Goals and Systems in 2020

So, we’re already over halfway through the first month of 2020. Often times, by now, people have become frustrated with their New Year’s Resolutions and have either given up completely or are ready to. And it’s completely understandable when, usually, we tend to expect too much of ourselves too quickly.

Change—real change—is about tiny steps toward an end. You’ve heard the expression the best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time? Very rarely do lifestyle changes happen all at once—at least the ones that last.

Goals and Habits

People don’t go from junk food addicts to Paleo experts overnight. If they try, often they fall off the bandwagon as their bodies start to react to the lack of carbs and sugar, which causes them to feel horrible. Couch potatoes don’t go from the couch to 5Ks overnight. If they did, they’d likely die after the first kilometer. (I know I would!)

I don’t say thesethings to discourage people from making goals or aiming to change their lifestyles. Instead, I want to encourage people to be realistic and be ready for the long haul.

New Year’s Resolutions are for the YEAR. That means we have 365 days to accomplish our goals. Want to run a 5K? Find one held in November/December, then start training for it a bit at a time. Want to ditch the junk food? Start by cutting eating out to 1-2 times a week and adding more water.

Then–as is almost always inevitable–if you slip, don’t chalk it all up to being a failure. Acknowledge the slip, pick yourself up, and start again tomorrow. You have a whole year to develop the habit!

Advice for Goals:

  • Goals are more like guidelines, they are not set in stone. Feel free to tweak them as you need to.
  • Don’t set unrealistic goals. Be honest with yourself—but don’t be afraid to challenge yourself either.
  • Follow up with your goals on a monthly basis to see what is working and what is not.
  • Break goals down into bite-size steps. Focus on the steps!
  • Goals should be PROACTIVE. This means that goals are something you have control over and are an action. “I want to lose weight” is neither something you have control over nor is it a specific action. “I want to run 2 miles a day,” on the other hand, IS something you have control over and is a specific action.

Use Your Systems!

Something I’ve garnered over the last year is an understanding of systems. Systems are the tools and habits you have in place to be successful in your endeavors. And, to me, they seem far less daunting than the actual goals.

Tools are stuff like calendars, apps, to-do lists, routines, etc. For instance, I use ToDoist, a website/app, as my to-do list for the different aspects of my life. It’s digital and it syncs across devices. I can divide my tasks between categories (personal, homeschool, business, Realm Makers…) and types of tasks (email, appointments, phone calls, etc.).

Some tools I use:

  • Google Calendar
  • My Brilliant Writing Planner
  • Habit tracker
  • Weekly box for my medicine
  • Morning Routine
  • Evening Routine
  • Menu Planning (I use Google Calendar)

Habits are actions we take on a regular basis to help get a specific result. I get up every morning at 5:45 a.m. This allows me time for quiet time with God and time to write before I jump into my day with the kids and homeschooling.

Other habits I have or aim to build this year:

  • Exercise 5x/wk after lunch/dinner (depending on the time of the year)
  • Evening Routine (to help me wind down so I’ll sleep better)
  • Reading 30 minutes every night before bed
  • Write 2,000 words/day, 6 days/wk

Our tools should support our habits to create the systems that help us reach our goals.

It is good to have an accountability partner or 2 to help keep you on track. This can be your spouse, if you both can be honest with each other without getting frustrated or offended. But I find it is usually easier to use someone who does not live with you. I have my Ladies of Spec, a mastermind accountability group, to help me out!

While there is a lot to enjoy this time of the year, I hope your goals are not causing you to become frustrated or discouraged. If they are, then maybe it’s time to focus more on systems and habits—the means—instead of the end goal. Build good systems, and those goals will fall in place more naturally.

What are some of your goals for 2020?

#SHINEBeyond in 2020

For me, the year 2019 was a year of change, a year of pain and frustration, and a year of unexpected realizations in all areas of my life. To be able to say that I am thankful for everything 2019 brought me shows how far I’ve come.

As I look forward to 2020, I am encouraged by what I see!

This new year holds a lot of promise, and I intend to embrace it with all I am. I’ve already started implementing changes and making plans.

One of those many changes is for me to get back into blogging! Yes, I know. It’s been awhile. Consistency has not been my strong suit for a long time. However…that’s all going to change. (More on that later…)

For now, I plan to blog once a week on a topic related to either my #SHINEBeyond brand or fiction fun. In February, Starlight Reviews will start popping up a couple of times a month. So, the topics will probably alternate weeks then.

