Not hitting your targets

It’s not all doom and gloom, and through my recent writing failures and slump, I have learned a few things that I wanted to share, in the hope of helping those out there in a similar position.

If you love writing and have fallen out of your routine this article I hope can help you get back and share stories that matter.

A little bit of a backstory

Failure, we all face it at times, last month I took part in NaNoWriMo, and although starting out strong I failed to hit my targets. There were a lot of reasons/excuses for this from lack of discipline to other life events taking priority, but ultimately I felt disappointed when the 30th of November came around, and not for not hitting my targets, but for failing to write.

I had come off a high, writing and publishing every day over 100 days, I felt motivated, and ready to write, but like with everything when life gets more challenging it becomes even harder to stay focused, and ultimately I failed.

Not hitting your goals

Okay, now I have got my own failures out and into the open, lets talk about a few key things I have learned over the last few months and what has helped get my writing back on track.

1. Remember why you are writing in the first place

This is arguably the most important one, and a question I ask myself almost every week and has helped me get my own writing back on track.

Ask yourself why are you writing?

I have seen this advice shared by many writers, and for good reason, if you can remember why you are writing in the first place, more often than not it will give you a good kick back into writing again.

2. Don’t think short term but focus on your long term goals

Play the long game, so what you failed to write every day for 200 days, as long as you pick yourself up and start writing again, even after a break, you will be further ahead than if you stopped completely.

Both short and long-term goals are effective, but if you set yourself a goal of, say, writing and publishing a post every day for 100 days, what happens after that 100 days? I know once I have hit a short-term goal, unless I have either another short-term goal in mind, or focus on a longer-term goal, I tend to stop in my tracks.

What are your long-term goals as a writer?

3. Take a break, focus on your mental health and start writing small amounts each day

Burnout is real, and sooner or later in our careers or lives we face it, don’t beat yourself up about it, we all need breaks, time to spend with our families, or just time to unwind.

I took a few weeks away from my writing to visit and spend some time with my family, initially, I felt guilty. I felt my growth as a writer would grind to a halt and I felt like a failure. I was wrong. The time away from the keyboard, if anything, made me come back stronger, more refreshed, and motivated to write, along with plenty more ideas to share in the future.

Look after yourself, take breaks and live. Through these experiences, your writing will naturally grow.

Advice from Aristotle

“Excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives — choice, not chance, determines your destiny.”

Aristotle

This one quote was one of the key factors in getting my own writing on track. The only way to grow and get better is to work on it continually over time, learn from others and your mistakes and grow. It won’t happen overnight, but by making that first step today, your future self will thank you.

Atomic Habits by James Clear

“The goal in any sport is to finish with the best score, but it would be ridiculous to spend the whole game staring at the scoreboard. The only way to actually win is to get better each day. In the words of three-time Super Bowl winner Bill Walsh, “The score takes care of itself.” The same is true for other areas of life. If you want better results, then forget about setting goals. Focus on your system instead.”

James Clear

Hopefully, you are not sick of me mentioning this book again, but it really has helped me to focus on getting better each and every day, to push myself to keep at it, heck if it can kick start my lazy rear into gear, you might find some value in it yourself!

How to Get Out of A Writing Slump shared by NanoWriMo

“By far, the thing that has worked for me the most is listening to other writers speak. Even if it is just a writing buddy and not a published author, there is something truly magical about listening to a storyteller gush about their story with the passion of a hero ready to save the world.”

My first attempt at NaNoWriMo, may not have gone to plan, but I still learned a lot from it, this post shared on their blog, is another fantastic read if you have found yourself in a writing slump.

National Novel Writing Month — How to Get Out of A Writing Slump