SMART Goals, Art, and New Years
Ah, New Years Eve, a time for sipping prosecco, watching Lord of the Rings until midnight (or ten o’clock, *ahem*), and setting goals for the upcoming year. I learned about SMART (Specific Measurable Attainable Realistic Timely) Goals while working in a corporate office, where they tended to be something like, I’ll complete four BS Reports each fiscal quarter.
Now, being the goal-oriented person that I am, I wondered if these could be applied to writing. Or more generally: Can SMART Goals be applied to the arts?
My concern in doing so is that I’ll end up putting all my energy into accomplishing the goal instead of making quality progress. That I’ll get so absorbed with reaching a targeted word count each day that I’ll stop focusing on what the words are. (I am going to track my word count by day, week, month, and year, but more out of curiosity…)
Still, I think the answer is yes. As long as they’re broad enough and more long term. It’s important to set goals, to know where you’re heading and put a little pressure on yourself with a timeline, but without risking the integrity of the art.
All that being said, here’s my list of writerly (SMART) goals for 2014:
- Finish my murder mystery
- Write two short stories
- Write one blog post per week
- Read all 66 of Agatha Christie’s detective novels (I know this is a reading goal, but reading is a critical part of writing).
What are your goals for this year?
What I’m reading: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
What I’m listening to: OneRepublic – Counting Stars
Leave a Reply