In March or April, I’ll add on a guest post once a week. I’m debating between bringing back Confessions of a… series or Character Conversations (from a LONG time ago, these posts were written by a character or characters from fiction). What do you think? Do you have a preference? Let me know in the comments!

My passion for helping others #SHINEBeyond has only grown in the last year. I want more than anything for readers to find encouragement and hope within these pages. I want them to find adventure and possibility, dreams and purpose, motivation and…maybe even a character or 2 from my novels that reminds them of themselves or someone they know.

I hope you’ll join me on this journey we call life this year–not only here on the blog, but across my social media profiles. I aim to share life’s ups and downs, nuggets of wisdom, and more of the beauty that lives in each of us.

Writers, follow me on Twitter.

Readers, follow me on Instagram! I’ll be changing up a lot this year with a mix of fun #bookstagram posts and encouragement.

Writers and Readers, follow me on Facebook! This is my best mix of content to inspire and encourage–with a mad dash of speculative fun.

Until next time, I pray you are uplifted by these words. I pray your passions will show through as you aim to #SHINEBeyond in 2020 with me!

What are you looking forward to most this year?

Goals: November 2017

Another month has come and gone, and I’m standing her with a gaping look on my face. Cause … how? Like WHERE did October go? I vaguely remember something about Fall Break at the beginning of the month, then all of the sudden it was Halloween, and BAAM it’s November.

What happened?

I didn’t even have TIME to accomplish my goals for October. Okay, that’s probably a bit of an exaggeration, but it certainly didn’t feel like I had the time. And the Week of the Flu probably didn’t help either.

Seriously, I did nothing in reference to my goals set in October. I accomplished a lot, just not a lot of what I set forth to accomplish. So, my goals for November will look exactly the same.

 

November Goals

1. Finish 2nd edits on Armor of Aletheia. I was a little late getting the initial edits back to my editor, then she was a little late getting them back to me … And I actually did not even get them until about a week ago. Now I’m scrambling to get those done ASAP. Unfortunately, I have an edit for a client that must get done first. Hopefully that will be done tonight or tomorrow. Must. Do. All. The. Things!

2. Get caught up on marketing plans for AoA. So, in August, I sat down and mapped out the next few months of marketing plans in preparation for the release of AoA. I kept up for about a month … then fell behind. So, now I need to go through and get caught up on some 0f these. I’ve stepped back from some of my responsibilities in other areas in order to make some room in my schedule to do this!

3. I actually did start implementing a new schedule last month, and it seems to be working pretty well. I just need to tweak it a bit and be more consistent with it. The power hours for email and social media in the mornings are nice. Then being able to focus on school/family stuff the rest of the day until work time in the evening seems to work for me. However, we’ve started some new activities that are claiming Wednesday and Thursday nights …

4. I need to drink more water! Not just tea, but water. So, my goal is to drink at least 40 oz. of straight water in addition to my tea. The plan is to drink tea with meals and water in between. We’ll see how that works.

What about YOU? What are your goals for November?

Goals: October 2017

Ah, we are entering my favorite time of year again. October ushers in the beginning of fall and the preparation for the holidays season. Oh, how excited I am! Hello, October!

The kids and I are already making plans for the many things to do with pumpkins. My daughter already sketched out her kitty-bat she wants to carve on her pumpkin we’ll get later this month. I’m waiting it to cool off just a little bit more before I break out the apple cider. Mmm …

Of course, with a new month, we also need to set some goals. Who’s with me? It’s been awhile since I’ve posted my goals on this blog, so I’m not going to bother trying to recap. We’ll just start fresh and go from here!

