Normally, I would have shared my New Year’s goals during the first week of January rather than the last. But if we learned one thing from 2020, it’s that planning for uncertainty is necessary.

While flipping a calendar page won’t automatically make things better, a new year provides a sense of hope, a fresh start. This year, probably more than ever, we need that hope. But let’s be realistic. Hope doesn’t get things done. You still have to take action.

While there will still be a lot of uncertainty this year, I am going to focus on controlling things I can control. There will be obstacles from the outside world, but I can still keep working on my goals.

My One Word

Every year, I chose one word to serve as my focus. This year, I decided that my One Word will actually be WORD(S). This kind of feels like cheating a bit, but a focus on words is important to me on several levels this year.

1. God’s Word – Spending daily time reading the bible and/or a guided devotion
2. My Words – Be more intentional about my writing in order to complete projects. This means scheduled writing time and limiting distractions while I’m working.
3. Others’ Words – Listen to others through civil discussion and diverse books. I want to learn from others through real conversations, not talking points or memes. I want to read books from different genres and authors. On social media, I want to engage with those who discuss opinions without attacking or instigating fights.

My 2021 Goals

Writing Goals

My writing goals for 2021 come down to one thing – FINISH! I have multiple projects in progress, some I’ve been working on in short bursts for years. I want 2021 to be the year I finally finish them.

1. First Novel – I am working through the second draft of my book. I have to rewrite quite a bit that I know was missing from the first draft. But once that’s done, I can focus on editing and eventually publishing. Most likely I’ll self-publish, but I might test the traditional market a bit first.
2. NaNoWriMo – In 2018, I completed the NaNoWriMo challenge with the first 50,000 words in a new book. It’s far from complete, but I love the story and characters. I want to at least finish the first draft. I’ll mostly likely use this year’s NaNo month to start the second book in the series I envision with the main characters.
3. Write To Learn – I want to explore different types of writing besides fiction. While I hope to submit some pieces for contests or possible small publications, these will mostly be for fun and to help me grow as a writer. This will include things like more poetry, short stories, and some non-fiction or academic based essays.

Health Goals

I won’t go into details here because 1) I am not a doctor or nutritionist, and 2) I believe health goals are about finding what works for you, not a one-sized-fits-all diet or training program. What I’m doing isn’t necessarily what you should be doing.

1. Nutrition – My focus this year is on both the quality of what I eat and when I eat. I’m not doing a diet or any specific plan. It’s about balance for me. It’s about eating quality food, with occasional treats, and eating when I’m actually hungry, not mindless snacking while watching TV or grabbing something when I’m bored.
2. Activity – The focus here is overall movement, not a full-on training program or going to the gym a certain number of days. I’m not worried about becoming a marathon runner or being able to flip tractor tires. It’s about keeping my joints and muscles strong now that I’m firmly in the middle-age stage of life.
3. Water and Caffeine – For many years, I drank almost nothing but pop (or soda depending on where you live). While I have cut back significantly, I want to focus on drinking a lot more water and a lot less caffeine. I will have coffee or tea occasionally, but I want to completely cut out pop. (So long, Mountain Dew and Dr. Pepper.)

Other Goals

Writing and health are my two primary goals for 2021. But there are some other things I want to accomplish. These are fun goals, things I want to do for personal enjoyment or need, or for a little extra income.

1. Read at least 35 books. I actually hope to have a lot more, but this is my baseline. I count all books – physical, eBooks, and audio. Although the brain processes information differently between actually reading or listening to a book, you’re still consuming the content. So it counts!
2. Finish decluttering and organizing my apartment. I started some things to kill time during pandemic shutdowns. Now, I want to finish those because the older I get, the more I realize having an organized space makes me more creative and productive. With living in a small apartment, every inch of space matters.
3. Open Book Creations. I want to start an Etsy shop, or some other form of sales site, to hopefully make a little money from my paintings and other creative projects. During the first quarter, I will focus on building up an inventory of projects so people can see different designs.

Planning For 2021

I still prefer using physical planners as opposed to online calendars or apps. Yes, they take ups more time and space. But as a visual person, I like having everything laid out in one place. And really, it gives me an excuse to pull out my markers, stickers, and washi tape.

Last year, I started using different planners to track different activities. While 2020 meant a lot of plans changed, I still like the idea of using different books to track individual goals. A single planner doesn’t allow me to customize things for personal needs and goals.

So here’s how I’m planning and tracking my goals for 2021:

• Daily Planner – Since I use customized pages, I have a refillable binder for this. Right now, I’m using a regular sized basic three-hole binder. But I think for next quarter, I’ll go back to the smaller A5 size. It’s a little easier to manage. The pages include traditional sections – hourly schedule, notes, etc – but also include sections for goal setting and weekly reviews.
• Writing Planner – I use a full-sized traditional planner for this. The monthly layouts help me track long-term projects. And the daily spaces let me make notes for specific things I need to work on that day during my writing sessions.
• Household Planner – I use another commercial planner for this since it mostly involves tracking dates and short notes. I use this for things like paying bills and budgeting, shopping lists, and planning for any special events or vacations. I like to keep these separate from my daily planner because these aren’t things I need to see everyday.

**What are your goals for 2021? How do you like to plan and track your goals?**

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WELCOME! Thank you for subscribing. I look forward to getting to know you. I hope you'll find the information here helpful. I believe that everyone has a creative side, but all too often, that sense of creativity gets lost in the midst of careers, family, and general adult responsibilities. As I work through my own creative journey, I will share insights from education, business, and writing to help you reignite your creative spirit. If you have any comments or questions, I'd love to hear from you. In the meantime, feel free to check out my site to read more about me and past articles. Attached is your free download of 30 Days of Creative Inspiration to help you get started. Happy creating! Melanie Glinsmann

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