Halfway Through the First Month

Time is still slipping away from me--we're already in the middle of the first month! Can you believe it?

I don't make New Year's resolutions, but if I had, this would be about the time when they begin to fizzle. Do you have that problem? What do you do to stay motivated?

I'd say for the last ten years maybe, I've been setting goals instead of resolutions. I'll set goals for the whole year and then smaller goals for each month that connect to each of the bigger goals. I set myself up with enough time to achieve these goals, which means I always hit them. But, if I don't, I don't sweat it because I know i can push the date back. Being flexible keeps me from panicing.

This is my process.

• List the books I want to publish in such n such year.

• Set a release date for each book. (This is usually done by December, sometimes earlier)

• Focus on each book, usually one-at-a-time. Today, I can write 2 at the same time, focusing more on one than the other. I know I will edit until it's close to perfect, and I know I'll be asking others for help to edit before I go through it one last time.

• Finalize the book and make sure formatting is done before uploading the final version. Set pre-orders for ebook and paperback (ebooks first).

• Move to the next book while waiting for Beta Readers. Once I hear back from betas, I go back to the editing phase and the writing is on pause. Then when the book is finished, I return to the writing of the next book and start the process over. All while marketing the books as I go.

• I usually don't stop between books because my memory has been failing me. I keep notes for EVERYTHING for that reason. Once the book is finished and I don't need the notes anymore, I save it for later in case I want to use it for marketing purposes. Nothing gets tossed out. It gets saved or put away.

This year, besides writing the chosen books (you can see them on the coming soon page), I will be updating my writing space. I already removed the crates that I was using as "legs" and replaced them with two drawer sets.

In this image, you can see the crates. These are the kind of crates that milk comes in when going to stores. They are free. Of course, you have to ask for them because some stores reuse them. Always ask before taking. I had permission to take these and use them for a lot of my storing and usage.

Here are the drawer sets that I purchased from Walmart. They only had the two left, but I wasn't worried because I won't be keeping them as they are. Later this year, I will be changing how these look. I kept extra shelf-liner that I used for the desk "top". This will make the pieces work together as if they were one piece instead of three. I am hoping to find the other pieces that I want to include by then, which I'll call phase 3 once I do. Right now, this is phase 2 of my desk "remodel." The "legs" will not be glued to the top, so I can move things around and change the layout.

Billy thinks I should make another top as I did here to create a bigger space for my desk. I am thinking about it, but haven't decided. What do you think? Leave your comments below and let share your opinion of a bigger "desk" in the shape of a "V" or "L"...

By the way, so far, I am on pace to reach all goals I've set for 2026. At this point, I am ahead of schedule, which means I'll be writing books for 2027 sooner than planned, which is always cool. The dates that I originally set, will remain the same which would give me more marketing time for each book.

What are your plans for this year? Are you keeping your plans or have they changed?

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