October 2017 Goals

  1. Finish 2nd edits for Armor of Aletheia. As soon as I get the edits back from my editor, I need to get the novel cleaned up and ready to go back to her. At this point, I’ll also be sending the novel out to potential endorsers to see if we can lock in some people for the launch. I’ll be working for at least 2 hours a night once I get them back, plus 4-6 hours on Saturdays.
  2. I have a new schedule that I’m going to be trying out that will help me to focus on the family and homeschool during family time and on work during work time. I hope that I can get it to work! In this schedule, I’ll have a couple of power hours in the morning to get through email and social media stuff, but other than that focus on family/school stuff. In the evenings, then it’ll be work, work, work while my husband can watch the kids.
  3. Get caught up on marketing plans. Did you know Bellanok celebrates its first anniversary toward the end of this month? Yeah … there’s going to be a party. Plus, I have some stuff planned out that I was supposed to do in September for both Bellanok and Armor of Aletheia. Bah–this is what happens when you get sick. Don’t get sick.
  4. Speaking of health issues, my health has been on a bit of a roller coaster. I’ve been losing weight and leveling out my blood sugars, but there’s still a lot of work to do. My goal this month is to add more water by alternating my water and iced tea during the day. Plus, I’m going to add in a walk 3 times a week in the morning.

I think those are some pretty lofty goals for this month. There are a few other, more personal goals, but we’ll just leave these ones here.

What are your goals for October?

Leave your comment here and let’s check in with each other next month!

June 2017 Goals

Welcome to another bright, shiny month! Can you believe how fast May flew by? I still feel that the conference I went to the first weekend of May was last week.

May was pretty crazy for me. Fun, amazing–but crazy. I accomplished a lot, but none of what I set out to do. Odd how that happens sometimes. But that’s the thing about a new month–a chance to try again!

My Goals for June:

  1. Get into a routine where I can better balance work and homeschool. I already have my schedule laid out, so it’s a matter of getting everyone on board and sticking with it!
  2. I got my first round of edits for Aletheia back, so I need to get those done before vacation at the end of the month, if not sooner. I’ll continue getting up early in the morning to edit for a couple of hours.
  3. Do a shakedown and reorganization of my work layout. I’m going to be focusing more on social media and book marketing (instead of editing). So, there’s going to be a learning curve. Plus, I’ll be changing my daily focuses to reflect this change.
  4. Get my homeschool paperwork organized!
  5. The first step to getting my health under control is to plan better meals! My husband and I are working together to plan out menus and find meals that we all enjoy.

I’m going to print up these goals and hang them up by my desk. This way I can see them every day and remember where my focus should be.

What are YOUR goals for June, work or personal?

Confessions of an Optimist with Chronic Illness

It may sound dreamy to say that I’m literally typing this post while lying in bed, but here’s the reason: I slept very little last night and I woke up with pain all over my body.

Welcome to life with a chronic illness!

But I have one thing in my favor: God gave me a beautiful sense of optimism.

 

How Chronic Illness Works

Some days I am perfectly normal, with all the bounce and sparkle of my ENFP personality. I hike mountains, write books while chortling at my own mad genius, and try to see who I can bring a smile to.

Other days, I crawl into bed, shivering with unexplainable cold; crawling with pain; completely numb with exhaustion; sensitive to every light, smell, and sound; and overwhelmed by the idea of having to get up to go to the bathroom or get myself something to drink.

We’re still working on a full diagnosis, but right now the partial diagnosis includes babesia, a tickborne illness sometimes associated with Lyme Disease. With babesia, the nasty beasties hide out in muscles, blow up red blood cells, and wreak as much havoc as possible.

In 2012, when I first realized how sick I was, I struggled deeply with depression. Was this going to be my life? Would I ever have the energy to do things I loved? What if it interfered with my ability to have a family of my own someday?

Because of my chronic illness, I quit a job. I missed a chance to fly out for a visit with a friend. I cancelled on countless visits with friends. I lost a lot of opportunities because I knew I had no energy to commit to them.

The truth? I may never fully recover. My life is unpredictable, at the mercy of my body. My illness very well might affect my future family life.

But there’s more to the truth than just this grim reality.

 

How Optimism Works

God blessed me with a heart that sees possibility everywhere! And, though the partial truth is that chronic illness is hard, the whole truth is that it has brought me far more blessings than I could have imagined.

I’m optimistic about the future. Everybody has their own struggle. Mine happens to be chronic illness, so I’ve made it almost a game to find ways to live the most of every day God has given me.

So how does optimism bring joy to chronic illness?

