Inspired by a post from The Greater Good Science Center* at the University of California, Berkeley, today we’re guiding you through five golden questions or guidelines to ask yourself when you’re setting your 2021 writing / author business goals.

Be warned – this is a different approach to the usual SMART goal systems, but it really resonated with us, especially after 2020. We’ve come into the New Year probably like a lot of people – more intentional and aware of how we want to spend our time and what’s REALLY important to us. For us, it looks quite different to how we felt this time a year ago and we’ve adapted this especially to suit the writing life whether full time or part-time. So lets dive in…

“Even if it feels like all you’re doing is trying to survive, these questions may help you gain a sense of control amid the uncertainty.”

GOLDEN QUESTION 1: What do you want to take with you when this is all over? Reflect on what HAS / IS working for you.

GOLDEN QUESTION 2: What are some aspirational goals that you could set for yourself? “Identify where can you do better despite the pandemic (and everything else). The goal is not to add more pressure to an already difficult time, but to identify goals that could help you feel better and have more energy at the end of the day.”

GOLDEN QUESTION 3: What new habit have you wanted to get into for a while now?

GOLDEN QUESTION 4: How can you invest in yourself? This is a GREAT one especially for women who are often handling the lion’s share of the emotional labour and the child / homeschooling / working / caregiving roles.

“Remember, the best resource that you have for making a contribution to the world is YOU. When that resource is depleted, your most valuable asset is damaged. In other words: When we underinvest in our bodies, minds, or spirits, we destroy our most essential tools for leading our best lives.”

GOLDEN QUESTION 5: What do you want to feel more of in 2021? For many of us, we want to feel less overwhelmed and MORE at peace or in control. This question is asking us to identify what behaviours or habits have in the past elicited the EMOTION that you are looking for?
Maintenance habits (like doing daily writing sprint, emptying your inbox each week, removing social media apps from your phone, leaving your phone out of the bedroom at night etc) may make you feel less overwhelmed.

NEXT STEPS:

Have you already listed your goals or resolutions for the upcoming year?
Before you start whipping yourself into action, consider your ANSWERS TO THE GOLDEN QUESTIONS FIRST. Look at your initial goals and then DELETE the ideas you have for your writing goals, habits or new years resolutions that simply AREN’T realistic or that your heart isn’t in.

Basically: ELIMINATE THE “SHOULDS!”

Setting goals and habits should make you feel happier, more at peace, healthier and more connected to those around you – they should not, especially in the time we’re currently in, be a tool of self-flagellation.

So be kind to yourselves, maybe journal or discuss these 5 questions with your family, friends or writing peeps and really take the answers to what makes YOU happy and at peace into account when you’re refining your goals for 2021. Good luck!

*Read the article here:

https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/why_new_years_resolutions_matter_more_in_a_pandemic?fbclid=IwAR2V2sBJwXJchQ8i6eU2Xbq9TioEoz-fGhtZCIp1tmHRBN-9m-vDdGaRDKw

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