There was a time in my life, not too long ago, where every time I had goals for a quarter ready to go a week ahead of time, before the quarter even begins.
Those days seem to be a dream though now. Because here we are, April 6th, and all I have for goals is a list of books I want to read and a deadline I have to finish this draft of Project Whisper, which I will not hit. I think back to 2021-2022 when I lived alone and had all the time to set those goals.
These days, I'm writing goals down on random sticky notes that get swept up two days later when I frantically try to clean my desk.
For so long, I've done quarterly goals based on the HB90 System, which just has you set goals based on three categories that you decide. It's tailored toward authors but you can apply the rules around it toward anything. And because I did it so long, even if I don't sit down and run through the entire course every quarter, I still think about different goals through that lens of three main goals and breaking down those goals into projects. And because I've done that so much over the last few years, that even now when I haven't sat down to do it, I still have those three ideas of goals for the quarter.
So, let's go over them as I settle on them. Seriously writing these down is going to be me deciding these in real time.
Goal One: Project Whisper
I have three projects in this goal with deadlines associated with this. I'm currently working on the second draft, which is partly a rewrite, partly a shuffle of some scenes and just some editing of other scenes. My original goal was to have this draft done by April 21st, the day after Easter but unless the second half of the book needs less edits than the first part, which is possible, I think it'll take me some extra time. So my goal is to have this draft done by end of April.
I want to start a third round of edits/rewrites in mid-May and hope to have it done by the end of the quarter, by July.
Goal Two: Focus on Marketing
So much of this book is a little bit of a secret, so it's hard to market that book and I'm slowly walking away from marketing my backlist. With the goal of this book to be celebrating my ten years as a published author, I really feel like the future of my marketing is going to start with this book. But I want it to be a surprise so it's hard to share snippets, but I do have one I that I shared a couple of weeks ago on Instagram.
I've also been sharing quotes on Substack, which you can read here. Given the things Meta has done, I'm still a little hesitant to share quotes there, but I guess it probably doesn't matter - they'll still find a way to steal it.
The other part about marketing is building a community. Man, can I be honest? I hate that concept "build a community." As a loner introvert who floated around friend groups in school but was never actually part of one, I don't know what being part of a community really feels like. I just have my individual friends that I have increasingly failed to check in with (and I'm sorry, cause some of you are reading this).
But if I want to be an author full time, I have to figure that out at some point, right? A community of people who want to read my books, multiple books, books I continue to write and publish. It's a mountain to climb but I don't even feel like I've been suiting up to climb lately.
Goal Three: Find a new day job
It feels weird to be writing this because I feel like it's a tad tacky to be employed and be like "I'm looking for a new job!" But it's true. I've been in sales for the last six years and it's time to get out. The problem is, I've been in sales/customer success for so much of my post-college career, I don't know what else I would be good at. So in between editing, I need to figure out what I want for a day job.
Goal Four: Pour Back into Myself
I know the point of HB90 is to have three goals, but I'm hoping goal 3 is just a one quarter thing (I realize it probably won't be). But I really need to also take care of myself. I have neglected any of my needs besides the basics like eating and showering and taking my thyroid meds. I've talked before about how I feel like I've been stuck surviving the past few years, and I want to thrive. And that starts with taking care of myself so I can take care of the things that matter to me, like my writing, my relationship, and my health.
So, I guess those are my goals for Q2. We'll see if I can get my kanban board up by next week (if I can, I'll share a photo).
Whether you do set goals or not, I hope you are staying sane in these insane times and take a moment to just breathe.