A strategy is an action plan of what you want to achieve and how. It defines where you want to see yourself in the long-term and how you are going to use your resources, skills and competencies to achieve that.
― Pooja Agnihotri
Your action plan is your roadmap. It helps you get the wheels in motion, and it steers you toward long-term success: consistent, intentional practice. This is your path to creating and sustaining healthy habits that fuel you to keep going.
― Melissa Steginus
Dreams without deadlines are dead in the water. Deadlines are really lifelines to achieving our goals.
― Mark Batterson
A few weeks ago I talked about setting goals to “stay in the light” and I think it’s about time I came up with my plan of action for this. An action plan outlines precisely how you’re going to accomplish your goals. And as I’m figuring out my plan of action, I’m realizing that first I’ll need to better define my goals.
Simply put, a goal is a dream with a deadline. Not only is it a vision of the future, it’s a vision that is time-sensitive. And this is one of the things I fall short on. I have all kinds of lists of things I want to accomplish, but none of them have deadlines.
Without a deadline, your work is never over. The power of deadlines leads your work to completion.
― Thomas Vato
I find this is true. I tell myself that I want to edit An Elemental Spirit and get it out there, but because I haven’t set a deadline for it, nothing’s getting done. Look how long it took me to finish Magical Mayhem. There was no deadline, so there was no rush to do it.
Frankly, I’ve always worked better under a deadline, and you’d think I’d know this by now. Have to get my poetry post finished for Wednesday? No problem. Having that deadline helps me make it a priority. The granddaughter’s ball dress needs to be done by Wednesday so she can try it on? All it takes is working at it in stages and it gets done on time.
You know what folks? I think I’m having a epiphany here.
An action plan is useful for anyone who needs a step-by-step planning process. When you create one, you’re detailing exactly what actions you need to take to reach your goal.
Action plan for granddaughter’s dress: 1. Buy fabric. 2. Figure out pattern. 3. Cut material. 4. Sew bodice first. 5. Sew in invisible zipper. 6. Sew skirt. 7. Have granddaughter try on bodice to check fit. 8. Make adjustments. 9. Sew skirt to bodice. Done.
By breaking it down into these steps, I reached my goal. But do all goals need an action plan to accomplish them? I think it depends on the goal. Something like, “Write new poem by Wednesday” can’t be broken down into steps. I just need to sit down and write. But something like, “Edit Elemental Spirit” could, theoretically at least, be broken down into steps: create Ilezie prophecy; figure out journal entries from archival records; re-write beginning; edit the body of the book.
Maybe the steps aren’t as impressive as the action plan for sewing the dress, but they’re steps that need to be taken, and in that order. I’ve just been flitting from one step to another and back again, getting nothing done. I need to sit down with a calendar and figure out my deadlines. For instance, if I want the book finished to be released in the new year, then I have a six month deadline over all, which can be broken up into two month step-by-step deadlines.
While an action plan seems more conducive to big goals than little ones, I still need to start setting deadlines for my smaller goals. And I need to make a weekly writing “to do” list when I write this post because half of the stuff I say I’ll do on here doesn’t get done because I simply forget I was going to do it. Out of sight, out of mind. But a list, especially a list taped to my lap desk, would help me considerably.
So goals, deadlines, and plans of action. Guess we know what I’ll be working on this week.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
WORDAGE REPORT
THE WEEK IN REVIEW
I don’t really have a word that describes last week. Roller coaster maybe? It was certainly up and down.
Even though I didn’t get much accomplished writing-wise other than blog posts, it was a fairly busy week. I caught up on a few things and made not one, but two batches of jam – haskap berries that I bought, and raspberries that I picked myself.
I squeezed my poetry post in between a road trip with my stitchery group and an outing with the hubby to go see the new Indiana Jones movie – excellent movie, by the way. And a most satisfying wrap-up to the series.
I spent an entire afternoon deciding which pioneer woman costume to buy from Amazon for another stitchery event at Lang Pioneer Village at the end of August. So many to choose from! My top two favorites were both made from 100% polyester. I wouldn’t have lasted half a day in either of them, what with synthetic, non-breathable fabric and my aversion to heat. But my third choice was a more reasonable 100% cotton and comes with a matching bonnet.
