As you may (or may not know) I love setting 90-day goals – I started this in the fall of last year and it really did help me be more productive…until I wasn’t.
That’s when I realized that I like having my goals mapped out for the quarter but only the first 3-4 tasks written down and on my Kanban board for just one month at a time – I don’t like to get overwhelmed.
So today I’d like to give you an overview of my three main goals and the few projects underneath each goal. I probably won’t give you a list of tasks, but if you’d like, you can follow me on Instagram where I’ll be talking about my Kanban board with all the tasks for the month.
Goal #1 – Writing and Publishing
Project A – 3rd Draft Revision of Novel 2 (working title – Etta & Gina)
Project B – Research ARC readers and/or Street Team
Goal #2 – Marketing
Project C – 1-hour week of learning time (the first month is Instagram)
Project D – Create a workable and fun content strategy system
Goal #3 – Jennifer 2.0 (being the Goddess I know I can be)
Project E – Beautifying the apartment
Project F – Lunar Planning
Project G – Health & Wellness*
*Which is further broken down into self-care habits, Orange Theory goals, and some personal development type things
What do your goals for 2020 look like? Do you plan yearly, monthly, quarterly? Or a combo like me? I’d love to hear so let me know in the comments below! We can even keep each other accountable.
Over the past few years, I have chosen 1-3 words to guide me along the path I want to take. Last year was Joy – which to be honest, felt a bit flat – like I was playing a part, superficial…never fully integrating into my body and my heart. The year before it was Courage and the one before that was Nourish – both felt so aligned for those years and allowed me to grow and show up in new and exciting ways.
That’s what I wanted for this year so I thought and journaled and took a workshop and came up with 3 words that feel so perfect for where I am and where I want to be at the end of 2020.
🌟 Shine – Be seen, be heard, give my ideas and my opinions a voice. Use my light to help others (how? I have no idea yet!) and be the woman that fixes the crowns of others rather than diminish and cause pain. Have confidence and do the scary things.
🔮 Intuition – I want to really connect with who I am and with the Universe, the source of all power. I want to be the goddess that I know I can be. I want to connect to my ancestors – especially my maternal Grandma who I think has been my guardian angel my whole life (she died the year before I was born). I want to get quiet and listen to the answers that I know are already inside of me.
🖊 Create – Make stuff…for fun! Not worry so much about the business side, not worry about the marketing stuff as much. Yes, yes…I will still be professional when need be with my writing and I will still be doing my newsletter and promotions BUT I want to do things MY WAY…have more fun connecting with others online, not worry about followers – have conversations. Make messes in the kitchen, create with my kid more, basically do things that feel good.
Your turn! What word (or words) are you using this year to guide you and help you win in 2020? Comment below and let me know!! Let’s make this year amazing – together. 😊
It’s been a while since I’ve written, I know. This is for a few reasons — 1) I thought I might have overloaded you guys when I was re-launching The Art of Lying and 2) I needed a little break from writing myself.
But…I’ve taken a little break, watched Gilmore Girls again on Netflix (still debating on rewatching that awful new year again), and started rereading my 2nd novel with my editor’s notes. Originally this story was called Etta in the Outfield, but I’m thinking that might need to change.
Which brings me to the topic at hand – change. As I’ve been reading and discussing things with my editor (the lovely Sarah Fox) it’s become clear that I need to add some things to this poor little book. For one, I need to bring in another point of view character – my first main character, Etta’s, best friend Gina! I’m actually excited about this, but since Gina will have 50% of the story, I can’t just call the thing Etta without putting in Gina so the title will most likely need to change.
Another thing, I’m aging my characters up a bit. I had them as Freshmen in High School, but we decided it might be better if they were a bit older – Sophomores or Juniors (haven’t decided yet). Finally, I have some things to think about surrounding the end of my novel – but I’m not going to talk about that right now – I might spoil things for when the book comes out.
BUT all these changes and the fact that my main characters go through quite a few things themselves that will be changing them and their opinions and thoughts and ideas, I realized that change is inevitable in both life and fiction. It’s how we handle those changes that make the difference.
I could have read my editor’s notes and gotten really upset, thrown my laptop against the wall (I mean, my bank account wouldn’t have been happy), and yelled and screamed, cried for days, etc. I didn’t do this, I wrote out some of my feelings, talked to my editor, voiced my worries and fears, and decided that together we can make this next draft amazing!