  • Gratitude: Today, as I type in my bed, I am so grateful for my comfy bed. I am grateful I don’t have to work today. I’m grateful that my laptop is so conveniently portable. So many people around the world don’t have this level of comfort when they feel yucky. But I do! How’s that for cool?​
  • Focus: The things you give your energy to are the things you most care about. When you have limited energy, then you find out very quickly what those priorities are. For me, the priority is writing. Since 2012, I’ve published five science fiction and fantasy novellas and written several novels, all while riding the physical (and mental) rollercoaster. If I can do that, I can do anything!
  • Boundaries: I used to say yes to everything. Now I pick and choose my commitments. And you know what? It’s awesome. Every time I say “yes,” I can do so unreservedly and without resentment because I know I have thought through all the implications and know I can commit to it.
  • Pacing: In the proverbial tortoise and hare story, I’m naturally the hare. Zip! Zap! Then I take a break, and do it all over again. Now I am learning the benefits of being a tortoise. I used to write thousands of words a day. I don’t have the energy for that anymore, but hey! Doesn’t slow me down. I’ve actually gotten more serious writing done in the last few years because I’ve established a sustainable daily writing goal that I know I can stick to. Consistency really adds up over time! Who knew?
  • Resilience: This past summer, I had an episode in which I experienced two weeks of intense pain. My body gave me a few hours off every day to recover, and then I’d go right back to kneeling on the floor, rocking back and forth and sobbing in pain. That was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. Why? Because I know just how powerful I am now (with the Lord’s help). I survived it! This gives me perspective when I experience other hard things.

I could moan about how the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, but honestly, I’m too fascinated by the grass on my side of the fence. (Isn’t grass pretty? Have you ever stopped to think what the world would be without grass?) No matter what path your life takes, there are amazing things around the corner, if you keep your eyes open for them.

Yes, I’m chronically ill but so long as I stay chronically optimistic, I know I’ll be okay.

 

About the Author:

Yaasha Moriah believes that good fiction pulses with realism, honor, and invention, so that even fiction becomes true in some way to the reader. In 2015, Wings Beneath Water earned Silver Honorable Mention in the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future contest and is now available as a novella. Find her on Facebook and Twitter as Yaasha Moriah and visit her website at www.YaashaMoriah.com.

May 2017 Goals

I can’t believe it’s already May! The first 4 months of 2017 have flown by in such a blur, I can hardly remember anything that’s happened. Of course, a lot of that has to do with my medical issues. Ack! But enough about that.

May is a fun month for me because it’s my birthday month! I like to celebrate hobbit-style, so I have a bunch of giveaways, sales, and other fun coming up.

But first … let’s talk goals!

It’s been a few months since I had a goals post. That should tell you how disorganized I’ve felt. But, along with my health, I’m getting my life and work organized! I have a lot going on in my life between writing, editing, social media, homeschool, and regular life stuff. The more disorganized I am, the more stressed I get; the more stressed I get, the more apt to get sick I am; the more sick I am, the more disorganized I become. Vicious cycle!

I’m working with my doctor to get my health on track and working with my husband to get home life more organized. I will get on top of things!

In other news, I launched my first newsletter last Friday. My plan is to use this tool to keep everyone updated on all things fiction (mine and others) as well as adding in fun and encouragement. You know, typical Ralene. If you haven’t signed up yet, you should do so! I’ll be making an exciting announcement in the next issue!

My Goals for May:

  1. Get into a routine where I can better balance work and homeschool. I already have my schedule laid out, so it’s a matter of getting everyone on board and sticking with it!
  2. I got my first round of edits for Aletheia back, so I need to get those done before my birthday. That’s my goal. I’ll continue getting up early in the morning to edit for a couple of hours.
  3. Do a shakedown and reorganization of my work layout. I’m going to be focusing more on social media and book marketing (instead of editing). So, there’s going to be a learning curve. Plus, I’ll be changing my daily focuses to reflect this change.
  4. Get my homeschool paperwork organized!
  5. The first step to getting my health under control is to plan better meals! My husband and I are working together to plan out menus and find meals that we all enjoy.

So there are my goals for May. What about you?

 

What are your goals for May, work or personal?

 

Share your goals below so we can keep in touch. If you haven’t already, head over and like my Facebook page, which is where we’ll check in during the month.

Looking Ahead at 2017

busyThis post comes about a week late, but that’s okay. The kids and I were all sick last week and needed the time to recover. What a blessing that time was! But now we’re (mostly) recovered, and it’s time to embrace our time with renewed vigor.

