Monthly Goals Archives - Jill Kemerer | Publishers Weekly Bestselling Romance Author

What are Your January 2019 Goals?

What are your 2019 January goals? JillKemerer.com/blog

January 2019 Goals

Happy New Year!!

I’ll be honest, Monday was a rude awakening for me. I’d been playing catch up on administrative and marketing tasks for five days straight, and guess what? Monday was another full day of it. *waaahh!!* *crying face*

That’s the writing life, though. It’s not all writing!

So how was your Christmas? What did you enjoy the most? Or did you have a hard holiday? Some years are like that.

I was not my optimistic self this December. Sometimes I just get gloomy for no apparent reason. I babied myself. Read a lot. Watched Holiday Baking Championship on Food Network. Spent a lot of time with distant family members (yay!). Oh, and I took the month off from tracking calories. The nice thing? I’m in a good groove with my eating habits and only gained a few pounds over Christmas week which promptly disappeared as soon as I resumed my normal diet. I have noticed my back aches more when I don’t work out at least three days a week, so I’m thankful to be back on track with my DVDs.

Let’s see how I did last month.

Jill’s December 2018 Goals:

Revise and polish Christmas novella.
Finish Christmas shopping.
Take time off after the novella is finished to refill the creative well.
Create my 2019 Production Plan.
Workout 4 days/week and stay in calorie range most days until Christmas week, when we have 70-billion parties with decadent food!

How did I do?

Christmas novella revise and polish? CHECK! Finished it early. Woohoo!
Finish Christmas shopping: CHECK! Took me until right before Christmas Eve, but I did it.
Take time off to fill creative well. SORT OF CHECK. I took time off, read, relaxed, but I didn’t really do much to fill my well. It was more like crashing and burning…
2019 Production Plan? CHECK! I’ll tweak it each month, but I’m happy with the overall plan.
Health stuff. NO CHECK. I did NOT workout 4 days/week. My body is scolding me!

Jill’s January 2019 Goals

Finalize A Meddled Match: Resort to Romance Series to prepare for February launch! This includes setting up promo, sending out ARCs, uploading to Amazon, etc…
Replot and draft rest of book one in the new Love Inspired series! It’s now going to be a Christmas book releasing this December. Aaah!
I’m the 2019 president of Maumee Valley Romance Authors, Inc. and need to do several administrative tasks to start the year off right.
Health: Log calories daily in MyFitnessPal, stay within calorie range, workout for 30 minutes 4+ days/week.

Side note: My health goals are the same each month. I know some of you are trying to get healthy this year. Two years ago I made the decision to stick to a lower calorie diet without drastically changing what I ate. I also committed to exercising 4-5 days per week. Within six months, I’d lost 20 pounds. Ever since, I’ve consistently kept off 15 pounds. Last year my weight fluctuated 3-4 pounds on any given month, but I stayed below the 15-pound loss mark. I’m happy with that!

I’m not telling you this to brag–I’m telling you it CAN be done. I realize we all have different struggles. You may have significantly more weight to lose or you just can’t seem to take off the last five pounds. You might have physical issues preventing you from certain exercises or foods. I get it. I still want to encourage you. Small decisions every day add up to big results. For me, being consistent has made ALL the difference.

How did you do last month? What are your January goals?

Have a terrific day!

What Are Your April 2018 Goals?

On the first Wednesday of each month, I share my monthly goals and encourage you to in the comments. Sorry I’m a week late this month! Before I list my April 2018 goals, I’m reviewing last month’s progress.

Last Month: Jill’s March 2018 Goals

Start putting promo together for June release.
Expand ideas for new series.
Expand synopsis for next proposal.
Health: Exercise 4-5 days/week and stay in calorie range most days by tracking food via MyFitnessPal.

How did I do?

Yes! Promo is a never-ending task. Check.
Yes, I’m very excited about the books! Check.
Nope, but I wrote three chapters of the book instead. Kind of check.
Yes. I recommitted to consistency, and it worked. I feel better about myself when I’m serious about the small, daily things. Check!

Next month: Jill’s April 2018 Goals

Revise, polish and submit the proposal due later this month.
Prep and speak at Researching the Romance symposium sponsored by BGSU’s Browne Pop Culture Library.
Type background materials for a side project.
Continue preparing for June release by sending advance reader copies to street team.
Draft a short story that’s been running around in my head.
Health: Exercise 4-5 days/week and stay in calorie range most days by tracking food via MyFitnessPal.

***

April is intense. My son plays baseball for the high school team, and I have a lot to accomplish in the next four months. I’m excited to meet my goals. And I’m excited for you to meet YOUR goals, too!

Although it snowed yesterday, the weather is supposed to start warming up soon, and nice weather always gives me a boost! Woohoo!

How did you do last month? What would you like to accomplish this month? I’d love to hear–share in the comments!

What Are Your March 2018 Goals?

March is here! Yay! March is always cold here, but at least we’re on the tail-end of winter. It’s good for one thing–I get a lot of writing tasks accomplished!

On the first Wednesday of each month, I share my monthly goals and encourage you to in the comments. Before I list my March 2018 goals, I’m reviewing last month’s progress.

