We all have goals whether we a conscious of them or not.  Every time you write a list of things you have to do, you are goal setting.  When you verbally share your dreams or plans with someone, you are establishing goals. 

However, setting goals for a larger project takes more forethought.  I have no idea who came up with this material, because I learned it many years ago in school. 

Good goals are structured. They are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely.   We set goals for ourselves all the time and never breakdown the mechanics to see if that goal is going to be successful.  Okay, say you are out of milk.  Your goal is to pick up milk some time during the day.  

Specific:  Pick up what?  Milk.
Measurable:  How much?  Whatever suits your needs.  Say one gallon.
Attainable:  Yes, as long as you can remember to do it.
Realistic:  Yeah, you do it several times a month.
Timely: Okay, you need to do it today if you want to make a cake for junior’s birthday.

The goal is simple, so therefore, you don’t have to break it down like this.  However, on bigger goals, breaking down and analyzing the goal identifies what has to be done by when. You then become more focused on achieving the goal.

Let’s review what each of these components are:

Specific:  You have a greater chance in accomplishing your goal if you can identify the goal using the six W questions journalist use in the top couple paragraphs of their stories.  Who are we talking about?  What is it that you hope to accomplish?  Where is it going to take place?  When exactly will it take place or when will the goal be completed?  You might need to establish a time line.  Which identifies restraints or requirements needed to execute the actions toward completing the goal.  Why motivates you to take action.  Here you give reasons and benefits of your goal.

Measurable:  You need to establish concrete criteria for measuring your progress and the steps toward completing the goal.  Tracking target dates is a good example.  It can keep you moving forward and motivated.

Attainable:  When you identify goals, you start putting together an action plan.  You begin to understand the resources necessary to achieve goals and either learn new skill sets, if necessary, or find others to help you.  Is this goal attainable?  Can you achieve this goal by yourself or will you need to solicit help from others?

Realistic:  Is your goal realistic?  If you have never published, is it realistic that you will land a writing assignment from Cosmopolitan or Smithsonian magazines?  Highly unlikely, but not impossible.  This example is more realistic for someone who has published in similar publications or has relevant knowledge and writing experience on a particular subject.  If you had a goal to write for major magazines, you would have to do some ground work first.  You might analyze back issues to see what kinds of articles are published.  Who are the target audiences?  What is the magazine’s tone?  What would they be looking for?  Then, you would have to try to get published in more local, lesser known publications to beef up that credential that you should be writing for so and so magazine.

Timely:  Goals should have a time frame.  This is important because without deadlines, goals, especially larger ones, can get derailed.  Time frames force your brain to focus on the tasks at hand.  The pressure to achieve within a set duration keeps the project moving forward. 

My short term goal is to write a short story within the next 30 days.  My long term goal is to begin my novel.  My plan is to complete the first draft of my novel by this time next year.

What are your writing goals for 2008?   They say that writing your goals down is one step closer in accomplishing them.  So, if you feel like sharing, leave a comment.