Normally, in the week between Christmas and New Year, I take an evening to go off by myself and start considering my goals and such for the New Year. I take time to praise God for the stuff that happened in the previous year, and to pray about what’s to come. Then I start listing goals in different life categories:

Spiritual

Health

Relationships

Business

Education

Homeschool

Financial

(Most of these categories have sub-categories.)

I usually try to limit myself to 3 goals in each category. Then, each new month, I pick about 3 goals from different categories to work on. Even though I might have a few other goals during that particular month, those 3 are usually my focus.

 

Word of the Year

I could go through and list each goal for the year, but that would be at best cumbersome, at worst boring. I will say that most of the goals center around my word of the year.

to-michelle

Consistency has been something I’ve struggled with, especially given my health issues, for many years. I am always sick(ly), and I struggle to find the time to do everything when I’m in a perpetual state of catching up.

Inconsistency leads to more stress, more illness, more of all the bad things. In order to get myself off of this circle I seem to be riding, I have to break the cycle.

Of course, this is a big undertaking. I know that I cannot do it alone–I’ve tried time and again. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil 4:13), is definitely the Bible verse I’ll be clinging to this year (among others).

 

January Goals

So, what are my first few goals for 2017?

Health: I am focusing on menu planning and portion control as I aim to get my blood pressure under control. Each week, I’ll review my menu for the month and shop from that (cutting out most junk food). And with each meal, I’ll be sure my carb level falls within appropriate ranges.

Overall: Write out a new routine/schedule that will allow me to include all the necessary aspects of my life and business in a more orderly (less stressful) way. Be sure to include “me” to help me relax.

Business: Write 40,000+ words on Soter, the 2nd of the books contracted by Elk Lake Publishing (releasing in the fall, most likely). I will be writing 2,000 words in the evening after the kids are in bed.

I’m already plunging my way through the first 2 goals. Sadly, I haven’t even started on the 3rd goal, but I’m getting to it! I just have some catching up to do!

 

So, what are your goals for January? Do you have a word for your year?

Goals: November 2016

PIC1068506062It seems like on the first of every month, I can hardly believe that the old month is gone and the new one is here. Like I blinked and missed a whole 30 days. Yes, October flew by in a flash–but I did manage to accomplish a few things!

 

Last Month . . .

Although I didn’t  get around to doing it until about the middle of the month, I did schedule out a menu plan for the rest of the year, using gluten-free and dairy-free recipes. Now if I can just stick to it.

Bellanok did get finished, the Kindle version anyway. The paperback document just came to me a couple of days ago. I kind of gave a soft launch of the Kindle, but plan to make a big hooplah about the paperback release next week. It may be a few days later than I planned, though. Friday instead of Tuesday.

The rest of my goals didn’t really come to pass, and that’s mostly my fault, mishandling my time or too much time being sick. But never fear! A new month is here, and I can try again!

How about the rest of you who shared your goals in October?

Pam: *Finish revisions for my fantasy novel
*Write a short story for Travis Perry’s newest anthology
*Teach at a one day conference in Georgetown, DE on the 15th
*host a book event in my hometown on the 20th for Realmscapes
*plan and hold a Great Pumpkin party (it’s the 50th anniversary!)

Laura: *Host decluttering challenge & launch new product
*Finish painting baby’s room and move furniture in
*Publish one blog post per week and send weekly email newsletter

 

Tips for Goals:

Give yourself a reasonable amount of time to accomplish your goal, but do set a time. A deadline creates a sense of urgency and gives you a reason not to keep putting the task off forever.

 

November Goals:

1. Win NaNoWriMo for the first time. For those of you who are not writers, this is a competition to write 50,000 words in one month. In theory, it shouldn’t be too hard, but every time I have participated, life got in the way.

2. Finish the Realm Makers website by the end of next week.

3. Keep my husband and I on a gluten-free, dairy-free diet this month. Make use of the menu plan by looking at it every day, and even looking ahead a couple of days.

4. Have a successful book launch for Bellanok. I have some fun things planned, including a book tour, some giveaways, and more!

5. Plan for all the craziness in December. (Yeah, this is kind of an open-ended goal . . .)

 

So there you have it. My map for the month. Direction to keep me motivated.

