Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Goal Making


If I learned one thing on twitter yesterday (yes, twitter, the key to all knowledge) it was that making goals is good and breaking them is even better (Mmm chocolate mint cookies). No, wait, that’s not what I learned. I learned that making unattainable goals is bad (Natalie is full of sage wisdom). For example my goal to forego chocolate for a week was a bad, bad goal because chocolate is like a food group to me. It was a goal begging to be broken. My goal should’ve been to limit my chocolate consumption (or ONLY eat chocolate as Natalie also suggested).

One of my goals for many moons now has been to be better at making regular posts on my blog. Why has this been such a hard goal for me to keep? After all, I am a writer, and I love to talk about myself. Those two things alone should make me the world’s best blogger. The problem is that I make the goal and never give myself the structure I need to accomplish it. I just say, voila, make it so (I say this to myself, mostly in my head). So I was thinking about some of your blogs, especially those of you who are better at being consistent bloggers. And I noticed that a lot of you have scheduled days where you do certain things. Like Natalie does a sketch every Saturday, which I’m always anxious to see. Renee does photoshop Fridays that I look forward to every week. Kiersten generally does funny poems on Mondays. (Note to the aforementioned people: please do not feel pressured by my citation of your schedule to feel like you must now do these things forever. Although, if you don’t my whole concept of the universe [or at least blogosphere] might shatter.)

So, because I like to live on the edge (as evidenced by driving my car until the ‘miles 'til empty’ read 1. I know, it was daring.) I am going to make a goal again. A blog goal…with structure. I will write on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. And at least one of those days is going to be a themed day (still debating on what theme is). Like the Jack Sparrow (what? he's a real person) quote under my name suggests, my posts will probably be completely unhelpful, especially to anything writing related (like they always have been). If you want awesome advice on writing, go see Michelle, she is really good at helpful writing advice.

I think I’ve just discovered my theme with all this rambling: Maddeningly unhelpful advice Monday. Yes, that sounds very doable. Why not start off the week with Maddeningly unhelpful advice from me. I suddenly feel like my goal is attainable. Thanks for listening to me ramble. Man, this should’ve been Monday's post because I think it was a very unhelpful take on goal making.

16 comments:

  1. Sounds like a great plan. I like the MWF plan. It's generally what I do too, and W is set aside for book reviews. Monday used to be photo days, but I've been particularly uninspired since the summer. Maybe with all the fall color coming I can get back on track. Maybe I should set a goal. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Maddeningly Unhelpful Advice Mondays? That could be fun. It could be like a Dear Abby of sorts. Writers email you their problems and you provide insightful, funny and unhelpful advice :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'll tune in on Monday. Maddeeningly Unhelpful Advice Monday might be just what I need on a Monday morning.

    ReplyDelete
  4. My first thought when I saw this post was "what the heck does Jack Sparrow have to do with goals". now i understand. But I wouldn't call this advice unhelpful I to need to set goals for my blog and THis atleast has my gears turning.

    ReplyDelete
  5. There you go, that's a realistic goal. Giving up chocolate...goodness.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Kasie, did we meld into one person? Can I copy/paste this onto my blog and say I wrote it? Because I very well could have.

    I blog like I write--by the seat of my pants. My goal is to be structured. I admire interviews where writers talk about their SCHEDULE. They talk about it like it was commonplace. I think they are showing off. hmph. Still I aspire for routine.

    And chocolate? I gave that up once, or I thought I did, until someone pointed out to me that Count Chocula and mocha fraps have chocolate in them. Who wudda thought? So much for that.

    I can't wait for your themes. Monday sounds excellent.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I am very excited to hear from you three times a week, especially if you post more pictures of him.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Ha! Does sound very attainable! And don'tt limit yourself to writing advice. Unhelpful parenting advice is always very appreciated.

    ReplyDelete
  9. lol, I'll check it out for sure. :)

    P.S. Thanks for the shout out.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh, Megan's got a great idea. I'd totally submit a question for that.

    ReplyDelete
  11. The Monday Mumbo Jumbo sounds fun! :D

    Sometimes when I'm time crunched, it helps to write several posts at once and set them to automatically publish on a certain day/time.

    ReplyDelete
  12. lois, yes, you are another one who posts regularly that I am impressed with. And I love your book reviews.

    Megan, love it! Perhaps I will open it up for questions. My advice will be so unhelpful it will be maddening. :)

    Patti, what better way is there to start a Monday, right?

    Matthew, I'm glad I got your gears turning because I need more book reviews. And Jack Sparrow can be worked into any post, he's versatile like that.

    Natalie, you're right, this is much more realistic. :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Tricia, we are becoming one. It's all my reading of your crazy antics. :) And when I talked of giving up chocolate I immediately thought, 'does cereal count?' My husband love count chocula, btw.

    Jessie, I know, more pictures of Johnny Depp are always a good thing. :) Maybe one of my days can just be called: Drool with me. Where I write nothing, but post attractive people. LOL

    Corey, I'm very good at unhelpful parenting advice. Pretty much any advice they spews from me is unhelpful. I'm excited about this.

    Renee, no prob.

    Carrie, I would love to hear your question too. I bet it would give me lots of fun material to work with. LOL

    Angie, another "scheduled" consistent writer. That's good advice. I should write some ahead, that way when I'm out of time and can pull from the stores. See, you are full of helpful advice. Me, not so much. :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Awesome, Kasie! I don't set a schedule, nor do I do any themes. I post every Thursday on Lit Lab, but that's about as close to a schedule as I get.

    If I set a schedule, it won't happen, and I feel penned in. It's like planning what meals to cook every night of the week. Doesn't work. So what do I do?

    I just say I'll post at least 2 - 3 times a week, and I call it good. I also eat a lot of chocolate. That helps. :)

    Good luck! I can't wait to read more of your posts!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Oh, and for meals during the week, I just write down a few on the board, buy the ingredients at the store, and cook those things when we feel like them. I'm so strict. Hm-hm.

    ReplyDelete