The start of the year is the perfect opportunity to plan for the year ahead. If you’re lucky enough to have had a break from your laptop (or still be on holiday), tap into your new-year energy with fresh eyes and a clear mind to set your 2023 goals.
But we’re here to remind you even the most energetic, passionate and motivated authors need a strategic plan to reach their goals. It’s one thing to sit down and write your goals for the year; it’s another to achieve them. You can have all the best intentions, but if you don’t have an actionable plan or set timeframe, you’re more likely to find yourself at the same point in twelve months. Signing up to platforms like our The Daring Author Community on Patreon, where we do weekly goal check-ins and monthly plan-with-me sessions, can help keep authors on track.
Whether your vision board includes streamlining business processes, hiring a virtual assistant, establishing better financial structures, promoting your books on Tik Tok, or improving your writing skills, we want you to tick everything off your list. That’s why we’re sharing the proven strategy that’s helped us grow year after year. Grab your notepad, pen, and imagination; it’s time to create fail-proof goals.
Follow these three steps to make your dreams a reality
- Make time and write down your goals
Goal setting doesn’t have to be complicated, and you don’t need to block out days, book a trip away or buy fancy notebooks. Keep goal-setting sessions brief, set a timer for 30 minutes and jot down whatever comes to mind. If you’re struggling for inspiration and need help figuring out what you want or which direction to go, use our simple plug-and-play goal template:
Prompted template – By the end of (add date), I want to (what do you want to accomplish)
Goal Examples
- By the end of this quarter, I want to grow my Instagram following to 1,500 followers.
- By the end of this year, I want to finish my first novel and have it ready to publish
It’s also helpful to separate your goals into specific segments, e.g. marketing, financial, business and writing targets.
And you’ll love our recent blog article if you’re looking for more goal-setting inspiration. It has plenty of goal-planning prompts and covers everything from financial targets to lead generation and writing goals.
- Have clear strategies to achieve your goals
Does your goal setting resemble scribbling down your hopes and dreams on the back of a napkin, only to be found next year under the couch? This section’s for you! While the first step is making time to write down your goals, the next step is creating a plan to achieve them. Having actionable steps and strategies will dramatically increase your likelihood of success. And if you get easily distracted, it will help you stay “on track” and set your day-to-day priorities.
A simple excel spreadsheet with three columns is our favourite way to keep track of and manage our goals.
Column 1 – Write down your goals
Column 2 – Strategies/how you will achieve your goals
Column 3 – Deadline/timeframe to complete your goals
Examples of strategies
Goal: By the end of this quarter, I want to grow my Instagram following to 1,500 followers.
Strategy: Set aside 4 hours every second Thursday afternoon to brainstorm, create and schedule 8 x IG posts and captions.
Alternative strategy: Hire a virtual assistant to brainstorm, create and schedule 16 x IG posts and captions each month.
You can use one Excel sheet to track your goals or break your goals into quarters using four separate sheets. At The Daring Press, we’re huge fans of quarterly business planning; it’s an opportunity to check in on your business to see what’s working or needs to change to achieve our goals.
- Set realistic deadlines
We live in a society that thrives on instant gratification. It’s natural to desire quick achievements but remember to set realistic deadlines for the best chance of success. Goal setting is a balance between having a sense of urgency and not putting too much pressure on yourself. The ideal timeframe will depend on your personality; if you procrastinate, you may prefer shorter deadlines. While if you’re someone who often feels overwhelmed by too many tasks, add a week or two to your initial deadline.
Additional tips to achieve your 2023 goals
- Keep your goals somewhere easily accessible
Ideally, keep your goals where you can see them daily, so they’re always top of mind. That way, when you’re about to start a task, you can ask yourself, “is this helping me achieve my goal?”
- Make goals specific, authentic and relevant to your business
You should always have goals aligned with your values and vision. While others’ dreams may inspire you, remember to make yours specific and unique to you!
- Be realistic and set small achievable goals
While you may dream of being a New York Times best-selling author, if you’re starting your writing career, leave this off your goal list for the time being. While it’s great to have aspirations, it’s essential to ask, “how achievable is this right now?”
- Don’t forget to celebrate
What’s the point of all your hard work if you don’t take the time to celebrate? While each quarter is an opportunity to evaluate and refine your strategy, it’s also the perfect time to reflect on and celebrate your wins.
Is your goal for 2023 working with The Daring Press?
Love that for you (and us)! We love ambitious business owners ready to delegate tasks and ask for help. You may be just starting your author journey, have published several books, or looking to scale your business.
We know you want to make 2023 the best year yet for your author business, and we want to help you. If you need assistance marketing your author business, improving your writing or taking mundane tasks off your to-do list, we’ve got you covered! Book a complimentary discovery call today to see how we can help you make 2023 the best year yet! Or sign up to our The Daring Author Community on Patreon for weekly goal check-ins and monthly planning sessions to help keep you on track.