How to Make Your Weekly Writing Goals

Working as a freelance writer can be difficult at times, particularly if you work from home where there are a myriad of distractions. In fact, you can find yourself doing anything but writing when you work at home!

Setting monthly, weekly, and daily goals can be a help, but only if you know how to actually achieve them. In fact, if you aren't very good at making your goals, you could end up more frustrated and less productive because of them.

We are going to focus on weekly writing challenges. Daily goals are often missed because something happens during the day and it can throw everything off, so forget about working towards daily goals for the most part. They should be guidelines, nothing more. As for monthly aims, you should certainly have them, but a month can seem like a long time and it is easy to sub estimate how much time you have to reach those goals. A week is just right, not too long, not too short.

The first step to achieving your goals is to make them realistic. Don't decide to write a 50,000 word book in a week if you have never written more than 1,000 words a day! Work up to the book slowly. You should look at what you have achieved before and aim to stretch yourself, just beyond that. For example, if you previously wrote three 500 word articles a day, make it four.

Remember to factor in research time. While it may only take you thirty minutes to type out an article, how much time do you put into researching the topic? Don't figure that you can write 2 articles an hour for 8 hours a day. You'll have to stop and fact-check and look for tidbits of information, even if you have a pretty good grasp on your topic.

You should also consider free time when you are planning your weekly writing goals. The old saying, "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" is very true. We all need some recreational time, even if that just means vegging out in front of the TV with your girlfriend. If you have kids, this time is even more important. Kids grow up fast, so take time out each day to enjoy them at the stage they are at.

Using a timer can help you stay focused on your task. Set a timer for 15 minutes and write as much as you can in that time. Knowing that you only have to do it for a short period of time can help you be more productive.

Freelance writing is not as easy as many think it is. It takes hard work to be successful, but with the right planning methods, you can set goals and make them, too!