Diane, I think these are both excellent tools to get motivated and stay that way. Mental lists, for those of us uber-organized types, are deadlines that must be met. 😉 And I love setting a quantity goal. Whatever works is great!

Saying that, I also do the numbers game. I decide how many articles/stories/fillers etc I completed last year and how many I can realistically complete this year, and I do the same with earnings. Getting a day job made me a bit lazy but I had other stuff going on at the same time and needed the regular income as I couldn't concentrate on getting additional work/income in at the time. We have a contractual bonus that they nearly didn't pay last year and I had to replace that sum of money elsewhere. I replaced it, and then we got the bonus as well, so in effect I earned extra last year to what I expected.

So, my work "resolutions" for the coming year include: complete 1 article/short story/filler/chapter per month (= 12 each for the year — minimum), 4 magazines, 2 brochures, 1 website, 4 competition entries; + at least my regular annual salary + the bonus + the bonus again + a bit more that I haven't yet decided, but probably at least the bonus again.

That's within THEM, not within the concept of "resolutions."

Devon, I totally agree that resolutions take courage. They also take commitment and a plan. It's why your triple play has worked so well for so long (you guys, DO go see Devon's site. It's inspiring). I think resolutions alone are a huge waste of time and a good way to kick ourselves ahead of time for that failure to meet that resolution.

Wendy, stubbornness is an excellent quality. It takes guts and the inability to accept "no" for an answer to reach success. And please, hold me to my goals, too. We're in it together, eh? 🙂

Most people I know, that make resolutions, do it simply for the sake of making some. They either don't bother following through with them or they do it for a couple of days and quit because they didn't see immediate results.

I usually make one or two every year; sometimes more. I know that I'll fall off the wagon a time or two, but that only gives me more fire and determination to push through. Stubbornness can be a good quality, eh?

I'm still figuring out a business plan for next year, so when I get that done I'll have more of an idea of what my expected income goal will be for 2010. I have no qualms in believing you'll hold me or anyone else to those goals, Lori; nor do I have any reason to doubt that you'll meet your own.

Bull pucky.

It's time to stop settling for mediocrity, on both personal levels and beyond.

Goals, Dreams, and Resolutions work together and shore each other up. When you live a holistic life instead of a fragmented one, each shores up the other.

That's why I set up the Goals, Dreams, and Resolutions site.

http://goalsdreamsresolutions.wordpress.com

I've got the questions up for 2010. I'm posting my accountability on December 31 for this year — and I'm hard on myself, because I did not meet my goals — and here I thought I'd put in such a productive year.

I pull no punches on where I fell short this year and why, and on January 1, I answer the 2010 questions and see how what I learned from where I fell short can be applied to make 2010 the best year ever.

Resolutions take courage, and too often, we are encouraged not to take risks.

Why do you think content mills get away with so much? Because people, across the boards, are encouraged to lower their own personal bars.

Goals are the steps we take to achieve our resolutions, which in turn, are the foundation of our dreams.

I let myself get mired in things that weren't a priority of my heart this year, and, although I managed to keep my head above water financially, I felt trapped and frustrated. I willingly gave up my safety net, and that gave me a huge sense of freedom, but I didn't utilize it properly.

I do not intend to get stuck in that quicksand for 2010.