Before I start talking about my 2019 goals, a bit of exciting news: My author mentoring programme is open again! Over the course of 4 weeks, I will work with a small group of authors to help them tell their story online. This involves working out their target audience, figuring out where they want to focus their time online, brainstorming content ideas for their blog, newsletter or social media, and creating a plan for their online presence. Want to join us? Find out more here.
I’ve taken a completely different approach to goal setting this year. Usually, on the first, I think about all the things I want to do, and write myself a list. I love writing it, but I’ll be honest – I don’t often look back at it.
Last year I did about half the things on my list, which I’m actually pretty content with. And to be fair, I don’t think I’d quite thought through the temperature of water in the UK when I added paddleboarding to the list.
This year, I’ve been a lot slower and more intentional about it.
Thinking about goals in a new way
Because I generally love talking about goals, I signed up to Han Bullivant’s Life Book course. It provided a great framework for reflecting on 2018, and thinking about what I really wanted not just out of next year, but also going forward.
Going through the process really helped to clarify a few things for me, and thank God, because at the end of 2018, I felt like I was standing in a very thick and soupy fog, unsure which direction I was heading in.
I focused in on six categories to set these goals: work, my marriage, my children, finding joy, money and learning and development.
I won’t go into every single area right now, but thought I would share my goals in work and money. They are BIG and have formed the basis of what is about to be a huge change in my life, and one I’m really excited about.
2019 work goals
2018 was an absolutely brilliant year for work. At the end of 2017, when I was returning from my second maternity leave, I made a big decision to leave HarperCollins and take a maternity contract at Quercus.
It felt right in my gut, but it was also a sideways move to a temporary contract – not a great look on paper. But I knew I ultimately wanted to change my career path, and staying where I was, or looking for another permanent job, wasn’t going to help that.
It was the best decision I could have made. The team there is wonderful, I’ve felt really supported, done some great work and the end date has forced me to make some decisions about what I actually want from my work life.
As the end of my contract started to get closer, I did a lot of soul searching, and the more I thought about it, the more I felt that I had to at least try to pursue a different avenue. “Follow my dreams”, etc. Maybe it won’t work. But I have a good feeling.
So my work goal for 2019 is to be fully self-employed when I leave Quercus. Eek! I already have a couple of projects lined up (including A Life of Words, open now), so I won’t be starting completely from scratch, but it is a huge change and pretty terrifying.
BUT – big but – it’s also HUGELY exciting. I have So Many Ideas of things I’d like to work on, and I’ve had quite a few people contacting me already about working together. If everyone I’ve been speaking to comes on board, I’ll be working with 4 authors (so far), a small publisher, a big publisher, an industry marketing body, a book retailer and a print studio. I don’t know which ones will materialise and which will won’t, but it feels like things are already moving in the right direction.
2019 money goals
Which brings me on to my money goal. My goal is to take home the same amount as I do right now (that includes my salary plus the money I earn in side projects plus the added tax and national insurance I’ll need to pay) by June. And… I’d like to earn £1k more on top of that per month by this time next year. That’s pretty punchy!
I’ve worked out exactly how much I need to earn per day to make that work, and how many clients I’ll need to get, and have written out a plan of how to get there. I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me, but I think I’m ready for it.
What are your 2019 goals? What are you most excited about for this upcoming year? Any tips for self-employment?
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