What’s changing in your world? How are you dealing with things? Are you having a temper tantrum that a four-year-old would envy or are you pulling your big girl panties on and acting like a grown-up? Side note: I’m not always a grown-up in these situations, trust me. HA
I love autumn..sweater weather, pumpkin spice coffee drinks, new TV shows to start watching, and the changing colors of the trees.
Staring out our bedroom window, I have a great view of this one giant tree as it changes from green to various hues of fall. I noticed something yesterday though for the first time – it changes from the top down. And this made my little brain start turning its wheel.
We are like this tree.
To change anything in our lives, we have to start with our minds – you know, that thing at the top – our brains. All positive change, change that you want to make happen, has to start there first. It just has to, or it won’t work.
For example, when I was starting out on this author journey and had my first book done and needed to start thinking about editing and decisions about publishing, I had to declare myself a writer. I had to start thinking about myself as if (remember, from last week) I was a professional author.
I touched on this briefly last week with Acting As If and the questions, but it involved work. It involved asking myself questions, writing down answers, and changing my mindset. I had to change from the top down. I had to think of myself a certain way, act that way, and show myself that I was that way.
Changing your mindset doesn’t happen overnight, in fact, there will be hiccups and setbacks and feeling like a failure and starting all over again (but luckily not at square one). Like the trees, change is slow at first and then bursts into color almost all at once. That’s why people think change happens overnight – they don’t see the process.
Like that tree, the only reason I noticed the change is because we live on the 4th floor and therefore I look down on the tree – but when I walk underneath that tree, I don’t see the beautiful colors yet. If I was just walking by in, say, two weeks and notice how pretty that tree is I would think that happened very quickly, but nope – it takes time.
So…what are you working on right now? Are you changing your mindset about anything? Are you feeling frustrated because it’s taking FOREVER? Give yourself a little grace and a lotta love and some more time.
Seriously, you’ve got this – and let people think it happened overnight!
I had the immense pleasure of being interviewed yesterday by my friend, Brenda Vander Zaden, for her Postpartum Body Series project. I had the best time talking about how much stronger I feel within my body after giving birth to my son – you can watch the Facebook Live HERE if you’d like!
The other thing we talked about is the concept of Acting As If and I thought it was perfect for this week’s blog post.
Acting As If is an old theatre concept that is used when embodying a character in a play or movie and something I studied for years as a young actor, but it has also been insanely useful in my everyday life.
First, ask yourself: Who do you want to be?
For example, I want to be a professional writer. Great! How does a professional writer act? What things do I have to do? What beliefs do I need to have? Once you have the answers, you just have to Act As If you are already that person, doing and believing things they would.
Sound simple? It is, in theory, but it can be difficult at first. Keep at it though, it gets easier, I promise.
To follow the example, and one straight out of my own life, a professional writer believes her books will find their ideal audience, she schedules writing days and times and follows through with her plan, and she shows up on social media as a professional giving helpful advice and showcasing her books.
Now, you have a plan! Think these things, do these things, and soon enough – you are that person! It’s a little like fake it until you make it, but I feel like this is more genuine, more active.
You can use this for anything…I use it in my day job when I need to do something I’m scared about, like having an interview or talking with clients. I use it as a mother and I think – what would a calm and peaceful mother do in this situation? It’s pretty amazing what things come to mind almost immediately when you think like this.
Have you ever used this concept? Do you think you might going forward in some area of your life? Let me know in the comments below!
In my last article, I talked about the phrase “life’s purpose” and how I think it can sometime’s hold you back from doing the things that you love and care about.
This week I want to talk about embracing the things you enjoy. In the same vein as last week, I really dislike the way basic is used around things like Pumpkin Spice Lattes or watching Grey’s Anatomy. It feels like when we don’t like something that someone else does, we have to mock or belittle that.
Why?
I feel like we should embrace the things we love no matter what – as long as they aren’t causing harm to someone else, of course. I adore PSLs and I will be getting one (or possibly that new drink with the Pumpkin Spice foam) next week for my birthday! I love watching The Good Place and reruns of Friends and Gilmore Girls on Netflix. I am obsessed with all things Disney!