So . . . lots of stuff to keep me busy, but very little of it had to do with writing. Although I did spend an entire day in my office. I guess that’s progress.
NEW WORDS:
1600+879+229+835=3,543
DOWN 176 – words from last week
Still down a bit, but not as much as last week. The only time I felt rushed was for my poetry post because I had to squeeze it into a relatively short space of time.
I’ve been keeping up with my morning pages, but other than getting me into the habit of starting my day with 15 minutes of writing, I’m not sure they’re helping any. I’ve never actually read the book the idea came from, but I think I’m going to. Flipping through it, I see that there are other exercises as well. Couldn’t hurt, could it?
Goals For Next Week:
Get my blog posts written and maybe a few other words as well.
EDITING:
0 hours
So . . . I don’t know what it is with me and the whole editing thing, but I’m not taking it off my list because I will get to it eventually.
Goal For Next Week:
Get to work on Elemental Spirit or some other piece that’s collecting dust.
POETRY:
I did actually have my form picked out early last week, but it was a combination of two other forms I hadn’t done yet, so I wanted to do them first to use as a reference. So I started one of the other two forms, but I was taking too long with the example poem so I switched to the simpler of the two forms. Not only was I able to get it done with time to spare, I really liked my example poem.
Goal For Next Week:
Get the other form ready to share.
CRAFTING:
Getting the baker’s rack set up does not seem to be a priority with me because I never even gave it a thought last week.
My stitchery group met up at a home based needlework supply store last Tuesday where we spent the day sitting around a long table stitching and gossiping. I started working on one of the stitchery kits and ended up quite pleased with my work. I also managed to do a bit more of it during the week.
I left my sewing machine out after finishing the granddaughter’s dress, and I actually have the urge to do a little sewing for myself. Namely, a couple of skirts for the fall. I thought briefly about making my costume for the trip to Lang Pioneer Village, but I don’t think it would have been any cheaper than buying one. For sure it would be less frustrating.
Goal For Next Week:
Continue on my sampler and the kit I started. Maybe check out my patterns and material stash for possibilities.
WHAT I’M READING:
I finally updated my Goodreads and I’m 8 books ahead on my pledge to read a book a week this year. It would have been 10 books ahead, but two of the books I read I read previously – I knew they sounded familiar. ;-)
In tree books I read Legacy, by Nora Roberts, and I’ve made a good start on The Boy in the Rain, by Stephanie Cowell.
On the Kindle, I finished Black List, by Lynn Raye Harris, and I’m halfway through A Hacker, Vampire, and Chimera Walk Into a Bar, by R.K. Munin.
Goal For Next Week:
Keep up the good reading habits.
THE WEEK AHEAD:
I refuse to let myself be ruled by the weather any longer. So no matter what the weather is like in the week ahead, I’m determined to get some writing done. The day I spent in my office last week? It was pouring rain all day. So I’ve proved I can ignore the negative influence of the weather.
As well, I’d really like to at least get a start on some editing. I’ve been dragging my heels over it way too long, but it’s kind of out of sight, out of mind. I don’t have it right in front of me, so my mind just moves on to other things. Maybe I should try printing out at least a section of Elemental Spirit so I can’t ignore it.
This week’s poetry form is actually done, except for the example poem. And oh, gee, the example poem will also double as my poemwork for an upcoming poetry group meeting. Funny how things like that just work out.
But something else I’d like to start thinking about again, as far as poetry goes, is a poetry book. When I was at one of the poetry workshops at Writersfest, I made some notes about themes for a poetry book or two, and I need to look them up and maybe start going through my poems. And I just realized I forgot all about sending my invented form off for consideration. Guess that goes on the list for this week as well.
I tried to limit my Kindle reading to riding the stationary bike, and it mostly worked, but I got impatient to finish the book I’d been plugging away at all week. Then yesterday I wasn’t feeling well, so I started a new book on my Kindle and I was halfway through before I realized it. This week I’d like to slow it down a bit and focus on the tree book I started.
I may not be close to being back on track, but I think I’m at least moving in the right direction.
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