Planning A Productive Year

Some people call me the Queen of Organization. I try! Because when it comes to the writing life, if you can’t keep track of your ideas, your stories, your submissions, rejections, what’s edited, what needs editing, what needs to be sent back out or queried…it can get a little hectic!

So, as I set up my planner for 2021, I thought I’d share my strategy.

This is a bit of an update from my post last year on using the Kanban method. I’ve streamlined things a little, but I’ll share how I sat down this past weekend and spent about 3 hours getting most things organized.

In A Nutshell:

1. Write down all Goals for the year
2. Categorize by type
3. Break down Goals into Tasks
4. Schedule Tasks to specific dates
5. Keep track of accomplishments in Monthly Check-In

STEP ONE: WRITE DOWN YOUR GOALS

When I sat down to record all the things I want to do this year, I literally wrote a laundry-list of items. No order. Just as-I-think-of-it tasks. Which is AWESOME but what good is one long list with no structure?

STEP TWO: CATEGORIZE BY TYPE

So, after the easy part of making the list, the real work begins. And for me, that meant categorizing those tasks. Mine went into 1 of 4 categories:

1. Write
2. Publish
3. Craft (aka writing craft – learning)
4. Misc.

I used this Yearly Goals worksheet to categories the main goals – just a point-form thing with a space to write which quarter I might work on said goal.

STEP THREE: BREAK DOWN GOALS

Okay, so now that I have my main goals figured out, I need to plan how I will achieve each goal.

Out comes the Monthly Goals worksheet, where I break down all the goals for that month into TASKS

Ex. Original Goal: Finish novel revisions in January.

Tasks: Edit Ch 1, Edit Ch 2, etc.

So, I create a list under each Goal with all the tasks I need to do that month. I will check these off as I complete them.

To finish my novel revisions, I want to edit at least 2 chapters a day (because honestly I want to finish these revisions in 2 weeks, if possible)

STEP FOUR: SCHEDULE TASKS

After I fill in the Tasks I need to complete each Goal, I transfer those to specific days in the Monthly View of my planner, adding in any new tasks that have come up.

Things may move and shift but having at least some semblance of a schedule helps so much.

PLAN YOUR WEEK

Now that all my tasks for the month are in the calendar, I can sit down on a Sunday and create my weekly layout.

I know this may seem redundant, so you could simply work off your Monthly View calendar and use your Weekly View for new tasks or reminders that have popped up since you laid out your month. You could even use it as a journal, talking about your day – or skip the Weekly View altogether!. Whatever works for you!

THE BENEFITS OF A PLAN

I find writing things down and ONLY focusing on what you need to do on any given day helps SO MUCH. I started to feel overwhelmed by all my goals. Trying to remember everything and flitting from task to task meant I was getting nothing done.

This way you have a plan in place, a targeted approach and by focusing on each step, you get much more done.

That doesn’t mean deadlines don’t change. Or new tasks need to be slotted in between others. But starting out with a plan gives you structure and allows you to see how you are moving toward your goals.

OTHER TRACKERS

Along with my Monthly Tasks sheets, I have:

• a Calls For Submission calendar, where I write in any interesting calls that I want to send stories to
• A Monthly Check-In sheet, with my top goals, mid-month check-in to keep me on track, and end-of-the-month review to see how I did on my goals and a space to make note of what’s coming up for the next month
• a Project Tracker, to keep track of how many stories I finished and when
• a Submission Tracker, with all the places any given story has been sent, and whether it was accepted, rejected or pending status

NEED SOME HELP?

If any of these worksheets seem like they would help you, you’re in luck! I have a bunch of them for sale as printable downloads in my Etsy shop!

You can buy them separately or as a bundle. Or send me a private message on Etsy to create a custom bundle just for you.

• Author Project Tracker Bundle
• Monthly Goals Tracking Bundle
• Yearly Goals Tracking Bundle