Share your goals in the comments, and lets keep each other accountable! (I’ll be following up with you on the November goals post.)

Sign up for my newsletter so we can keep up with each other!

 

 

Goals: October 2016 (Plus Giveaway Winners!)

PIC1068506062We have now entered my favorite time of the year. Everything about October 1 thru December 31 sends delightful shivers through my body. Eee! Okay, I’ll calm down for now. As much joy as I get from these next 3 months, there’s still the matter of business and life.

Stay tuned at the end of the email for the winners of the giveaway!

September Goals

Last month, I had a wide variety of items on my goals list. Thankfully, I accomplished at least part of most of them. Did I confuse you there?

I did start getting up at 6 a.m. like I intended, but not every day like I wanted. Enough that I know that I like that routine and will continue to make it a priority.

My blood sugar is not under control yet, but it is a lot better. Taking my medicine and watching my portions has helped a lot. Now to rein the rest of it in and get those numbers to where they need to be!

I did plan a block schedule for my work. I’ve been working out the kinks and am excited to see how it works this month!

Obviously, I finished Bellanok and got it off to my editor.

The handbook from Realm Makers is done, and I got a jump start on the website, but it still needs work before we reveal it to the public. Soon, I hope.

So, I think September has been my most productive month of the year as far as goals go. I got a good jump on several projects and am excited to see what happens in the next 28 days!

How about those of you who shared your goals last time?

PAM: 1. finish revising my fantasy novel
2. plan and schedule some book events for Realmscapes
3. finalize everything for my fantasy picture book series, which a friend and I are indie publishing
4. attend an Artists in Residence weekend at Highlights
5. celebrate my granddaughter’s 10th birthday! “I’m gonna be double digits, Grandmom!”

CINDY: 1. Relocate to Iowa
2. Start my new job
3. Get the OCR text for A Suitable Arrangment settled
4. Do a couple marketing events (Book signing, a couple online things, etc)
5. Get busy on Christmas present crafts

GRETCHEN: 1. Finish my rewrite so I can plot in October for NaNoWriMo.
2. Keep up my morning quiet time.
3. Train for a half marathon the first weekend in November (my second one this year so continued training).

KELLIE: 1. Finish polishing book 1 before September 22.
2. Edit “The Lost Chapter”, which I plan to put up for free on my website in either October or November. (I’ve already got my other free chapters on there! That’s at least one August goal done!)
3. Battle that beast of a book 2. It needs a major rewrite.
4. Do all this around my three jobs. It’ll be tricky, but so far getting bits done on the commute to and from work and during lunch seems to be working.

 

Tips for Goals

Make your goals challenging, but achievable. They should not be so easy that you can achieve them with little to no effort. But if you make them too hard, you will find more discouragement than motivation.

 

14516388_1109048352477241_2121187037269415336_nOctober Goals

1. I need to work in some low carb recipes to help my husband and I get our blood sugar under control. This week, I’m going to plan out the month of recipes so that I can start shopping with purpose rather than on impulse. Though I don’t think I can get rid of pumpkin rolls . . .

2. Get Realm Makers website up and running while planning out some reveals for October and November. I need to get the website done this week so we can start adding the new stuff!

3. Plan and execute the launch of Bellanok as a complete ebook and paperback. (If you’d like to help, let me know!) I know there will be a blog tour, an online launch party, and other fun stuff. Yay!

4. Prepare for NaNoWriMo! I already know the story I’ll be writing, I just need to do some outlining and character sketching and all that jazz.

So, there you have it! All my goals and only 28 more days. With God, all things are possible!

Share your goals in the comments, and lets keep each other accountable! (I’ll be following up with you on the November goals post.)

Sign up for my newsletter so we can keep up with each other!

 

thankyou_circles_noto_email_us-main-_cb268957429_Giveaway Winners

A huge thank you to all of you who participated and helped to share the giveaway. I always have so much fun organizing these kinds of things. I won’t keep you in the dark any longer. The winners are as follows:

Heather S. won 9 Strategies to Build & Grow Your Author Platform.

Gabrielle Compolongo won Heir of Hope.

Sarah Grimm won the $20 Amazon Gift Card.

Congratulations, ladies! If you would just email me your physical addresses, I’ll get the books out to you.

Have a fabulous October, everyone!