get their permission to publish it. Much to her shock and dismay, the response she received was negative, and in my opinion, unnecessarily cruel. My friend told us, in tears, she didn’t want to write anymore. She felt unappreciated, unneeded, and unworthy of the task. We reminded her God gave her the talent and ideas to share his love through her work, and to not let the enemy steal that from her. If you’ve experienced something like this, remember God picked YOU to write the story he put in your mind. There is a particular problem in this world that you were put here to solve. Don’t let the enemy take that away from you. Write out your publishing goals for 2025. I’m behind you all the way!

36 Replies to “Hate coming up with goals? They’re like taking vitamins – good for you.”

  1. Thanks for the reminder about setting SMART goals. One goal I had last year that I have been able to keep is to not do any writing projects on Sunday. I am spending time with my hubby and/or grandkids on that day, making it a day of rest. I’m keeping this goal again in 2025.

  2. Paula, you amaze me with all you do, and how well you do it.
    Personally, I think more about following God-given dreams than setting goals. God gave me the dream to be a wife and mother, and grandchildren are the icing on the cake. My family is a priority.
    The second goal God gave me was to be a teacher, and He gifted me with scholarships to get my education and allowed me to teach twenty-three years in public schools and two years in a private school. He also opened doors for me to teach in various church settings for over fifty years.
    The third God-given goal, to be a writer, came when I was thirteen, and I finally accomplished it when I was sixty, after raising my children and retiring from teaching.
    As a mother, teacher, and pastor’s wife, my life was completely structured. Meals were planned and prepared, laundry done, the house clean and presentable at all times, homework and activities supported. Every class had to start and end at a specific time, lessons had to be planned, and taught, assignments graded, grades recorded and turned in. Church meetings and activates were mandatory for a pastor’s wife. I am thankful for the life God gave me. I’m especially grateful for the season of retirement.
    My goals are to be the best wife, mother, grandmother, friend and Christian influence possible, to be pleasing to God. I want to keep writing as long as possible. The goal is to write books that bring God glory. I have tried to write and publish one book a year, but sometimes life events get in the way. We pause, rest, and refocus.

  3. I make to-do lists so I won’t forget with the distractions of the day–and for the pure pleasure to checking off items. Sometimes I do something that’s not on the list, so I add it to the bottom and check it off! The list also becomes notes of phone numbers, dates, whatever, almost a diary. Your rationale for what makes the list of goals is a good guideline. I must add the first lines video. One of my goals for 2025 is to take advantage of more good newsletters (like yours) and brief, free teaching sources like the many available through ACFW.

  4. As a retired teacher myself and now an author, I often wonder where the time goes. There are times I intend to sit down for an hour or two to write, then four loads of laundry, a mopped kitchen floor and one purged closet later, nothing was written. How did we ever get anything done while we taught? I’m a list maker and have written down my writing goals for 2025. To keep myself on track toward those goals, I’ve begun writing weekly goals as well. The year is new, but it’s worked so far.

  5. Goals can be tricky. If you don’t reach them, then you feel like a failure and that leads into a cycle of negativity. But writing them down gives you something to push for — and daily time management helps. I sometimes flit from one thing to another, then leave way too many tabs open on my computer. I’m trying to slow down and just focus on what’s in front of me. And reminding myself that God is there, too. I can’t leave him out of anything — especially goal-planning!

  6. My writing goals have changed drastically when health issues cropped up. Using the advice from Joy that you shared should help me set new goals.

  7. Only 1% of people actually write their goals down each year! So that’s a start. My problem is I buy a new planner, use it religiously until Summer or so, then it falls by the wayside and into the pile of half used planners in my office. If Preparation is half the battle, I only win half the year lol

  8. “Read every unread book in my house. And don’t buy new ones until that’s done.” I had the goal of reading all my Christmas books before I bought any more. Then I had a book idea I needed research for and-bam!-more (lots more) books from Amazon. I am my grandfather’s boy on that one. He used to say, “Someday, I’ll break my leg and have nothing to do but read all these books.” What’s the reading equivalent of, “My eyes are bigger than my stomach”?

  9. I have goals, but their time frame is years, plural, not a year. While I work fulltime, I can’t write as much as I want, so I have to balance food on my table with the desire to curl up with my laptop to type away at my novel.
    BTW, crocheting is a great relaxer when the world stresses you out, I highly recommend it. And you can even do it while you listen to a good podcast that teaches you something new.

    1. Excellent! Now I need someone to sit beside me and look over my shoulder to tell me what I’m doing wrong. I did the whole “slide in what writing time you can while working” gig, and it was hard. Keep at it!

  10. I’m with you on wondering how I had time for anything before retiring. I keep reminding myself, I’m blessed to be living my dream. I’m starting the third book in my new series next week since I have a deadline to turn it in to my publisher in September. I don’t have the perfectly organized closet I promised myself when I retired. I started, but haven’t finished. We got unexpected travel opportunities with family last year, plus I’m blessed with writing deadlines. So I’ll thank God for those kinds of interruptions.

  11. I experienced something similar though to a lesser degree with criticism of my writing, and I let it derail my writing dream for almost a decade. Every word I typed, I heard that person’s harsh words in my head, and I couldn’t squelch it

    1. I wonder if people realize how much impact their words have. Certainly, after reading your work, I feel positive you’re doing what God wants you to do. And doing it well. It’s a pity we give such credence to the negative voices in our lives when we have such an overwhelming flow of positives to counteract them. So glad you gave it another try!

  12. Wow! What a fabulous newsletter, packed with thoughtful comments and introspection. I have decided, at my age, that I will write as long as I can, if nothing else to keep my brain from forgetting everything I know. I am shocked how much I’ve learned about writing, even though it was a hard slog at the beginning. Just trying to figure out showing from telling seemed to take forever. I am so happy I met you. Your endless energy inspires me, although I don’t compare. I will go at my own speed, as long as I write everyday. That’s enough of a goal.

    1. Thank you for your kind words. I’m with you on writing as long as I can. And I agree–it’s quite surprising to see how far I’ve come from where I started. But when we do something every day, we’re bound to get better at it, right? Of course, there is still much room for improvement.

  13. Wow, Paula! We share some similar goals. Your San Antonio series captivated me. I’m praying for your writer friend and thankful she belongs to a caring critique group. I’m very grateful for my critique group.
    Here’s a few of my goals:
    1. Learn to manage a website
    2. Learn how to write and post a newsletter
    3. Give due diligence to launching my first prayer devotional and garner interest for the second.
    4. Carve out more time to appreciate God’s magnificent creation.
    5. Tell more people about Jesus
    6. Vacation in Hawaii. Right now, I’d settle for beachside in Texas.
    7. Enjoy family and friends to the fullest.

    1. Those sound like great goals! I wish the ones supporting our work as writers didn’t come with such a high learning curve. I hate carving away the time I allot for writing. I love #6 and 7. I see from your photos on Facebook, you already do #7 quite well.

  14. Love the three goals idea. I’ll have to try that.
    Can’t wait to read Made For More. I hope you get your agent!
    And good advice on opening sentences. My editor told me I needed to add my character’s emotion at the time. Maybe that’s part of the hint of conflict.

    1. I found the three goals very effective in helping me pare down what’s on my plate. And thanks for the good thoughts! As for opening sentences, I’ve read many different things that list “absolute must-haves,” but we have to pick and choose. I think going into with an idea helps us fine tune.

    1. Ha-ha. That’s kind of how I look at it too. Setting goals is hard work for me, and I always have so many things on my to-do list that particular item gets pushed to the back. But they help me. It’s a conundrum.

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