In fact, my husband and I were on our honeymoon around this time 13 years ago in Walt Disney World and people tended to mock us for that – saying it wasn’t a place for childless adults. We did not care! Disney has been my happy place since I was a small child and that has not wavered.
And that’s OK.
So, what’s one thing that you love or obsess over that people tend to give you grief about or mock you about. Is it a guilty pleasure TV show or a seasonal drink? Is it reading in bed all hours of the night or the gym you go to?
Comment below and let me know what’s one thing that brings you joy that you’re going to embrace today!
Have you found your life’s purpose yet? Do you cringe when someone asks you this question?
I still hate this question and I feel like I’m way closer to finding the answer than I was even 2-3 years ago…but who knows?
My passions and dreams have changed so drastically in the 20 (what?!?!) years since I’ve graduated college that I can’t say for 100% certainty that THIS IS IT!
I moved to NYC in 2001 to pursue my love of Broadway and dreamed of belting out the 11 o’clock number to adoring fans.
Now, 18 years later, I dream of seeing that orange Bestseller tag on my book’s Amazon page – and having adoring fans.
10 years from now? Maybe it will be to run a marathon a month — seriously, who knows? I do know that I’ll want adoring fans no matter what I’m doing so get those giant Run, Jennifer, Run signs ready (just kidding – I don’t run!)
So tell me, what was one passion or dream you had when you were a kid or teenager and what’s one that you have now? How different are they? How different are you now? How similar are they? How are YOU the same?
Comment below and let me know and then take time today to celebrate YOU! Your dreams, your passions, your growth!
I have written about my goal-setting process on here before, but as my life has changed and what I wanted out of my life changed, I knew I needed something different…but I wasn’t sure what.So, when one of my favorite AuthorTubers, Sarra Cannon – a brilliant and successful indie author and lovely human being posted about her HB90 Goal Setting Course, I jumped right in.
She taught us how to take our vision for our life and turn that into 90-day goals.Then we took those goals and turned them into little step by step tasks.YES!It felt exactly what I needed.Her last step was to set up a Kanban Board (for more about hers – check out the YouTube video below).
I grabbed baby post-it notes, color-coded my three goals and wrote all of my tasks on individual post-its and put them up on my board.There is a section for To-Do’s, Doing (the tasks I’m focusing on for that day or week) and DONE!
The thrill when I get to move a sticky note down to Done is really amazing.I’m a paper planner girl at heart so having this analog makes me happy, but you can also use digital tools like Trello or Asana or any project management app really.
The idea of only planning in 3-month chunks though was really fascinating.Usually, I plan the whole year and then crash and burn sometime in March or April.Here, you get a total reset every three months.Every quarter you get to evaluate and replan.Seriously, I’m kinda in love with this system.
So, what are my goals you ask?
Goal #1 is about writing my books and self-publishing.So I’m working on Etta in the Outfield, brainstorming ideas for my next book project (which could turn into a trilogy with all the ideas I’m writing down!!), and researching how to take The Art of Lying wide (meaning into all online bookstores).
Goal #2 is about growing my Instagram following and being more engaged and present over there. Creating a real Author Persona and Brand and developing my style.This will also bleed over into other aspects of my social media presence but for right now I’m concentrating on the gram.
Goal #3 is about growing my newsletter list and really forging a relationship with the people that are there — so, if you’re not already on that list, think about joining (you get a free Short Story Anthology when you do!).
Let me know — what goals are you working on?How do you plan out your goals? How do you track them?This fascinates me sooo much, so I would really love to hear from you and how you’re doing this year.Are you planning a vacation? Writing a book yourself? Work-related goals?Health and Fitness goals?I have all of those too and at some point, I want to get a bigger Kanban board so I can have everything up in front of me.For now – my board has my writing goals and my planner has my more personal goals – which is working…for now.
I hope you have an amazing day and don’t let the fact that it’s not January 1st stop you from starting something new, thinking about where you want to go and point yourself there – start today, start small but start now.Think about your goals and pick one tiny thing and then plan when you’re going to do it and voila! You are well on your way!
We’ve all heard of the inner child, right?When someone is being cranky or needs a nap, or when we go to therapy and we talk about healing the inner child or giving them what they need or something…well, I think I have an inner teenager.
