Writing Tip: Give Yourself Some Deadlines

Give yourself Deadlines and here’s the important thing… stick to them!

Deadlines are SO important, if you do not set realistic goals for yourself, you will find yourself falling behind. When setting deadlines, you are motivating yourself to accomplish small and attainable goals. There are two major premises to making deadlines work for you.

1. You need to have someone to keep you accountable.
Deadlines are great and all, but only if you have someone to be accountable to; if you are only accountable to yourself you are more likely to miss a deadline. It’s kind of like working out at the gym, you are more likely to meet your goals if you go with someone. So here’s some options: Find a friend or family member (who you trust) who would enjoy reading your stuff. Not only will it help you keep your deadlines but they might also give you some great feedback! If you don’t want to share your work quite yet, join a writing community where you can ask for encouragement in meeting your set deadlines.

2. You need to set REALISTIC goals.
This one is SO key. Do not set unattainable goals. When you set a goal that is practically impossible, it will be no surprise when you do fail and then you are only discouraged. Be kind to yourself and set realistic goals such as a certain amount of words per day, a certain amount of pages per week (even if it’s one page), or in my case, a chapter a month. By setting realistic deadlines you increase your probability of achieving your goals which will results in more self-esteem and motivation.

For instance, I know that I can get far more writing done during the summer than I can when I am burried by my school work. Knowing this, I set myself a huge challenge over the summer to write 80,000 words in 10 weeks and I hit every goal! At the same time, I know that I will most likely not see progress like that again until next summer. It’s all about knowing your limitations and abilities when setting deadlines.

What deadlines do YOU plan to set this week?

Happy Writing Everyone!

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