Like many of you, I use my time around the New Year to look back on what I did during the previous twelve months and make a plan for what I’d like to accomplish over the next twelve.

There’s no reason to limit this process to January. When my goals go off the rails, I will blank out my spreadsheets and start fresh in June or July, if I must. But January is convenient.

My biggest struggle each year is differentiating between what I want to do, what I should do, and what I can realistically do. I should exercise regularly, at least 4 – 5 hours per week. I do my best writing when I write every day, so that’s 10 – 14 hours minimum per week. This blog has been fulfilling creatively and socially. I should get through a few of the several hundred books on my TBR shelf. I’d like to take some art classes.

By the time I finish my list, my weekly schedule has some 20 hours of creative time + 10 hours of “should” time + another 10-15 of “want to do” time. And that’s not including time at work or maintaining my household.

If I were retired or could afford to pay someone to cook and clean for me, I might be able to spend that kind of time exercising, making art, writing, blogging, recording a podcast, reading, going to writing events, taking classes, traveling, going to movies and concerts, and getting together with friends. Alas, a few things must go. Maybe 2/3. Probably 80 percent.

I suspect a lot of creative people face this conundrum. We want to make art and enjoy art and see our friends and families and rest and recharge, and it all gets to be a bit much. The hard part is that I need some amount of all of those things to feel like a well-rounded human being.

How do you pick?

It’s not easy. I disappoint myself a little every January when I backburner a podcast for another year and scratch creative classes off my budget, but needs must. For me, everything flows from my writing time. Is my time better spent writing or going to a writing workshop? Writing or podcasting about writing? Writing is always my most important goal, and that helps me order the work. Of course, my family and friends are important, so I have to block out social time. After that, there’s room for a small project or two, and that’s that. I choose to be satisfied.

In a recent podcast, Tiffany Yates Martin and Joanna Penn talked about this decision-making process from the perspective of having a writing career, but their thoughts apply to the general writing life as well.

You will find copious advice about what you can, should, or must do to write a best seller or have a successful writing career, whether that means marketing and promotions, platform building, or even what you choose to write. There’s no way you can do it all without an army of assistants, and frankly, you don’t need to it all anyway.

“We have to say no to the things that don’t suit us, whether or not we’re told they are best practices,” Yates Martin says. “First of all, nothing that works for one person is going to work for every person. So if somebody is trying to set something up as the holy grail of ‘here’s the secret sauce,’ there is no secret sauce. Also, the secret sauce isn’t right for everyone.”

Your own intuition is your best tool for decoding your personal path and your boundaries. If it sounds good, but doesn’t feel right, say no. If you don’t have time or the effort doesn’t support your near-term goals, say no. Know yourself and pick the work that suits you and brings you joy. Joanna Penn says she even keeps a list of not-to-do projects that sound fun or that she “should” do, but would take up too much time or simply don’t interest her. (I should probably put “podcast” at the top of such a list…)

I don’t share too many of Joanna Penn’s interviews, because her blog focuses more on the business side of writing, which is outside my purview. However, she’s definitely worth a follow. Her interviews often include creative topics, as well as business areas, and her guests are relatable. It’s a good listen.

Did you make goals for this year? What are they? What is your intuition telling you?

 

Who am I?