Looking Ahead ...
First, I looked back on 2006 and thought about SMART goals. Now it’s time for me to look ahead and set some SMART goals for 2007.First, I plan to improve two areas that were disappointing this year.
As I wrote in Rebooting and the Fourth Commandment, I plan to keep the Sabbath and not work on Sunday. Although reducing the amount of time I work may seem an unusual goal, as most of the time we make goals to do more, for me it’s important. The main purpose of my life is to honor, worship, and serve God, and disobeying one of His commandments goes against that purpose. And from a practical perspective, a day of mental and spiritual refreshment each week will make me more productive during the days I am working.
The work project that was pushed down lower on the priority list this year than I would like is Your Information Center. I plan to remedy that this year.
Several of my business clients have work for me on a regular basis, and they have come to expect a fast turn-around time. My mission is to make my clients’ lives easier and their projects successful, and availability and speed are important.
I am also working with several authors on book projects:
* Editing a self-help book based on Christian/Biblical principles.
* Editing a book written by a psychiatrist for depression patients to use as an educational and self-help adjunct to medical treatment.
* Compiling a book that is a combination of memoir, family history, and motivation, including poetry.
* Editing an inspirational book based the author’s personal Christian journey.
* Editing Adam’s Daughters: Book 2 in the Westward Sagas.
I'm discussing book projects with two more prospective clients, so I may have more projects starting soon.
In addition to working with my regular business clients and editing books for authors, I am scheduled to edit a doctoral dissertation in a few months, and I am working on content for three Web sites. With several other projects pending, I expect to stay as busy as I have been, though when I work on a project is dictated by the client’s timing, not my own. In fact, I often find myself gently (I hope!) nagging clients to meet deadlines.
And this is the year I expect Dream or Destiny, a romantic suspense novel I wrote several years ago, to be published.
Volunteering is important to me, and I will continue the work I do for my church on its Web site, bulletins, and newsletter. Also, I will serve on the committee for the EPIC New Voices writing competition for middle school and high school students, for which I’m committee chair this year.
And I won’t forget family. I’m a night owl who doesn’t do mornings, so I work in the afternoons, evenings, and into the night. But I’ll take two breaks each night (in addition to a dinner break) to spend time with my husband. Writers in an e-mail group I belong to recently had a discussion about the holidays taking time away from writing. Several people complained that they had to give up precious writing time for family get-togethers and holiday preparations. Then one woman put things into perspective - she said she would love to be giving up writing time to spend with her husband and her brother this Christmas. Both have died, and she has plenty of time to write but she’d rather be with her loved ones. I will remind myself of this when I think I have so much to do that I can’t possibly take time away from work. I will spend time with my husband daily and talk to my sister and my brother at least once a week.
Well, that’s far more than you want to know about my goals for 2007. But I hope I’ve helped you think about your own goals and priorities in the coming year … and in your life.
And I hope you’ll give me a gentle nudge if you see me getting off-track!
Happy New Year! May 2007 be a year of joy and blessings for you and your loved ones.
posted by Lillie Ammann @ 10:51 PM
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