Christmas is over. You made it. Time to briefly pat yourself on the back, fawn over all of your presents, and then get back to work.
Sure, you could sit around until New Year’s Day to kick back into gear, but that carries the risk of you being too tired after a night of celebrating, or the risk that you’ll just want to soak in some last minute relaxation before returning to your day job. These crucial days don’t have to be unproductive, and your resolutions don’t need to be arbitrary goals that last (or don’t last) just one measly year.
Let’s start by reflecting on last year. What were some bad habits that need work? What were some positive habits that need to be reinforced? Look back and try and identify which writing practices, marketing strategies, and other routines in your life contributed to your success over the last year.
Once you’ve drawn from the past, it’s time to look toward the future! You don’t need a laundry list of resolutions that will only make you feel guilty for not living up to. Instead, pick a few essential ones and concentrate all of your effort on actually fulfilling those.
If increased productivity–be it on the marketing or writing front–is on your resolution radar for the year, it’s best to begin by honing in on your organizational skills first and foremost. Forming good habits will lead to good practices and routines, and this will lead to good work.
Buy a calendar or planner. If you’re looking for one that you will guide your marketing for the year, Outskirts has a specific marketing calendar that will draw your attention to some of the most important deadlines and most helpful marketing options & services in the industry.
Once you have your calendar or planner, start writing your goals down in it. Planning out your weeks and months in advance is great for two reasons. One being that it keeps you accountable, and two being that it helps prevent you from overbooking yourself and creating writing goals that may interfere with other things you may have going on in your work or personal life.
Always overestimate the time you’ll need to achieve the tasks you have laid out for yourself–this way, if/when you finish early, you have time for relaxing and extracurricular activities. (Having life experience helps with the writing process too you know!)
Routine is a great way to ease the burden of a giant workload. If you have only have 30 minutes on Fridays for marketing or writing, that’s still 30 minutes that you’ve cut out from your planned effort on Monday! Chipping away at your to-do list will make your work feel less overwhelming than trying to sit down and just get everything done at once.
When initiating these new routines and plans, remember, don’t be too hard on yourself. Making serious life changes is not always an easy thing, and sometimes life will get in the way. Make sure the expectations you’ve set for yourself are realistic and reward yourself when you reach milestones in your goals! Most importantly, enjoy your work and embrace the New Year.
Thank you for reading! If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or contributions, please use the comment field below or drop us a line at selfpublishingadvice@gmail.com. And remember to check back each Wednesday for your weekly dose of marketing musings from one indie, hybrid, and self-published author to another. ♠
Self Publishing Advisor 