For real, I’ve been trying to be more adult about things – like decluttering my apartment, meal plan and prep – which involves cooking, and making sure things are done in an orderly fashion.Which, okay, even my teenage self enjoyed….but lately I can feel her rolling her eyes.She’s being annoying in my head.
“Oh man, when are we going to do something fun?” she’ll say to me when I get out the cutting board.“Why do we have to do this on a Sunday?Sundays are for playing games and watching movies?” Roll eyes, hair flip, huff in annoyance.Inner teenager.
I can’t really ground her, because who wants that, so I decided to start listening to her.Fun, she’s screaming for fun.Yes, I have to meal prep and plan – it’s been helping me so much – but it’s not much fun.So I’ve been listening to music or watching YouTube while I do some things.I’ve been asking my husband to help me so we can get it done more quickly and we can talk while we do it.Decluttering is the same thing.It has to get done – trust me, it looks like a toy store threw up in our apartment and we have stuff everywhere it seems. So, music and timers and rewards have been helping.
But, she’s clamoring for fun.Not making the boring stuff more fun.Actual FUN!So I got some magazine subscriptions and when they come, I make time with tea or coffee to sit down and read them.I’ve started dressing in a more fun manner, adding more color to my life again.I bought new exercise clothes that are cute and functional!I started watching TV shows during lunch again.Comedies – things that make me laugh out loud.
I need the fun in my life, my son needs the fun in his life too so the other thing I’ve been doing is planning Family Fun Adventures around the city.Last week we took the Tram across the East River from Roosevelt Island into Manhattan and had yummy pizza at my favorite brick oven place, Patsy’s,and then got bags of chocolate at Dylan’s Candy Bar.We had a great time and it was just pure fun.No real agenda except the ride over, the food and the exploring.
Do you have an inner teenager? What have they been saying to you lately? Have you stopped to listen?Do you need more sleep? More fruit? More fun?Do you need to be super lazy one day and not get up off the couch?What did you like to do as a teenager?Let me know in the comments below!
No, the title isn’t in reference to the Ke$ha song (although, I do enjoy dancing to that when putting on my makeup) – today I’m going to talk about timers!
I love timers!I especially love timers now that I have an Alexa (the Amazon Echo Dot that I talked about a few months ago).Timers are everything right now and not just for cooking –although I do use Alexa to help with that too.
So, you might be wondering how I use timers….read on and let me know what you use timers for.
First, I use timers when I’m writing.I usually do one or two sprints of 25 minutes each.That seems to be my sweet spot both for writing new words and editing old words.In one hour I’ve been able to get down 2,000 words or more!I’m editing right now so sometimes I don’t set a timer, especially if I have free time and just want to work until I reach the end of a chapter or a section but timers can still be helpful if I don’t have as much time in my day and want to play beat the clock.
Which brings me to the second time I use timers during my day. To clean or do the dishes.We live in New York City and don’t have a dishwasher – I know, I can hear your collective groans from here – so there are always dishes to do by hand and it’s not one of my favorite tasks of the day so I love to set a 15 minute timer and see how many I can get done in that time.Music also helps (but that’s true for me with almost every task).
The third way I use timers is for my son.My seven year old loves to play Roblox, Minecraft, and Portal 2; he also loves YouTube – but we try to limit him throughout the day and also we have to leave the house for school, errands, or other fun things so timers help keep him accountable for his own time.We also set one during the day after he gets home from school for homework so he knows he has to stop what he’s doing and do math, spelling, or reading.For the most part, it helps.
And finally, I use timers when I have any task that I’m dreading. I hate calling places to book appointments (except Disney World to book a vacation package – I would do that every day if I could) but making dentist or doctor appointments, dealing with any kind of service people (gas/electric/cable/etc) I just dread it so I set a timer, get out all my fear and anxiety – usually on paper, but sometimes I just talk it out, then the timer goes off in 5 or 10 minutes and I make the call.Some people won’t need this, but it really does help me.Calling my Mom or Best Friend – nope, I’ll pick up the phone just fine but calling unknown people – ugh!Can anyone else relate, or am I just a freak?
Do you use timers during your day?Do they help you or cause more worry and anxiety? When are they most effective for you and your family?I would love to know so hit me up in the comments below!