Last Month: Jill’s February 2018 Goals

Finish drafting my work-in-progress.
Start content edits when the draft is complete.
Side writing project: meet weekly goals.
*Possible* Final edits for my third Wyoming Cowboy book might arrive this month. In that case, I would move #2 (content edits) to March.
Health: Exercise 4-5 days/week for 3o minutes, log calories in MyFitnessPal and stay withing calorie range most days (I don’t mind going over my range one day a week).

How did I do?

Yes! Finished drafting my WIP! Check.
Yes, started content edits. Check.
Met 2 out of 3 goals on side writing project. Kind of check.
Yes, I received and completed final edits for Wyoming Christmas Quadruplets (releasing October 2018!). Check.
No. Just no. I had extra responsibilities this month, and I’m not proud of this, but my health goals were the first to go. NO check.

Next month: Jill’s March 2018 Goals

Start putting promo together for June release.
Expand ideas for new series.
Expand synopsis for next proposal.
Health: Exercise 4-5 days/week and stay in calorie range most days by tracking food via MyFitnessPal.

***

February brought some exciting challenges, and I’m more than ready to take a brief breather and focus on different aspects of writing this month. Oh, and I need to get my momentum going again on my health!

*Party Time!! Join Jessica R. Patch, me, and several other authors on Thursday, March 8, 2018 to celebrate Jessica’s new release, Secret Service Setup, with a Facebook Party!! The party runs from 7-9 pm Central time (that’s 8-10 pm Eastern time!). We’d love to have you join us, and, yes, there will be prizes and giggling!

Click HERE for the party link. Just click the “Going” button and you’ll be all set!

How did you do last month? What would you like to accomplish this month? I’d love to hear–share in the comments!

What Are Your February 2018 Goals?

On the first Wednesday of each month, I share my monthly goals and encourage you to in the comments. Before I list my February 2018 goals, I’m reviewing last month’s progress.

Last Month: Jill’s January 2018 Goals

Finish revising and polishing third book in Wyoming Cowboys series. Submit as soon as finished.
After manuscript is turned in, dedicate time each weekday on side project.
After manuscript is turned in, continue writing work-in-progress novel.
Continue health plan (exercise for 30 minutes 4-5 days per week, log calories in MyFitnessPal and stay within calorie range).

How did I do?

Yep. Finished book 3 and submitted it. Check!
Yes, I dedicated time each weekday, plus I spent an entire Saturday and a few weeknights on the side project. Check!
While I did continue working on my work-in-progress novel, I came up short on my weekly goals. Kind of check. :)
My health plan is going well, but two of the weeks I only exercised three times. I did log my calories and stayed within my calorie range all but 3 days. Close, but no check :(

This Month: Jill’s February 2018 Goals

Finish drafting my work-in-progress.
Start content edits when the draft is complete.
Side writing project: meet weekly goals.
*Possible* Final edits for my third Wyoming Cowboy book might arrive this month. In that case, I would move #2 (content edits) to March.
Health: Exercise 4-5 days/week for 3o minutes, log calories in MyFitnessPal and stay withing calorie range most days (I don’t mind going over my range one day a week).

How did you do last month? Want to share your February goals? Leave a comment!

Have a fabulous week!

What Are Your January 2018 Goals?

January 2018 goals! Welcome to another year. Sure, 2018 is already ten days in, but it’s still pretty fresh. I’ve been using my new planner for over a week, and I love it. I decided to try the Day Designer this year. It really works with the way my brain is wired.

Here’s a peek at the monthly and weekly layouts.

It has a pretty cover, too!

I also use Microsoft OneNote to keep track of social media stats (important for author platform) and setting monthly goals. I thought I’d share my goals with you on the first Wednesday of each month, and feel free to share yours in the comments.

Jill’s January 2018 Goals:

Finish revising and polishing third book in Wyoming Cowboys series. Submit as soon as finished.
After manuscript is turned in, dedicate time each weekday on side project.
After manuscript is turned in, continue writing work-in-progress novel.
Continue health plan (exercise for 30 minutes 4-5 days per week, log calories in MyFitnessPal and stay within calorie range).

After I set my monthly goal, I take time to figure out how I can actually accomplish it.

Last Sunday I looked ahead and decided how I would finish revising and polishing book 3 in Wyoming Cowboys to turn it in on Friday, January 12.

This coming Sunday, I will figure out what time block to dedicate to my side project (it will be roughly one hour per day) and how many words I can write on the work-in-progress novel.

My daily word count goals depend on several factors. What other obligations do I have that week? Do I have any other deadlines or editor requests that take priority?

As far as my health goals, every day I log my calories, so no planning is needed there. However, I decide in advance what my exercise plan will be for the week and when I will do it. For instance, Tuesday and Thursday I have a Biggest Loser Boot Camp DVD planned for 8:30 am. Wednesday and Friday I have a yoga DVD planned for 9 am. It works for me.

I also plan coffee or breakfast dates with local friends in between my busiest times. Face time with people I care about is vital to my well-being.

Okay, I’ve shared my goals. What do YOU want to accomplish in January?

Thanks so much for stopping by!